All of that brings us to the week that was in the bottomless septic tank of sports betting, which leagues and gambling devotees generally prefer to label, or whitewash, as “fan engagement” or “added entertainment.”

Well, golly, are we being entertained, sports fans?

On Thursday, not even 24 hours after the NHL heralded that it set an industry precedent by plunging into a broader form of betting known as predictive market platforms, the NBA was rocked by its betting scandal. Some details of the NBA’s tempest read as if torn from a “Sopranos” script, including the comic relief that had one FBI official referencing the “Toronto Rangers” amid the charges. Man, such conflation … next, the Oklahoma City Mammoth?

Per the FBI, the fingerprints of organized crime are smudged all over its NBA case, which entailed 30–plus indictments at last count. The roundup included the arrest of three former Celtics — Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier, and Damon Jones. I mean, don’t these leagues pay enough millions to quell such alleged temptations?

In the interest of keeping this space primarily for those with hockey-first-and-last leanings, we won’t dig deeper here into the pile of slop unexpectedly heaped onto NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s plate. Let’s just say he’ll be cleaning up the mother of a dog’s breakfast for a long, long time until, like most betting scandals, it ultimately gets packed into a storage bin, with lid snapped tight and shoved into a dusty, remote back room of a multi-gagillion-dollar industry.

If form follows, the fetid stink of it all will be forgotten well ahead of the playoffs, if not by the holiday break. Lots of action to be had on Christmas Day, with Cavaliers vs. Knicks, Spurs vs. Thunder, and Warriors vs. Mavericks all on TV. Peak fan engagement.

On Wednesday, less than 24 hours prior to the NBA tempest being unleashed, the Wall Street Journal broke word that the NHL was the first of America’s four major pro leagues to partner with those prediction market platforms. Two large PMP startups, Kalshi and Polymarket, for months pitched their goods to the NHL, NBA, MLB, and NFL, and it was the NHL that finally took the first bite of the apple.

“A league like the NHL partnering with us,” Tarek Mansour, Kalshi’s CEO and cofounder, told CNBC, “is a strong sign that prediction markets are here to stay.” More leagues will follow, and soon, assured Mansour. It’s a good bet that many of us (hand way up here) never gave PMPs much of a thought or were aware they existed. The NHL crowed about its full-PMP immersion that morning and CNBC included reports on it much of the day.

Keith Wactel, the NHL’s business president, noted how the league partnering with Kalshi and Polymarket represented a “massive opportunity” to reach an untapped market of fans and grow, yep, “engagement.”

By the way, according to one report, high-profile televised NHL events, such as the Winter Classic and Stanley Cup Playoffs, will have the names of the two PMPs digitally imposed across the blue lines. Dandy. Will the blue lines fittingly turn green?

PMPs technically aren’t gambling platforms, in that, unlike DraftKings or FanDuel, they don’t act as the gambling house setting the odds and profiting off what is commonly referred to as the vig — the big pot of dough in the middle of all the winning and losing action. PMPs instead act simply as a market place, with bettors (or platform clients) establishing the odds via what positions they take, such as what team will win, or by how much.

It’s betting, just by another name, a distinction without a difference. It’s just more action, enabling consumers (some hockey fans included in that group) to scratch their betting itch.

There’s an ongoing federal court case to continue in Nevada next month (Nov. 14) that could limit the range or existence of PMPs specific to their involvement with sports leagues. By extension, a negative court decision — one that would favor existing rules and regs at the federal and state levels — could essentially void the NHL-Kalshi-Polymarket financial menage a trois.

If so, suggest industry entities such as bookies.com, the case could be trotted up to the US Supreme Court — the same body that in 2018 freed the aforementioned horse from the barn.

Once was the time when the games alone prompted consumers to engage, for fans to buy tickets to arenas and stadia, buy a game program (how quaint), purchase cable packages, devote entire Sundays (and later Monday and Thursday evenings) to watch/worship the NFL. The games alone were the entertainment.

Not anymore. Is a sports fan truly a sports fan in 2025 if she/he/they watch without some money on the line? For some, yes, but the field has increasingly winnowed down. The exploding level of sports betting in America is in a footrace with our runaway obesity levels. No one on the gluttonous gambling side is looking for Betzempic as a miracle injectable to slim down.

Sports gambling is not going away. The leagues and their corporate gambling partners are too big, too rich and too full of hubris and basic greed ever to step away from it.

Meanwhile, the narrative of their games, the lifeblood of all sports leagues, is getting kidnapped by odds, over/unders, parlays, prediction market platforms, and the occasional FBI punch to the nose. They have chosen to dance with the devil and let the saints go cry in the corner. What were the odds of that ever happening?

Morgan Geekie (left) and Brad Marchand (right) had a chance to catch up when the Panthers faced the Bruins on Tuesday.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

GOOD TALK

Geekie points to Marchand helper

Among Brad Marchand’s many gifts as a teammate and captain while here with the Bruins was his unfettered, boisterous, oft-unprompted support of teammates and their individual skills.

Exhibit A: Marchand last December, heaping praise on Oliver Wahlstrom’s shot, in the hours before the former Islander joined the club on the road after the Bruins acquired him on waivers.

Marchand, his own gifts often underappreciated, especially early in his NHL career, made it sound like Wahlstrom could fire the puck at Alexander Ovechkin levels.

“Wish I had his shot,” added Marchand.

Wahlstrom indeed could fire, though not enough to have any impact. His stay in Black and Gold was brief. He finished 1-1—2 for his 16 games with the varsity, ended the season in Providence, and this season is playing with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda after failing to make the Sharks on an invite.

Sitting at his locker during the club’s stop in Denver during a recent road trip, Morgan Geekie recalled being pulled from the lineup during the club’s stop there just one year earlier, Oct. 16. He opened the season flatter than a miner’s campfire fry pan (0-0—0/five shots on net), prompting then coach Jim Montgomery to give him a breather.

“Marchy was the first guy to come up and talk to me,” recalled an appreciative Geekie, who went on to pot a career-high 33 goals, delivering all but one of those under the guidance of interim coach Joe Sacco. “That’s not really a position where you want to talk to anybody about it. It’s tough to put the feeling of being scratched into words.”

Geekie recalled chatting with Marchand about it for some 10 minutes, the then-captain making sure the winger maintained focus and a pro’s frame of mind.

“I think we sat right here and just talked about things,” recalled Geekie as he sat inside Ball Arena. “Getting scratched can go one of two ways — you can kind of take it on the chin like a man and show up everyday and just go to work, or it can go the other way. Marchy was instrumental in making me see that.”

Geekie didn’t score his first goal until Nov. 12, the club’s 17th game, and didn’t strike again until Nov. 27, slightly over a week after the Sacco-for-Montgomery coaching swap. Increasingly confident, he rattled off a goal in each of the club’s final six games, then over the summer signed a contract extension for six years/$33 million.

A long way from that 10-minute chat of a year ago.

“I can’t say enough good things about Marchy,” said Geekie.

Martin Necas (right) could be a top free agent target in the upcoming offseason.David Zalubowski/Associated Press

CZECH IT OUT

Necas should score Bruins’ attention

Veteran forward Martin Necas, here for Saturday’s Bruins matinee with the red-hot Avalanche, entered the weekend ranked No. 6 in league scoring (6-6–12), tied with Czech pal David Pastrnak.

The 6-foot-3-inch Necas, 26, doesn’t fire quite as often as Pastrnak, perennially true of 98-plus percent of the league’s stick carriers. However, the former Hurricane always enhances his club’s top six and is a constant playmaking and scoring threat — elements that would be of great interest to the Bruins if he indeed reaches the unrestricted free agent market next July 1.

Necas came to the Avalanche in January, amid the shocking move that included Colorado shipping Mikko Rantanen to Raleigh. Underperforming and ambivalent about signing an extension with Carolina, Rantanen only 13 games later was dished to Dallas, where he soon signed a whopping eight-year/$96 million extension.

Now at the end of a two-year contract that carries a $6.5 million average annual value, Necas in all likelihood will hammer out an extension with the Avalanche, who have the money and pieces in place to be legit Cup contenders for at least another five seasons. He should be an easy “keep” provided his “ask” is somewhere around the $10 million AAV mark.

If Necas seeks to wring out bigger money via the UFA market, the Bruins could have a slight edge in Pastrnak helping to sell him on coming to Boston. Pastrnak then would be entering year No. 4 of his eight-year/$11.25 million AAV deal with the Bruins. If Necas continues producing at Pastrnak levels for the remainder of the season, he’d be justified in asking for matching dough, particularly amid the surging cap number expected to be set next season at $104 million.

Parker Wotherspoon has been a mainstay on the blueline for the Penguins.Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

Former Bruins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon has settled in nicely, and unexpectedly, as Erik Karlsson’s regular running mate with the Fenway Sports Group Penguins. “I kind of just let him do his thing,” Wotherspoon explained to media covering the Penguins. “It’s easier than it looks.” Pittsburgh, 6-2-0 through eight games, entered the weekend up against the decision whether to keep rookies Ben Kindel (center) and Harrison Brunicke (defenseman) with the varsity or ship them back to juniors as mandated, reminiscent of the decision the Bruins had to make here with Matt Poitras early in the 2023-24 season. To date, Kindel, the 11th pick in this June’s draft, is one of only six 2025 draftees to see NHL game action early in the new season. The South African-born Brunicke, the 44th pick in last year’s draft, is one of only 13 draftees from ’24 to have made their debuts … As of Friday morning, ex-Bruin Justin Brazeau (five goals), trailed only Sidney Crosby (six) for Penguins putting pucks in the net. Dealt from here to the Wild in the March roster purge, Brazeau on July 1 signed a two-year UFA deal with the Penguins that guarantees him a $3 million total payout … Drew Helleson, who scored the 1-1 equalizer Thursday night at the Garden for the Ducks, spent time with ex-Bruins prospect Marc McLaughlin on the same Boston College roster. McLaughlin, by the way, remains sidelined with a badly fractured collarbone, sustained on his first shift of the preseason with the Devils … Topping the AHL production chart as of Friday morning, ex-Bruin Danton Heinen (2-6—8), who was waived to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by the Penguins the end of training camp … The Oilers gave former Bruin Trent Frederic a brief look-see on a line with stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but the affable “Freddy” soon found himself back at third line wing, with center Vasily Podkolzin and Noah Philp, a 27-year-old rookie who played two seasons at nearby University of Alberta before turning pro ahead of the ‘22-23 season. An older brother, Luke Philp, once a Blackhawks prospect, is playing this season in Sweden (Farjestad) … Daniil Misyul, briefly a Bruins prospect after he landed at AHL Providence in the March swap for McLaughlin, is playing this season for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in the KHL. Entering the weekend, Lokomotiv, coached by former Avalanche bench boss Bob Hartley, topped the KHL’s overall standings. Hartley, then only 40, was Colorado’s coach when it won the Cup with Ray Bourque aboard in 2001 … The steady, dependable Adam Henrique, now in year No. 3 with Edmonton, on Tuesday became the 405th NHLer to log game No. 1,000 Next up: one-time Bruin Tyler Seguin, who entered weekend play on track to hit the four-figure plateau Thursday night in Tampa. Now 33 years old, Seguin had these numbers with Dallas as of Saturday morning: 306-386—692. The lone two Bruins to outproduce Seguin since his trade from here in July 2013: Brad Marchand (857 points) and David Pastrnak (845 points). Marchand picked up 14 of those points in his 19 regular-season games with the Panthers … Bay State favorite Ryan Warsofsky, frustrated in year No. 2 behind the San Jose bench, blurted out, “I’d give up one of my children for a [expletive] win,” when his Sharks were shut out last Saturday by the Penguins, dropping to a winless 0-3-2. Two days later, a contrite Warsofsky reeled back his words, telling the media, “I love my kids. I would never give them up.” Let’s all relax, folks. We want these guys to care, right? Anyone who took him literally in that fevered moment could use a shot of seltzer down their hockey pants … Finally, the Sharks went en masse to Broadway during their stop in New York and saw “The Book of Mormon” last Sunday. After a loss (4-3) to the Islanders, they finally logged a win, trimming the Rangers, 6-5, in overtime Thursday. The OT GWG came off the stick of Lexington’s Will Smith. After the game, the Sharks filled their dressing room with various tunes from, you guessed it, “The Book of Mormon.” Not quite the jump of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” but still in keeping with the religion of hockey.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.