The Weekly Links post highlights important or interesting writing from the hockey blogosphere and media.

• The Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2017 Stanley Cup champions. A reported 650,000 people turned up to the parade in downtown Pittsburgh.

• While NBA champions the Golden State Warriors appear set to boycott a White House visit, the Penguins intend to attend the ceremony as Stanley Cup champions. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
• With more Canadian teams in the playoffs, Rogers saw improved ratings in Canada for the 2017 playoffs. [Globe and Mail]
• NBC, whose controversial commentator Mike Milbury drew the ire of Predators fans during the Stanley Cup Finals, attempted to pay off fans with merchandise to turn over anti-NBC signs they had created. [Puck Daddy]
• It looks as though the CWHL will begin playing its players next season, which would be a massive step toward legitimizing professional women’s hockey:

• Finnish star Noora Raty is joining the CWHL’s newest team, Kunlun Red Star. Although she will not be paid to play, she will be paid to be a hockey “ambassador” in China, which is attempting to boost its women’s program to new heights before the Beijing 2022 Olympics. [Sportsnet]
• Jared Clinton analyzes the CWHL’s surprising expansion into China. [The Hockey News]
• Legendary player Hayley Wickenheiser offers her thoughts on the state of women’s hockey. [Saskatoon StarPhoenix]
• The Canadian Women’s National Team is preparing for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics with a “boot camp” in Fredericton, NB. [The Star]
• Brian Burke threatened that the Calgary Flames would relocate if the city does not pony up for a new arena. Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi shot back quickly to make his opposition to such a move very clear. [Sportsnet]
• Goaltender Scott Darling, who was recently traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Carolina Hurricanes, reflects on his long journey through the minor leagues to the NHL and, more significantly, his battle with alcoholism. [The Players’ Tribune]
• A new survey indicates that the median age of NHL fans is 49. Dave Lozo critiques the NHL’s resistance to change and the implications of this aging fan demographic. [VICE Sports]
• Timothy Chan, an Industrial Engineering professor at University of Toronto, has developed a program to suggest the optimal expansion draft for the Vegas Golden Knights. [UofT News]