UFC 306 about more than MMA when it takes place at Sphere

UFC President Dana White was in the audience soon after U2 began its highly celebrated run at the Sphere last fall, taking in all that one of the world’s most unique venues has to offer.

Training camps are just around the corner, and as players hit the ice in preparation for another season there are plenty of storylines to watch and questions to be answered.

While many of these questions won’t truly be resolved until the 2024-25 season is well underway, the next few weeks deliver our first glimpses of what we might expect from the year ahead.

Look around the heavyweight Atlantic Division, and there are blue lines being renovated and rebuilt, job openings to be filled, and some questions in the crease and behind the bench, too.

Let’s dig in.

(Teams are listed in order of last year’s standings.)

Florida Panthers: Who’s suiting up on the second pair?

After hoisting the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history, the Panthers took a bit of a hit in the off-season as the cap crunch came calling. While the roster remains largely intact up front, the departures of Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson open up an interesting opportunity for some new faces to step in and make an impact. The first pairing of Aaron Ekblad and Gustav Forsling remains, but who comes after?

Adam Boqvist is a popular pick to be GM Bill Zito’s latest reclamation project after being bought out in Columbus and signing a show-me deal with the champs, while Niko Mikkola could take another step forward after playing a supporting role in the club’s Cup run last year. Nate Schmidt is a Panther now, too. It’ll be particularly hard to replace the offensive contributions Montour brought from the back end — remember how clutch he was in the playoffs? — but someone’s going to step in and try. Camp will give us our first look at who that might be.

Boston Bruins: How does the Swayman standoff end?

For the second straight year, Jeremy Swayman is owed a new deal. And for the second straight year, it hasn’t been an easy process to sign on the dotted line. The departure of Linus Ullmark in June declared Swayman the de facto No. 1, but what does it mean to be paid like one? As solid as the 25-year-old netminder has been for the Bruins over the past three seasons since joining Boston’s regular rotation, he’s only once started more than 40 games as the team mastered the tandem approach.

Last season saw Swayman take on his heaviest workload, starting 43 contests and posting strong numbers including a 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. Maybe the larger question should be how exactly the Bruins plan to deploy him this year. The return for Ullmark included Joonas Korpisalo, who’s coming off a down year with Ottawa and could benefit from a tandem approach to regain form.

Toronto Maple Leafs: How does Craig Berube shape the Maple Leafs’ culture?

The Maple Leafs enter the 2024-25 season with more than a few pressing questions up and down the roster. In the blue paint, the No. 1 job belongs to Joseph Woll now, but can he stay healthy enough to seize the opportunity and run with it? Then there’s the blue line in front of him, which features an influx of big veterans long coveted by GM Brad Treliving, and top-six job openings at left wing with a list of applicants that features Matthew Knies, Nick Robertson, and PTO signee Max Pacioretty. All eyes will be on Mitch Marner, who spent part of the summer skating alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon as he pre