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Henrik Lundqvist is entering his 14th season in the NHL , having spent his entire career with the New York Rangers. And although the team is in a rebuilding mode for a future run at their first Stanley Cup title since 1994, the 36-year-old goalie wants to stick around and be a part of that process.

“People talk about rebuild and nobody knows how long of a project that is,” Lundqvist said at the Rangers’ practice facility in Greenburgh, New York. “There’s no other place I want to be. I feel great, excited to be back here and just see how far we can take this forward this year.”

The Rangers are in their current state after dealing several stars in a youth movement at the trade deadline last winter and then finishing 20 points out of a playoff spot while missing the postseason for the first time in eight years. Hours after their last game in April, coach Alain Vigneualt was fired and replaced weeks later by David Quinn, who made the jump from Boston University to the NHL.

Lundqvist said he got a “really good impression” of the new coach when Quinn traveled to Sweden during the summer to meet with the veteran goalie and forwards Mika Zibanejad and Jesper Fast. However, Lundqvist is eager to see how Quinn is during the season.

“It’s one thing to sit down in July and discuss, and another to discuss under pressure,” Lundqvist said. “I’m curious to see how things are going to feel in here. I think every time you have a new coach, you’re going to have a different feel in the room. Just the way they coach and the way they speak to the group. You always learn something.”

Quinn is fine with that.

The coach said he knew all along that Lundqvist wanted to be a part of the Rangers’ new direction.

“Just the shape he’s in tells you that he’s all in,” Quinn said. “I had a pretty good idea of where he was once I took the job, it was always part of the conversations. So I had a good idea he was all in and wanted to stay and wanted to finish his career here and be part of the next wave of success.”

Lundqvist is coming off a season in which he went 26-26-7 with a 2.98 goals-against average — the highest of his career. It was also just the second time he finished with fewer than 30 wins; the other was the lockout-shortened 2012-13, when he was 24-16-3.

His offseason training last year was delayed when he injured his knee playing for Sweden in the world championships. This year , he had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right knee after the season, took a few weeks off and then began his summer routine.

“It’s back to where it needs to be,” he said. “I feel great. Right now, there’s nothing really bothering me. I can go 100 percent.”

Happy that training camp has started, Lundqvist is looking forward to seeing how the team shapes up.

“Camp is always fun,” he said. “It’s always the same feeling. You’re anxious to get going, a little nervous, excited. It feels really good to be here.”

The Rangers still have plenty of talent on the roster, led by forwards Mats Zuccarello, Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider and Zibanejad, and defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei and Marc Staal.

With Quinn’s desire to implement a “fast and physical” style of play that is different from what the team is used to, Lundqvist knows the early part of camp will be important for players to “pay attention to a lot of the new details and how we want to play the game.”

However , he didn’t want to make any predictions for the season.

“I don’t think we should look too far (ahead),” Lundqvist said. “We should look to get a good camp, get a good start and build off that and let’s see how far that takes us. That’s going to tell us how we’ll to stack up against other teams.”

The Rangers begin preseason play Monday night at New Jersey, and Quinn said how much action Lundqvist will see in the exhibition games will be determined on a day-to-day basis.

Alexandar Georgiev, who went 4-4-1 with a 3.15 GAA in 10 games down the stretch last season, and Marek Mazanec, signed after compiling a 8-13-4 mark with a 2.98 GAA in 31 career games for the Nashville Predators, are also in camp. Quinn said he is open to having the goalies split games in the preseason.

The Rangers open the season at home against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 4.
The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t take an inside linebacker in the NFL draft.

That doesn’t mean they didn’t want one.

It simply means when it came time to pick, they looked at their internal draft board, they looked at the players available in a position where there – at least on the surface – appears to be a serious depth issue and decided they didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

”We’re not going to reach,” general manager Kevin Colbert said.

So the perennial AFC power didn’t. Whenever the Steelers found themselves on the clock, coach Mike Tomlin would urge Colbert to ”respect the board.”

Translation: pick the players we think are the best, not necessarily the ones that check off a box just to do it.

The result? Seven selections that focused on versatility not availability.

First-round pick Terrell Edmunds did a little bit of everything in the defensive backfield for Virginia Tech. Tomlin believes wide receiver James Washington – taken in the second round – can line up anywhere on the field.

Third-round pick Chukwuma Okorafor is considered a swing tackle who could thrive under Hall of Fame line coach Mike Munchak.

Safety Marcus Allen was a proven sure tackler during his time at Penn State. Fullback Jaylen Samuels could be a tailback, a fullback , a tight end or even a slot receiver depending on what’s required. Seventh-round pick Joshua Frazier was part of the defensive line rotation at Alabama who could press for a roster spot.

”We believe these guys can not only help us in the future but they’re capable of helping us this year if they earn it,” Tomlin said. ”These guys will be given an opportunity to carve out roles for themselves this year and if they do and it’s significant, great.”

HEIR APPARENT? Colbert pointed out the Steelers aren’t old at any position other than perhaps quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger turned 36 last month but has been telling teammates he could play several more seasons.

That’s fine by the Steelers. It also, however, didn’t stop them trading up to make sure they landed Oklahoma State star Mason Rudolph in the third round, just 16 picks after they drafted Washington, his college teammate.

”We valued (Rudolph) as much as the rest of the quarterbacks that were drafted (in the first round),” Colbert said.

A sentiment that could be telling about Pittsburgh’s intentions with the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Rudolph, the first quarterback drafted before the fourth round by Pittsburgh since the Steelers took Roethlisberger 11th overall 14 years ago.

The five quarterbacks taken in the first round are all projected as future starters. Read between the lines and the Steelers perhaps feel the same about Rudolph.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Washington, who won the Biletnikoff Award as the top receiver in the FBS last season, reminded Tomlin of JuJu Smith-Schuster, whom the Steelers took in the second round last season. All Smith-Schuster did was lead all rookies in touchdown receptions in 2017 with seven while also developing a reputation as a big-time blocker.

”He’s probably not the fastest but he’s as good a deep receiver that played college football this year,” Colbert said of Washington. ”We think James can play outside and we think he can play inside and he may even have a chance to work as a return guy.”

SAFETY DANCE: The previous time the Steelers took a safety in the first round , they used the 16th overall pick in 2003 to draft Troy Polamalu. It’s heady territory for Edmunds, though Pittsburgh didn’t hesitate in part because of the many different roles Edmunds filled in for Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s scheme with the Hokies. Free safety. Strong safety. Linebacker. Edmunds can do a little bit of everything.

Allen wasn’t required to do quite as much with the Nittany Lions but both safeties head to the NFL with solid reputations as guys who can wrap up and not let go, a valuable commodity these days.

”To be able to add some guys that not only play the safety position but are physical tacklers … I think it’s been a good weekend for us from that perspective,” Tomlin said.

WHAT’S INSIDE: Ryan Shazier created the indelible moment of the draft when he walked to the podium in Texas to announce Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, his first public steps since injuring his spine in a game against Cincinnati in December. The Pro Bowler has already been ruled out for the 2018 season. Still, Pittsburgh didn’t use the draft to search for Shazier’s possible replacement.

Maybe that’s because they already like what they have in Jon Bostic, who signed as a free agent in March. Bostic started 14 games for Indianapolis in 2017 and given his productivity and former seventh-round pick Tyler Matakevich’s potential, they didn’t feel a sense of urgency to find a marquee name.

STILL NEED: Regardless of Colbert’s spin, inside linebacker remains a bit of a question mark. The Steelers have bodies but not much proven talent beyond Bostic and Vince Williams. Running back is still a bit of a question mark considering Le’Veon Bell’s uncertain future. He could be gone after next season if the team can’t sign him to a long-term deal and Stevan Ridley and James Conner are the two options behind him on the depth chart.

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