Oil Spills - Wednesday Links - Draisaitl and the Rockets Fall to Oshawa

About the Oilers

Was Luke Gazdic’s strong play late for the Edmonton Oilers real growth or mirage? - Jonathan Willis - Cult of Hockey
2014-15 Edmonton Oilers in Review: Luke Gazdic Luke Gazdic is one of the last members of a dying breed. Enforcers at the NHL level have been slowly leaving the league, as teams make the philosophical decision to move away from employing players with limited non-pugilistic skill.

Oesterle not satisfied after good first season - Edmonton Oilers
Although he played four games for the Oklahoma City Barons last season, even scoring his first professional goal and adding one playoff game under his belt as well, this year was his first full professional season. And it was a good one.

Reject All Signals! - Lowetide - OilersNation
Plenty of upset (rightly) among the Oilers fanbase this spring about having to give up draft picks to Boston and San Jose in exchange for hiring a previously fired manager and coach. The NHL works in mysterious ways, but there may be some light at the end of the tunnel.

Anton Slepyshev ‘wants to join’ the Edmonton Oilers - Jonathan Willis - Cult of Hockey
Peter Chiarelli didn’t have much time off between leaving the Boston Bruins and hiring on with the Edmonton Oilers, and he has a lot of items to get cleared away. One of the other niggling items he has to deal with is Anton Slepyshev, who apparently has that most valuable of commodities in a drafted player playing in Russia: He wants to come over to North America.

Off-Season Targets: Cody Franson - Alex Thomas - The Oilers Rig
Franson is young, only 27 years old, and is ready to find some stability this off-season. He is going to hit the market on July 1st, and will likely provide a team with solid play for years to come.

At the Memorial Cup

Oshawa vs. Kelowna 2015 final score: 2-1, Oshawa Advances to the Final - Pension Plan Puppets
The Generals were dominant through the first two periods before letting Kelowna back in the game in the third.

Leon Impresses - Matt Henderson - OilersNation
Leon Draisaitl is a man among boys at the Memorial Cup, by my humble estimation. I believe him to be the best player at this tournament and at the moment it isn't particularly close.

By The Numbers: Rimouski Oceanic vs Kelowna Rockets – May 25, 2015 - Todd Cordell
More about Leon Draisaitl at the Memorial Cup. And once again it's good.

Around the NHL

Dubnyk and Wild to start talking contract this week - Hockey Wilderness
According to Elliot Friedman, the Wild and Devan Dubnyk will start talking about re-signing the 29-year old goaltender.

Advanced stats are killing the romance of hockey - Wyatt Arndt
The sporting world, much like the comic world, can be incredibly barbaric towards its own kind for some reason. If you aren’t constantly proving you have enough knowledge to "belong" to the club, then you risk alienation in some parts. This is what can often times lead people towards filling in the blanks and talking on certain subjects with an authority they probably shouldn’t.

The Big Gainers - Part 1: Chicago Blackhawks Kent Wilson - FlamesNation
To be true contenders, the Flames need to become a positive possession team, preferably north of 52%. That's the threshold annual favourites tend to meet or exceed every season. But is it possible to improve a club's underlying numbers so drastically in such a short period of time?

The Big Gainers: Part 2 - New York Islanders - Kent Wilson - FlamesNation
The New York Islanders might be in the middle of a similar transformation, depending on how they do next year. A below average possession club in 2013-14, Islanders GM Garth Snow transformed them into the third best corsi club in the entire league this year with a flurry of off-season activity. If NYI can take another step forward next year, they'll enter elite territory.

On the Road

Bikes vs. cars: Should cyclists be allowed to ride through stop signs? - Toronto Star
Some cyclists don’t stop for stop signs if the intersection ahead is clear. The practice is associated with the state of Idaho, where it is legal.