Best of the Nation – 11.18.12

After the jump, some of the best general interest articles from the Nation Network this week. Topics include (but are not limited to, he said in a lawyerly, small print voice): Justin Schultz, whether older players get worse over the course of a long season (don’t break a hip, Ryan), the best bargains in the NHL, Hall of Fame inductees Pavel Bure and Barrie Stafford, the best and worst in jerseys, a player who isn’t happy with his NHL ’13 rating, and of course the lockout.

Justin Schultz: Sensational and sensationalized. Reflecting on what the absence of Justin Schultz might mean for the Vancouver Canucks, and pointing out that – despite what the headlines said – his comments the other day were pretty reasonable. [Canucks Army]

Do older players break down over long season? The point production of older players, month-by-month, over an 82-game season is surprisingly consistent. So… Ryan Smyth needs to start doing whatever it is that Jaromir Jagr does. [NHL Numbers]

First to worst Calgary Flames jerseys. Hockey by Design’s John van der Woude stops by Flames Nation to rank the best and worst Calgary jerseys by aesthetic merit. Don’t worry Oilers fans – he’ll be doing a similar piece on Oilers Nation soon enough. [Flames Nation]

Using goal differential to predict the future. How much does a team’s goal differential (i.e. plus/minus) change from season-to-season? What does that mean for the Edmonton Oilers’ rebuild? [NHL Numbers]

NHL and NHLPA: Out of touch. It’s getting awfully difficult to feel much sympathy for either side in the current NHL labour dispute. [Oilers Nation]

The one-percenters. Which player, signed to a contract that takes up less than one percent of his team’s salary cap space, provides the best return on the dollar? [NHL Numbers]

Are the Philadelphia Flyers leading the charge to end the lockout? Reportedly Flyers owner Ed Snider – who also has a significant interest in television stations that air NHL games – is hoping for a quick end to the lockout. [Oilers Nation]

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Lockout. A wholly remarkable book, by the wholly remarkable Graphic Comments. [Canucks Army]

Reference Library: Regression and variance. A collection of some of the blogosphere’s best work on a really important concept. [NHL Numbers]

Three Flames fans take out the lockout. I cAnton Lander be the only Ricard Persson pleasantly surprised by Theo Peckham production value of this Cal videO’Reilly. [Flames Nation]

The NHL and their big four. A former player talks about the impact on NHLPA constituents if the league gets its way. [Oilers Nation]

Setting lines in the sand for Mark Jankowski. The most interesting pick of the 2012 NHL Draft might have been the Flames selection of Mark Jankowski; how good does he need to be this season for Calgary to believe he can be an NHL scorer at some point? [Flames Nation]

Friends with numbers podcast: the pilot. The debut episode of a new podcast here at the Nation Network. [NHL Numbers]

Some recognition for Pavel Bure. Bure was officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last week, and he earned more than a little recognition on the Nations as a result. [Canucks Army/Oilers Nation/Canucks Army]

And some recognition for Barrie Stafford… With much less fanfare than the player inductees, long-time Edmonton Oilers equipment man Barrie Stafford entered the Hall of Fame too. [Oilers Nation]

And since we’re at it, Jari Kurri too. The Oilers Nation profiles series continues with one of the greats: Jari Kurri. [Oilers Nation]

Billy Sweatt doesn’t like his NHL ’13 rating. Though he acknowledges that they at least gave him credit as a decent skater. [Canucks Army]

Jumping to conclusions mat: NHL lockout edition. Everybody’s favourite fictional board game, is now out in a new flavor: NHL lockout. [Canucks Army]