Todd Ewen. Photo from NHL.com

The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media. (And boy was there lots going on this week!) Enjoy!

• The NHL has mandated that all teams enhance security at games with walk-through metal detectors.  This change is supposedly brought on by recent shootings, such as the Parliament Hill shooting incident in Ottawa. [Globe and Mail] But as one BC newspaper points out, with violent crime in Canada on the decline, this move is probably aimed at American NHL teams [The Province]. I think the more interesting question here is which security firm got this NHL contract and how much is it worth?
• Sadly, the hockey family has lost another former enforcer to suicide. Todd Ewen was found dead with a self-inflicted gun shot wound to his head. He was 49 and had a history of depression. [TSN]
• With Todd Ewen’s passing, the larger question of hockey culture ( but really the silence surrounding it) comes back into the conversation. [The Hockey News] Also, Ewen’s brain has been requested for CTE research. [TSN]
• The NWHL is gearing up for their inaugural season. Read about the first day of practice with the Buffalo Beauts! [Watch This Hockey], and how the New York Riverters will be playing some exhibition games in Japan! [Today’s Slapshot]
• Great piece turning the microscope onto sports journalists with regard to women’s issues.  Gunnar Carlsson writes, “Instead of challenging the league to do better, journalists have been treating players, teams, and the league with kid gloves in their coverage, giving them the benefit of the doubt when, frankly, they haven’t deserved it.” [Pension Plan Puppets]
• Is hockey fighting a thing of the past? Maybe it’s on the decline but it is far from being a distant memory.  Former Ivy Leaguer (and apparently formidable Scrabble competitor), Tanner Glass, feels that fighting is necessary to keep “toughness and accountability” in the game. But as Michael Robidoux writes in his book, Stickhandling in the margins: First Nations hockey in Canada: “Toughness is a condition of existence, not a choice…” And, aren’t the refs supposed to hold players accountable? [CBC Sports]
• Good news for the CWHL, with the purchase of a streaming package from Sportsnet, 32 of the league’s games will be available for streaming this season. [Huffington Post]
• The Players Tribune has started a new series called the Mailbag, where athletes answer questions directly sent from readers. Check out what Paul Bissonette, former Coyotes enforcer,  had to say about BizNasty days [Players Tribune]
• You didn’t think we would go a week without Patrick Kane articles did you? Just in case you missed the big news that dropped about the case this week, [Puck Daddy] will get you caught up, and last night the lawyer defending the accuser abruptly quit the case [CBC]. Also there’s some excellent commentary going on (from female bloggers especially) surrounding the ongoing “debacle”. Here’s one from [Stanley Cup of Chowder] about the lack of support for female fans from the media.  Here’s one from [Anaheim Calling] discussing the handling of the Kane case through the eyes of a sexual assault survivor.  Here’s [Habs Eyes on the Prize] reminding the Blackhawks that their actions are letting down the HUGE female fan base. And, here’s a personal fan reflection from [Puckology].
• Twenty-three years ago Manon Rheaume made history. Does that number make anyone else feel old? [Huffington Post]
• Recently, the Montreal Canadiens participated in a charity game supporting the Jewish National Fund.  This was possibly an inflammatory/questionable move, as is raised by [Independent Jewish Voices] but it is our job to bring about these reflections for open discussion and critique.  As the tag line for Dave Zirin’s podcast claims – where sports and politics collide!