In some ways, the 2013 campaign was a banner season for Sam Gagner. With 14 goals, 24 assists and 38 points in 48 games, Gagner was on pace to set career highs in every offensive category. He also led all Oilers forwards in both total minutes played and minutes player per game; last season Gagner wasn’t even in the top-six in terms of minutes per game. Read more at the Cult of Hockey.

Craig Button, the one-time general manager of the Calgary Flames, does not believe Ales Hemsky has much in the way of trade value. Barely any trade value at all, in point of fact. Read more at Oilers Nation.

Yesterday, we considered former NHL general manager Craig Button’s point of view on Ales Hemsky – that his trade value is so low that even at a steep discount the Oilers might not get a second round draft pick. While that’s a debatable viewpoint, the truth is that Hemsky is not likely to yield a grand return. With his trade value low, does it even make sense to trade him at this point? Read more at Oilers Nation.

A little over one year ago, we attempted to construct a five-year plan for the Edmonton Oilers. At the time, we noted the limitations of such a plan – prospects are hard to project forward, NHL rosters have a lot of turnover, and the unpredictable happens. It’s still an interesting exercise. Read more at the Cult of Hockey.

It’s no secret that an ever-increasing percentage of NHL goaltenders come from Europe. Less known is the fact that the new collective bargaining agreement gives teams substantially more flexibility when it comes to drafting goaltenders developed in Europe than in North America. Read more at Oilers Nation. 

Tyler Bunz is living proof that goaltenders are difficult to predict. Read more at the Cult of Hockey.

The San Jose Sharks generally don’t get enough credit for it, but they are one of the better organizations in the NHL. Their response to the NHL’s suspension of Raffi Torres is a small example of the team getting things right. Read more at the Cult of Hockey.

Under head coach Todd Nelson, the Oklahoma City Barons have been a consistently competitive club in the American Hockey League. However, many of the Edmonton Oilers’ young prospects have struggled to make the jump to the professional level. Is Nelson finding the right balance between winning and developing players? Read more at Oilers Nation.

Less than a year away from the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics, there is no clear consensus choice for the role of starter for Canada’s Olympic team. The incumbent starter has been reduced to the backup role on his own team, the man he supplanted is in the twilight years of a legendary career, and the young third-stringer with a Stanley Cup ring has imploded in the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. So what happens now? Read more at the Cult of Hockey.

When Patrick Thoresen last played in the NHL, he was a role player in the bottom-six for both the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. Despite decent scoring numbers at other levels, he struggled to put the puck in the net in the majors and ultimately ended up returning to Europe. Now, he’s a major star in the world’s second-best hockey league and he’s earning significant dollars to play there, but the challenge of playing in the NHL still appeals to him. Read more at the Cult of Hockey.