The NHL Season is right around the corner. Training camps have begun along with the preseason. There are a lot of familiar faces in new places to begin the season.
The start of a new season brings hope as teams look to build toward the playoffs and dethrone the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights.
Welcome to the divisional rankings. We’ll look at both the Eastern and Western Conferences, ranking teams in each of the four divisions. First up in the NHL Divisional Rankings is the Metro Division. Now we look at the Atlantic Division.
NHL Atlantic Division Rankings
1. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last year finished Second)
This is the Toronto Maple Leafs division to win. That is their goal entering the season. Toronto looks different this season as Brad Treliving as the new general manager with Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh. Treliving brought in players like Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, John Klingberg, and Martin Jones. Let’s not forget the new contract Auston Matthews signed, with everyone waiting on William Nylander and what he will do.
But if you look at the division, the Maple Leafs are the best team right now. Like every team they are dealing with injuries. For example, Connor Timmins is injured and was having a great camp. But again, it does not matter what this team does in the regular season, they have to win the playoffs and go far in the playoffs. Going to the second round does not count for much in a city like Toronto.
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Sheldon Keefe has been helping his team play better defensively and they need to be in front of Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov. Woll was solid for the Maple Leafs in the playoffs last year, but it was the offense of Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares that did not perform. With the new additions, it should give the Leafs a different dynamic, especially off the ice with Ryan Reaves. But again it comes down to the playoffs.
After the Maple Leafs things get interesting because of the flux of injuries to the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers. Positions two through five can go in any order in the NHL Atlantic Division.
2. Boston Bruins (Last year finished First)
The Boston Bruins had a record-setting season. They won the Presidents’ Trophy but got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Newly named captain Brad Marchand had the series on his stick in Game 5, before the Bruins, who had been great defensively all season could not close the door. Simple mistakes cost them the series. And this season, the Bruins will look different up the middle with no Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle are slated to be the number one and two centers but Morgan Geekie has a shot to be the second-line center. Not to mention the emergence of Matthew Poitras, who is having a great preseason and could be a player this year for the Bruins to fill in the center position. Of course, the Bruins have David Pastrnak, Trent Frederic, and Jake DeBrusk. They lost Taylor Hall to a trade to Chicago.
But this Bruins team is never out of it until they are out of it. Defensively the Bruins are still good with Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back there. Then there is the goaltending of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, who are the backbone of this team. They just need to pick one guy come playoff time.
3. Florida Panthers (Last year finished Fourth)
Putting the Florida Panthers at three can go so many different ways. The injuries to Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad hurt this team. No Radko Gudas back there is a loss for sure. But they did bring in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Dmitry Kulikov to fill the roles until they come back. OEL has looked like his former self so that is a good thing.
Realistically in order for the the Panthers to finish in third, they must get off to a hot start. Doing what they did last year and falling that far behind the eight-ball is a recipe for disaster. Things will not align like they did for them last year. Sergei Bobrovsky must be the guy he was in the playoffs for the playoffs. Matthew Tkachuk is back from injury and from all indications, he is 100 percent healthy. That is a good thing.
Head coach Paul Maurice will have his team ready to go. The offense goes through Tkachuk, but Aleksander Barkov is healthier. Anton Lundell is a year older. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett are ready to take the next steps. Carter Verhaeghe is ready to take the next step. It is aligned for the Panthers, but they have to survive the injuries on defense.
4. Ottawa Senators (Last year finished Sixth)
Then we have the Ottawa Senators. It is now or never for the Senators to make the playoffs. Considering how wide open the NHL Atlantic Division is. The direction is bright for Ottawa. New ownership and expectations surround this team. Another team that must get off to a better start than in previous seasons. You can’t make the playoffs in October or November, but you sure can put yourself out of contention.
This has a different feel than previous years. The Senators are saying and doing all the right things. Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Jake Sanderson, Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun, Drake Batherson, Claude Giroux, Ridly Greig, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Dominik Kubalik are a nice foundation. Adding Tarasenko will give the Senators more offensive firepower that was needed.
Of course, the salary cap situation of not having Shane Pinto in uniform hurts. Hopefully, Joshua Norris can be healthy and play this season. And if Joonas Korpisalo can give the Senators the saves they require, look out for Ottawa to get back to the playoffs.
5. Buffalo Sabres (Last year finished Fifth)
The Buffalo Sabres are another team on the rise in the NHL Atlantic Division. Some people have the Sabres ahead of the Senators. That’s fair, but can you rely on two rookie goalies Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to carry the load? Levi is great, but he could get burnt out. We have seen it in the past. This is the one area that is holding the Sabres back.
Granted Buffalo improved defensively. They added Connor Clifton And Erik Johnson on the backend to go with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. That helps for sure. The Sabres needed to be better defensively. Dahlin is still looking for his contract extension, so that will be an interesting storyline to see play out.
Head coach Don Granato has done a fabulous job with this team. He has been given the time to grow instead of the Sabres rotating through coaches. Alex Tuch, Tage Thompson, Peyton Krebs, and Casey Middelstadt have all taken the steps necessary to succeed. If Jeff Skinner can continue to produce at that level, that contract is worth it. Then add to the mix Jack Quinn, JJ Peterka, Victor Olofsson and Dylan Cozens. This Sabres team will score. Can they keep the puck out of their net is the real question.
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6. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last year finished Third)
Seeing the Tampa Bay Lightning this far down in the NHL Atlantic Division would be a shock for most. And right now where else can you put them considering Andrei Vasilevskiy is out 8-10 weeks after having a back procedure done? He could even be out longer. Throw in the fact that Steven Stamkos is not happy that he does not have a contract extension and there is turmoil in Tampa Bay.
Again 2-6 in the NHL Atlantic Division is wide open and a good team will miss the playoffs, maybe two depending on what happens in the Metro. The Lightning are up against the cap. Just look at the losses of the years, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, Ryan McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, Ross Colton and others. They are not the same team anymore.
Yes, they still have Stamkos, Brayden Point, Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov, but they are not the same team defensively that went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. They give up the middle of the ice and allow way too many shots in the high-danger areas. This could be the year the Lightning miss because if they lose points in October and November those are hard to make up.
7. Detroit Red Wings (Last year finished Seventh)
Look, the Detroit Red Wings are on the rise there is no doubt about that, but let’s face facts their time is not now. This division is so tough. Just remember they are in a group with Ottawa and Buffalo. Both teams are better than they are. GM Steve Yzerman has stated the Red Wings are still in a rebuild, but you wouldn’t know it by the moves they made in the offseason.
The biggest of whom was Alex DeBrincat. He will play alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond in Detroit. There is Moritz Seider on the backend. If Simon Edvinsson is ready, then he will see a bigger role on defense this season. Detroit also added Jeff Petry, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Justin Holl to go along with Ben Chiarot. Upfront they added J.T. Compher, and Daniel Sprong to go along with David Perron and Andrew Copp from last season.
Again, can they get a save? That has been their issue. Ville Husso was brought in to do that and he did not. They also signed Alex Lyon and James Reimer. Sebastian Cossa is there as well. Detroit will be a fascinating team to watch in the NHL Atlantic Division.
8. Montreal Canadiens (Last year finished Eighth)
How much longer can the fans in Montreal be patient? They are going to have to be. President Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes are doing things the right way. You can tell the tone is a little different from head coach Martin St. Louis this season. While improved this team will still finish last.
There is a bright core of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, and Juraj Slafkovsky. The additions of Alex Newhook and Tanner Pearson will only help them. The question is can Brendan Gallagher return to his his form? And what about Josh Anderson? The Canadiens have some trade chips this season as the deadline gets closer.
Between the pipes will be interesting as well with Jake Allen, Samuel Montembault, and Cayden Primeau. There should be excitement in Montreal for what is to come. They just can rush the process and become impatient. Management is building a steady winner for years to come.