The Death of the Fourth Line ?
The Day and Time have come when Hockey Minds should start to think outside the box….
There were alot of improvements last year in the game…
Although I think we can all agree that we lost some aspects that should be returned…
With sour notes such as the minimal amount HEAVY CHECKING… and the lack of WARS in front of the net battling for position between the forward and the defender… and of course the nonexistance of FIGHTING….
In this day of watered down talent… 30 Teams with Four Lines isn’t it time the GM’s rethink the use of the Fourth Line Players…?
I would rather see the Fourth Set of Players turn into a Specialty set of players…. instead of a Line that would get a regular shift..
This could include a defenceman for the powerplay who is enept in his defensive duties but has a great offensive upside… or a forward for the same offensive punch…
Also a strict penalty killer with no offensive flare what-so-ever…
A Fighter for protection purposes….
and or a skilled rookie who lacks the two way game to play the full game so that you can interchange as the game goes along to gain experience and groom him to be that offensive talent…
Especially with the heavy way special teams are required in the modern era… I think the 4th line is a waste… and the game is already disjointed without trying to reorganize all your lines…
That Fourth Line only takes away playing time from the talented players… and further degrades the talent pool…
I believe that a switch to the NFL football specialty teams mentality could payoff big with the fourth set of players…
Personally I hate Jason Allison as a player (too slow and offensive minded with no care for his defensive responsibilities), but he could hold up the puck and coming off the bench to help your powerplay would make sense…
or even a Suglobov type of player for that matter…
How about a discounted aging veteran such as a Brian Leetch stepping off the bench to quaterback your power play…
or a Shayne Corson or Carboneau in their day sliding in to kill your penalties…
A Tough Guy such as Bob Probert to step in and dole out some punishment… for abusers of your star player would make sense…
I believe it is time to step outside the box…. and improve the game with skill and toughness and get rid of a fourth line that just helps to deteriate the level of play in this great game…
I think it is Time for the NHL to introduce a new PARADIGM to our game.
So what I ask you is…. Should the Fourth Line Die as we know it or should it be pardoned from extinction..?