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The NHL equivalent to Black Friday is approaching. On July 1st teams will be scrambling to get their free agents. This year’s options are some of the deepest we have seen for some time. However, some of these players will face tough choices. Two team legends will need to decide to either stay and cement their legacy, or face a new challenge elsewhere. Here are the 4th Line’s top five choices: Alex Ovechkin It feels weird that Ovi will officially be a free agent this summer. His 13-year $124 million dollar Caps contract has run dry. Word around D.C is that Ovechkin is keen toRead More →

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When Taylor Hall signed for the Sabres last offseason it raised eyebrows. Sabres fans believed a new revolution was here. This surely was the team’s statement of intent to bring King Jack his first cup. However, to most fans outside of Buffalo, this deal seemed bizarre. Hall’s prior trade to Arizona was an expensive rental, but this deal seemed too good to be true. Sadly, it appears that Sabres fans will be once again left in despair as it appears a messy divorce is looming. Embed from Getty Images Since arriving, Hall has gotten 11 points, but the Sabres have been a mess. Dead lastRead More →

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The 2018-19 season was a season of misfortune in Newark. From Cory Schneider‘s nagging injury troubles and Keith Kinkaid‘s early inability to prove his worth as a starting goaltender, to Taylor Hall‘s mysterious injury which left Devils fans playing an impossible-to-win game of “Where’s Hall-though?” (which can only be described as a sick and twisted version of Where’s Waldo?), New Jersey had a number of excuses to turn to for such a poor season. The summer months, however, saw a number of reasons for optimism entering the 2019-20 campaign. Notable Players In:  P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds, John Hayden, Nikita Gusev, Jack Hughes Embed from GettyRead More →

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Taylor Hall. Nikita Kucherov. Nathan MacKinnon. These three are currently the front runners to win the Hart Trophy this season as the league MVP. But who will win it? Chace, Joe and Carl make their case for each. Taylor Hall (by Chace McCallum) The NHL’s Hart Trophy goes to the”player judged most valuable to his team“. This is an important caveat in Taylor Hall’s MVP case. He has fewer points per game than Nathan Mackinnon and Nikita Kucherov, his biggest opponents. This likely knocks Hall out of the most outstanding player debate, however in terms of value to their team, it’s Hall and it’s not close.Read More →

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Growing up in the Buffalo area exposes one to every opinion on tanking for the best draft odds. The local media shares contrasting views as the Sabres were in last place, for two consecutive years. As Buffalo is close to last in the NHL again, the debate is ongoing. The 2015 race for 30th achieved the desired result: a franchise center. Before you comment; yes, Jack Eichel is a franchise center despite the suckfest that is the Buffalo Sabres. Lacking significant improvement since then, certain media claims that tanking leads to a losing culture. Just look at Twitter and notice the heated discussions about theRead More →

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The Hart Trophy is awarded annually to the player best judged to have been his team’s Most Valuable Player during the regular season. Three players are nominated, one wins. This year’s nominees are Columbus’ Sergei Bobrovsky, Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. Three worthy candidates. But that’s just three of thirty. In this short series we’ll be looking at which players deserve to be named as their team’s MVP. Today we’re looking at the Metropolitan Division. Previously we looked at Pacific Hart Trophy Nominees and Atlantic Hart Trophy Nominees. Carolina Hurricanes: Sebastian Aho Embed from Getty Images In his first season with the Hurricanes, Aho scoredRead More →

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Fans in New Jersey were no doubt going crazy Saturday night. The New Jersey Devils have scored the first overall pick in 2017 Entry Draft. Names like Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier will on the lips of many. First of all, picking a player is the easy part of a draft. Most times we can predict who will go number one, though this doesn’t mean guaranteed success. Seems like for every Sidney Crosby there is a Patrik Stefan waiting to happen. Predicting young kids future is a difficult thing. Alexandre Daigle was predicted as a sure fire winner for Ottawa in 1993. Despite some glimmers ofRead More →

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2-1 winners last night over Washington, the New Jersey Devils are having a solid season- near the bottom! Since 2012 there has been little to cheer about in Newark. Currently 14th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 14-15-7, only a point separates the Devils from obscurity. Despite glimmers of hope this year, New Jersey seems unable to lift itself out this continual slump. The trade for Taylor Hall at first looked like a smart piece of business. So far it has paid off with Hall ranking second overall on the team points list with 23. However, Hall is one of the few occasionsRead More →