NHL fans don't want to miss out on some of the fascinating moments from the start of the pre-season, including kangaroos, helmet designs, a tennis crossover and a number retirement.
Jonathan QuickThe nights at the cottages are over, the endless music festivals have come to an end, and players are finally reporting back to their teams. Let's take at what players have been up to on and off the ice as they get ready for the 2023-24 NHL regular season:
The NHL's Trip Down Under Was a Success
Safe to say, the NHL's first trip to Australia was one of the coolest ventures the league has embarked on.
Los Angeles and Arizona's trip to Melbourne, Australia, to kick off the pre-season saw the teams split the two-game set with sellout crowds at Rod Laver Arena. It may have been about growing the game, but the pre-season series also gave us funny content of players exploring Australia, including Sean Durzi's disdain for kangaroos, much to the delight of his Coyotes teammates for joke purposes.
You've probably watched it by now, but if you haven't, the Global Series also already gave us a contender for goal of the year, thanks to one of the Coyotes' first-round picks and a name you'll hear in the race for the Calder Trophy, Logan Cooley.
If there are more goals like these in his season, Arizona fans should be smiling as they look at a very bright future in the desert.
A 10 Out of 10 Start for the Flames
This is not a typo. The Calgary Flames actually kicked off their pre-season on Sunday night with a 10-0 victory.
Seven different Flames put their names in the goal column, with 2021 first-round pick Matt Coronoto leading the way with a hat trick. Jonathan Huberdeau added two on a night that saw a veteran-heavy Calgary roster send the fans into chants of "We want 10" at the Saddledome.
Sunday's match may have been Calgary's best exhibition payback against the Canucks, whose rookie squad walloped the Flames 7-1 in Penticton, B.C.
No one expects a team to win by 10 when the puck drops, but a victory of this margin to start a year might be one of the rarest results you'll see in the sport.
Jonathan Quick's New Mask Design Process Was a Family Affair
Over Jonathan Quick's long NHL career, he's had some of the coolest masks in the game, and that hasn't changed with him now as a member of the New York Rangers.
Quick's mask had some family touch as his son helped with the backplate of the mask. He wanted his dad's mask to pay homage to the team's longtime goal song, Slapshot.
A cool bit of family collaboration gave Quick a mask that will always be one of a kind.
Elias Pettersson Grabs a Racquet
Elias Pettersson made his return to Rogers Arena this week, but before doing so for a game, he stopped by the Laver Cup to chop it up with some of the biggest names in tennis from around the world.
Pettersson dropped by to hang out with legend Roger Federer and current players, including Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton. Pettersson even had a mini rally with Tiafoe, but the Canucks would probably prefer he stick to the sport that has him skating on ice instead of returning serves.
Nathan MacKinnon's No. 22 Goes Into the Rafters in Halifax
Nathan MacKinnon's NHL career still has more chapters to be written, but last Friday saw him commemorate a crucial part of his hockey life.
Before the Colorado Avalanche kicked off their pre-season on Sunday, MacKinnon was in Nova Scotia as the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads paid full tribute to his time with them. The franchise retired his jersey No. 22, which he wore when leading the Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup title in 2013.
With MacKinnon's NHL career trajectory, it's nearly safe to assume the club in Denver will one day hold a similar ceremony for him.