Oil Spills: Saturday Links - Visiting Nashville

About the Oilers

Wisdom and the O-Zone - Lowetide -- OilersNation
Todd McLellan deployed his defensemen in an interesting way last night and it'll be interesting to see if we see any changes for the Nashville game. There were some surprises—Oscar Klefbom missed some TC games and it showed—but their usage was fascinating in game one. There are some things that look different and that we can follow.

McLellan slowing things down -- Oilers Website
Todd McLellan had a lot of success in San Jose as their head coach. He said yesterday that the Oilers are in their "infancy" compared to McLellan’s Sharks teams because he had seven years there. This is his first with the Oilers so there is a lot of teaching and installation of principles.

Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid finds relief, and new linemates, after NHL debut - Joanne Ireland -- Edmonton Journal
His linemates too had changed the day after the Oilers fell 3-1 to the St. Louis Blues. As the team readied itself for Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators, McDavid was skating between Benoit Pouliot and Lauri Korpikoski.

G1 2015-16 Bakersfield Condors v. Grand Rapids Griffins - Lowetide -- Lowetide.ca
The Condors play the first official game in their history today, as the AHL regular season gets underway. This is a very good group of players and it’ll be fun to watch their progress this season. I expect we’ll see a ton of callups to Edmonton (and demotions to match) and this blog will do its best to keep track of it all.

Around the NHL

Raffi Torres apologizes for another bad hit, but will he ever change? -- CBSSports.com
The biggest issue is what's going to happen when Torres returns to the Sharks lineup at the halfway point of the season. Will this be the wake-up call that forces him to change his ways? Or it will it only be a matter of when, and not if, he does something like this again to another unsuspecting opponent? If his history in the NHL is any indicator, it's probably more of the latter, and as of this moment his words on Thursday are empty until he actually does something to avoid putting himself in these situations.

NHL, union set escrow for first quarter of season at 16 per cent - Article -- TSN
With early revenue projections in place, the NHL and NHLPA set the escrow withholding rate for players at 16 per cent for the first quarter of the season on Thursday.

Remembering the short life of Scorch, failed hockey mascot -- Puck Daddy
Five days. Five whole days. That’s how long Scorch lasted on this Earth. From Scorch's immediate unveiling, it never stood a chance to last. The backlash began immediately and only multiplied once the dark history behind those big, googly eyes was learned.

As NWHL debuts, salaries aren't women's hockey players’ only reward -- Puck Daddy
There used to be limits to those hockey dreams for young women. They could play in college. They could play for the U.S. women’s national team. But while young men could envision a career in a few dozen pro leagues around the world, including the NHL, the next step for many women after college was rec leagues at best or, at worst, walking away from the game. The unique thing about the NWHL, in contrast with the Canadian Women’s Hockey League, is that young girls can now not only dream of playing at the next level but also get paid for it.

Kings Reach Settlement With Mike Richards -- Jewels From The Crown
Finally, more than three months after the termination of his contract, Mike Richards reached a settlement with the Los Angeles Kings.

Goalie options for the Sabres to combat Robin Lehner's injury -- Die By The Blade
The Sabres starter was injured in the team's first game of the season. Do you want them to bring in another goalie?