With the calendar about to turn to October, football is in full swing, the MLB postseason is coming, and not to be left out, the NHL season is upon us! As a diehard fan of the sport, I am overjoyed hearing skates scratching along the ice and bench doors slam shut (I lowkey love the sounds of hockey), with players back on the ice in camp. There has been a lot of interesting headlines coming out of the preseason, so we have a bunch to get to. I’ll have full season previews for Rangers and the league as a whole coming out before opening night on October 8th, but I wanted to get us going here with a sampling of the sports in our trusty series, Around the Rink! Let’s hit the ice boys!

First Period

Mack takes the Tank by Storm: Our first story of the season takes us to the SAP Center, home of the Sharks, better known as “the Shark tank.” Now last season was a nightmare for the team in teal, but hopefully better days are ahead. Any shot at those better day’s rests on the shoulders of new franchise cornerstone Macklin Celebrini, living up to the hype that comes with being the first overall pick in the draft. The former BU Terrier hit the ground running for the Sharks with his “unofficial” first NHL goal in their preseason contest with the Knights last week on the wicked one-timer you see above. Hopefully we see more and more of this in season for the youngster, and maybe the Sharks will just a bit more watchable.

Second Period

Counting Boston Beans and Big Apples: Our second story takes us to Boston and New York, which by this piece’s nature goes against my preferred style as I try to leave my Rangers out of Around the Rink. But in the case of contract negotiations, we just can’t ignore the rumblings around Jeremy Swayman and Igor Shesterkin, who looking to break the bank this year in the extension department. Swayman is looking to secure an eight-year deal that would challenge Carey Price’s record setting 10.5 million per year deal with the Bruins, who continuing talks with him as camp goes on towards the season. If Swayman is looking to get close to Price’s number, Shesterkin is looking to blow right through it, as he in talks to sign for close to twelve million a year with the Rangers for six to seven years. Spending over ten million dollars on a goalie has made many people shudder in the past, but it’s hard to argue with locking these two down, given their age and talent level. It will be interesting if both get done by opening night, as both goalies are looking to avoid a negotiation in season.

Third Period

Crazy About the Hockey Club: That’s what they are in Utah as their new franchise debuted at the Delta Center in front of a packed house. The fresh black uni’s look great on the ice, and the former Coyotes players all look a hell of a lot better on the ice in Utah. Clayton Keller and company entertained the masses in style with a couple of sweet goals, including the OT winner below and a great fight for Liam O’Brien. The buzz is real and if this team can start hot, the Delta Center seems like it could become a tough place play as a road team. We’ll find out on October eighth in their opener against the Blackhawks, which should make for a wild scene!

Overtime

A Tough Yet Class Act: Our final story this week takes us to Philadelphia, where John Tortorella makes for a double feature of topics at training camp. First up is Torts famous “rope test” that kicks off training camp every year for his team, as he likes to find out how mentally tough they are, while also being in game shape. The test is honestly quite simple, as a rope is tied to two nets on either end of the ice, starting out close together and then eventually widening to the point that nets are at complete opposite ends and the players have to keep going around them to test their endurance. It’s an interesting process that has gone on for years in his camps, and the video above explains the method to the madness for Torts.

Our second of two stories from Flyers camp revolves around Tortorella showing his much less publicized human side. If you aren’t already familiar with the tragedy that struck the Gaudreau family this past summer, take a second to read up on how the hockey world lost the great Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matt. Their family has been hit hard by the events to say the least, and in an effort to help their father Guy Gaudreau in this difficult time, Torts invited him to Flyers practice. Guy accepted the invite and spent time with the team on and off the ice and the game clearly helped to lift his spirits and it sounds like he will be making return visits to the Flyers facility. A lovely gesture that hopefully brings some relief, however small it may be, just further demonstrates the power of the togetherness that sports creates.

You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!