The NHL season is fast approaching for the remaining 30 teams, while Buffalo and New Jersey have already started their overseas campaigns in the Global Series in Czechia. This summer saw significant changes across the board, with several top players finding new clubs.
At the start of a new season, hope is always high. Top teams are determined to win the Stanley Cup, while those in the rebuilding phase aim to stay competitive and show improvement. However, as all teams wish to win, only one will claim the ultimate prize.
As in previous years, NHLRumors.com will preview the Eastern and Western Conferences, providing team rankings for each of the four divisions. Let’s start the new season by diving into the Atlantic Division.
NHL Atlantic Division standings
1. Florida Panthers (Last year finished 1st)
The defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will finish first in the NHL Atlantic Division as they did last season. Even with the loss of Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, and Ryan Lomberg, the Panthers are still a deep team that could go again.
Are the Florida Panthers the team to beat this season?
GM Bill Zito added Adam Boqvist and Nate Schmidt to the mix. In addition, he kept Dmitry Kulikov in defense. Up front, he added Tomas Nosek to go with Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Bennett. Oh yeah, Anton Lundell has a new contract extension.
The Panthers are loaded, and they still have Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes. There is a reason why the Panthers are favorites to win the Stanley Cup again this season. It’s a tough job, but the Panthers know it’s about this year, and last year is gone.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last year finished Third)
One of the most improved teams in the NHL Atlantic Division is the Toronto Maple Leafs, especially in defense. The Maple Leafs added Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Chris Tanev, and Jani Hakanpää. In addition, they signed Anthony Stolarz to go with Joseph Woll.
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Not to mention that management decided that Craig Berube was the answer to head coaching and got this core over the hump. This could be the last year of the core with Mitch Marner and John Tavares free agents at the end of the year. It’s a new era when Auston Matthews is the captain of the Leafs. William Nylander is looking to take the next step.
However, the question that remains is: Can this team win the final? Are they deep enough and physical enough to score enough goals to win? Goaltending and defense weren’t their problem in the playoffs; is to score goals. The Maple Leafs hope Berube can get everyone to buy into the system he’s playing.
This group is not good there. But they need to show more fire to win when it matters. We say it every year: changes are coming if this team fails in the playoffs. Let’s see what happens this year as the Maple Leafs make it back again.
3. Boston Bruins (Last year finished 2nd)
This is where things can get tricky in the NHL Atlantic Division. The Boston Bruins are still a great team. You will never count them. Goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman has finally agreed to a contract and will be their first choice goalkeeper when he is ready.
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Joonas Korpisalo is the backup, and Linus Ullmark is now with the Ottawa Senators. Boston has a great goaltending coach in Bob Essena, who has done wonders for goaltending in the past. Boston addressed the areas of need with the signings of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. With Swayman, the Bruins are a top-three team in the division.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last year finished 4th)
Another team with a lot of intrigue in the NHL Atlantic Division is the Tampa Bay Lightning. GM Julien BriseBois made the choice. He chose Jake Guentzel over Steven Stamkos. BriseBois also brought back Ryan McDonagh and sent Mikhail Sergachev to Utah.
The relationship between Tampa Bay and Steven Stamkos broke down last summer
So, this group is different. Victor Hedman is the new captain. Yes, they still have a good starting line of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Guentzel, but what else do they have offensively? Brandon Hagel is decent. Cam Atkinson is not the player he used to be.
BriseBois has made a few questionable decisions over the years. The first was the Tanner Jeannot trade. He got out of that. If the Lightning don’t have the same success, you can point to the Stamkos saga as another mistake. While Andrei Vasilevskiy is still around, McDonagh has matured and the defense has beaten Sergachev.
Tampa Bay will once again be a bubble team this season.
5. Detroit Red Wings (Finished fifth last year)
If Tampa Bay doesn’t finish in fourth place, the Detroit Red Wings can and will make the playoffs this season. You should, though. GM Steve Yzerman put together a team like no other of those Red Wings teams from the mid-to-late 1990s.
Should The Detroit Red Wings Make The Playoffs This Season?
Young children Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider received new extensions. Patrick Kane is back, Vladimir Tarasenko has signed a new two-year contract. Alex DeBrincat is healthy, Dylan Larkin is healthy, and they have a nice complement of pieces with JT Compher, Andrew Copp, Tyler Motte, and others.
This team is good defensively with the addition of Erik Gustafsson. The question is whether they can get money for Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and Cam Talbot. Goals have been scored for this team in the last few seasons. Detroit was there last year but missed out on tiebreakers.
Is this the year they enter? There is potential there, for sure. It sounds like us. Let’s see if they can save one or two.
6. Ottawa Senators (Finished Seventh Last Year)
Another team that many people expect to do something this year is the Ottawa Senators. Now, the hype has cooled from the last two seasons. The Senators have been disappointing. They hope to solve their goalkeeping problems with Linus Ullmark.
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Ullmark looked good in the preseason. The key for the Senators is to get off to a good start. The Senators added Nick Jensen from the Capitals to Jakob Chychrun to bolster their defense. In addition, David Perron joins the Senators offense, which is led by Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, and Claude Giroux.
The Senators need to score this season and start quickly. October and November have been difficult for them in the past two seasons, hurting their chances of qualifying. Hopefully, Travis Green can get his team to play better defensively. Having a full season for Shane Pinto will help.
This is a tough breakup. Ottawa will improve, but will it be enough for the playoffs?
7. Montreal Canadiens Last Year Finished Eighth)
The Montreal Canadiens could be sixth or eighth again. It all depends on how things click this season. This is the year they must take the next step in rebuilding. Regardless of management, Montreal wants to play meaningful games in March and April. It would be a huge disappointment if they didn’t.
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The addition of Patrik Laine would help that. Laine will be out for several months with a left knee injury before the season. He would assist the Canadiens’ goals this season. However, he is the next man up for Montreal as they continue to be the family players want to be.
Another year of Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Kaiden Guhle has made them battle tested. If Kirby Dach stays healthy, he could be the X-factor for the Canadiens. In the backfield, Lane Hutson will have a team and can have a bigger impact than some might think. Look at Montreal.
8. Buffalo Sabers (Last year finished sixth)
Unfortunately, the Buffalo Sabers will be near the bottom of the Atlantic Division again. Buffalo didn’t do much in the offseason other than extend Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, sign Jason Zucker, and make the difficult decision to trade Matthew Savoie.
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They also brought back Lindy Ruff as head coach. This is his second season with the Sabres, and he’s looking to end his playoff drought. Remember the last time the Sabers made the playoffs, when Lindy Ruff was the head coach? The buffalo is stuck in this endless reconstruction. They had all this talent coming through and they couldn’t make the playoffs.
Now the Sabers are loaded on defense with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram, and Mattias Samuelsson. Not to mention, up front, they have JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Jordan Greenway. They have to find a way to score goals.
It’s going to be another tough year for Nathi. This could be 14 years without making the playoffs.
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