What is the purpose of a fourth line in the NHL?
A fourth line might get around ten minutes of ice time per game at even-strength, giving them a limited window in which they can impact the game.
Some teams want their fourth line to be an energy line — a group of forwards with size and speed that get in on the forecheck, throw hits, and grind along the boards. Skill is a secondary concern; any scoring is a bonus.
Other teams want their fourth line to be a low-event line. They’re looking for safe and reliable two-way forwards that a coach can put on the ice and trust that nothing bad will happen while he rests his other forwards — but it’s entirely likely that nothing good will happen either.
To go with these two styles, fourth-liners are often penalty killers, providing some added value to what they bring at 5-on-5. Other fourth-liners might add some value by dropping the gloves when it’s deemed necessary and/or being the proverbial “good in the room” guy who keeps spirits high with their gregarious personality.
But maybe a fourth line, perhaps, can be a little bit more.
Seven forwards could battle for top-six spot
There are certain elements of the Canucks’ forward lines for the 2024-25 season that are pretty much set.
J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and new signing Jake DeBrusk will be in the top-six. It seems safe to assume that Dakota Joshua and Conor Garland will be reunited on a heavily-used third line, likely with Teddy Blueger at centre.
That leaves two spots to fill in the top-six and three spots on the fourth line. What’s intriguing is that any of the remaining seven forwards likely to fill out the roster could, in theory, step into the Canucks’ top-six.
Let’s start with the two least likely candidates, who might not even be in the lineup on opening night: Phil Di Giuseppe and Vasily Podkolzin. At last season’s training camp, who started the season on the wing with Miller and Boeser? None other than Podkolzin. And who broke camp on their wing for the start of the season? It was Di Giuseppe.
It’s to the Canucks’ credit that neither Podkolzin nor Di Giuseppe is being seriously considered for that role heading into next year’s training camp thanks to the signings they made in free agency.
The Canucks certainly might hope that Podkolzin, the team’s tenth-overall pick from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, would take the next step to become a top-six forward. As it is, Podkolzin has yet to fully prove that he even belongs in the NHL.
But the Canucks have five other options for the top-six and whoever’s left over could give the Canucks an intriguing fourth line.
"You've got a bunch of guys that can play up and down the lineup"
The five remaining players are Pius Suter, Nils Höglander, Danton Heinen, Kiefer Sherwood, and their newest signing, Daniel Sprong.
Of those five, Suter is the least likely to land in the top-six. That’s not based on merit, as Suter was arguably Miller and Boeser’s best linemate last season and ended up on their line for pretty much their entire playoff run. Suter’s subtle off-puck play made that line a puck-possession powerhouse, even if his finish sometimes left something to be desired.
Next season, Suter’s likely to land on the fourth line simply because the Canucks will need him at centre. The Canucks have enough wingers that they won’t need Suter on the wing and the next best centre on the depth chart is Nils Åman.
Höglander ended the season on a line with Elias Pettersson and has a good chance of starting the season with Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk but that’s far from set in stone. He’ll be in a battle with the Canucks’ free-agent signings to stay in the top-six.
Heinen and Sherwood both bring a strong two-way game with a little bit of scoring punch that could make them complementary wingers in the top-six. They’re both players that could play multiple different roles next season.
“The other guys have that intelligence and pace to be interchangeable,” said Rick Tocchet in an interview with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. “Can they go play on the first or second line, and some other guys will have to play in a third-line checking role, or a fourth-line identity role. So you’ve got a bunch of guys that can play up and down the lineup, which is pretty nice to have as a coach.”
In Tocchet’s interview with Drance, he name-dropped four wingers who might be the “north-south guy that’s fast as hell” who can play with Miller and Boeser: DeBrusk, Heinen, Sherwood, and Höglander.
That’s some significant competition for that spot but then there’s also Sprong, who could compete in a less match-up-heavy top-six role alongside Pettersson.
That kind of internal competition gives Tocchet plenty of options for the top-six but it also could give the Canucks a unique fourth line that could provide a lot more scoring punch than a typical fourth line.
Canucks' scoring wingers could lead to offence-first fourth line
Let’s assume, for the moment, that Heinen plays with Miller and Boeser on one top-six line, while Höglander plays with Pettersson and DeBrusk on the other top-six line. That seems like a decent starting point for how the Canucks might line up at training camp.
With the Good Job Boys on the third line, that leaves a fourth line of Sherwood, Suter, and Sprong.
That fourth line has some immediate appeal. Sherwood is a tenacious forechecker willing to hit anything that moves; Sprong is an opportunistic scorer who is quick to capitalize on turnovers; and Suter is the smart safety valve with an excellent two-way game who can support both wingers.
More importantly, all three can score.
Suter has consistently scored at least 14 goals in every season of his career but the more intriguing scorers are Sherwood and Sprong, who have both proven that they can put up points in limited minutes.
446 forwards played at least 250 minutes at 5-on-5 last season. Sherwood’s 2.02 points per 60 minutes of ice time at 5-on-5 was good for 100th among that group, sneaking into the top quarter.
Sprong put up 2.36 points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 — 38th among NHL forwards.
In other words, both Sherwood and Sprong scored at a top-six rate while playing in a fourth-line role.
But what if Sherwood wins the spot alongside Miller and Boeser? What if Sprong proves the doubters wrong and earns a spot with Pettersson and DeBrusk?
Well, that just means that Heinen and Höglander will play on the fourth line instead, two other players who have proven they can produce in limited minutes.
Heinen scored at about the same rate as Sherwood last season: 2.00 points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, 103rd among NHL forwards. Höglander, meanwhile, put up nearly identical numbers to Sprong, scoring 2.37 points per 60 minutes, good for 33rd among NHL forwards.
More than that, Höglander was third in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, just behind Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. It was his scoring from the fourth line that forced his way further up the lineup last season.
There are other options too: Heinen and Sherwood could both land in the top-six, leaving Höglander and Sprong for the fourth line, or vice versa.
All that is to say, whichever way the Canucks arrange their wingers between the top-six and fourth line, they’re going to end up with a fourth line that can produce points in limited minutes.
Canucks' fourth line could feast on easier match-ups
It’s not just that the Canucks could have a scoring fourth line — they could have the most dangerous fourth line in the NHL.
If Höglander and Sprong both end up on the fourth line, they’ll have a 24-goal scorer and a 40+ point scorer at the bottom of their lineup. More importantly, both players have proven that they can produce in that role, not necessarily needing a top-six role to score goals and put up points.
That’s a line that is likely to play against opposing teams’ bottom pairings on defence and opposing fourth lines and could absolutely devour those match-ups.
If it’s Heinen and Sherwood on the fourth line instead, they’re still capable of providing scoring while playing a more responsible, smart, and aggressive two-way game. Again, that’s a fourth line that could destroy weaker match-ups.
Of course, the Canucks won’t have just one fourth line. It’s likely that Tocchet will rotate wingers based on who’s clicking with Miller and Pettersson at any given time. Depending on injuries and performance, Podkolzin and Di Giuseppe are likely to rotate into the lineup on the fourth line as well.
Coverage for injuries is an important consideration as well, as having offensively-capable wingers on the fourth line who can play further up the lineup when needed is something the Canucks were lacking last season.
When everyone is healthy, however, the winger depth added by general manager Patrik Allvin could give the Canucks a fourth line that can truly be a difference-maker, providing the kind of opportunistic depth scoring that could make the Canucks a nightmarish opponent.
Next season, it won’t be enough to gameplan against Miller and Boeser, because Pettersson and DeBrusk will be hitting the ice right after them. Maybe a strong defensive team can shut down both the Miller and Pettersson lines but the Good Job Boys can put up points too.
But even if an opponent manages to shut down all three of those lines, the Canucks could still get game-winning goals from the fourth line next season rather than just an energy or low-event shift.
