In the 2nd part of this series, I will be giving my standing predictions on the Atlantic division as well as my overall thoughts on their offseason, and a take to go along with it.
1st Place: Florida Panthers
No surprise here, the reigning Stanley Cup champions will remain atop their division in 2025. The Panthers didn’t need to do too much over the summer to remain the best team in the East. The main difference is on the defensive front, having to find some guys to fill in especially being up against the cap after signing Reinhart. Adam Boqvist will play on the 3rd pairing for florida, and the fit there could be interesting, maybe Florida can finally develop him into the offensive defenseman he was expected to be when he was drafted. The Panthers should have no issues remaining towards the top of the league. The core is still potent. Barkov, Tkachuk, Reinhart resigned, Forsling, Ekblad, Bobrovsky, they have all of the pieces to go for their 3rd straight Stanley Cup finals appearance.
The Take: Gustav Forsling proves why his contract is a steal, putting up 50 points while being a top 5 defensive defensemen in the league.
2nd Place: Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs did get better this summer, bolstering their defense with Chris Tanev, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The main other change for the Leafs was the captaincy of the team, it was given to superstar Auston Matthews despite John Tavares still being on the roster, The Leafs elected to keep Mitch Marner this summer, who likely won’t re-sign with Toronto next year, is likely to have yet another excellent season alongside Matthews. The Leafs main flaw is their goaltending, the injury history of Joseph Woll is concerning, he will get the bulk of starts this year with Stolarz backing up. I like Toronto heading into this season, and their outlook could look even better if top prospect Easton Cowan cracks the roster.
The Take: The Leafs make it out of the first round for the 2nd time in 3 years.
3rd Place: Tampa Bay Lightning
Though There was a little of a change in thr guard in Tampa, with Steven Stamkos departing for Nashville and Victor Hedman being named captain. The Lightning essentially replaced Stamkos with Jake Guentzel. The fit isn’t perfect, but Guentzel playing alongside Point and Kucherov is definitely going to be a force of a top line. The Lightning also had a cap crunch, trading Mikhail Sergachev to Utah. The Lightning core is still as potent as ever, and they should still be considered a threat in the Eastern Conference. Though the step back is expected, I don’t think they fall out of the playoffs as some have suggested.
The Take: Jake Guentzel’s first year in Tampa is fantastic, putting up 35 goals and 90 points.
4th Place: Boston Bruins (WC1)
The Bruins had an eventful offseason, trading Linus Ullmark to the Senators, inking Elias Lindholm to be their top line center, and signing Nikita Zadorov. Just today the saga of Jeremy Swayman is finally over. He is reportedly signing an 8 year deal to stay in Boston. The Bruins are going to be very good, but this division is so stacked that they’ll end up as a Wild Card. Obviously you still have guys like Pastrnak, Marchand, Zacha, McAvoy and Swayman. Lots of star power there. The Bruins are always gonna be a pretty dangerous team in the east, I think they take a step back this year, but not enough to drop them from the playoffs.
The Take: Elias Lindholm scores 30 goals and is a point-per-game player.
5th Place: Ottawa Senators
The Senators are very interesting. Most thought this time last year that it would be their time to escape from the basement. But after another unsuccessful season, they made some changes. The big one is fixing mistakes in net, trading for Linus Ullmark definitely helps them sure up that spot. The main concern for the Senators is health. As players like Josh Norris and Thomas Chabot have both missed time over the last few years. Their health is critical to Ottawa’s success. I’d also like to see Tim Stuzle get back to where he was in 2023 where he had 39 goals 90 points. His goalscoring took a step back last year, and if he can get back even to the 25-30 goal mark, the Senators playoff chances will be greatly improved, and in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race, I think they have a shot.
The Take: The Senators are in the Wild Card race til the end, but fall just short.
6th Place: Buffalo Sabres
This time last year everyone thought Buffalo was *right* there. And seemingly they were, but last season did not go as planned. Tage Thompson regressed, Owen Power isn’t really living up to the hype yet, but he’s still young so he still has time. A big bright spot for the Sabres last year was the breakout of JJ Peterka, who put up 28 goals and 50 points in his sophomore season. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also took a big step forward in net. The Sabres still have a lot of young pieces that they’re starting to give some runway. Cozens and Quinn are still relatively young, Benson and Kulich should also get some run this year. And Devon Levi is backing UPL. The Sabres aren’t far away. But they still have a lot of work to do.
The Take: Jiri Kulich is a down ballot Calder contender recording 20 goals and 45 points.
7th Place: Detroit Red Wings
Detroit had a very underwhelming and puzzling offseason compared to expectations. Prior to July 1, there were rumors of Detroit clearing cap to bring in Steven Stamkos and/or Jake Guentzel in addition to re-signing Patrick Kane. That did not happen. They brought in Vladimir Tarasenko, Cam Talbot, and traded away Jake Walman. The Wings main order of business this summer was getting extensions done. Recently signing Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider to 8 year deals. The main hole i still see with this roster, and what will end up being their downfall, is the goaltending. They’re running a duo of Cam Talbot and Villie Husso. I think the Red Wings are still a few years away.
The Take: The Red Wings secure a top 10 selection in the 2025 NHL Draft
8th Place: Montreal Canadiens
I am of the firm belief that this is the last season that Montreal will be in the basement. With their prospect pool, they won’t be here for long. They still have great NHL pieces like Suzuki and Caufield. I expect Slafkovsky’s breakout to continue into the 60-70 point range, becoming one of the top power forwards in the NHL. Health permitting, Caufield should score 30-35 goals. Montreal overall has a pretty solid roster, but they’re still a few pieces away. With Patrik Laine missing a few months. that is going to sour their record early on, had Laine been healthy, the Habs could’ve been a sleeper playoff contender.
The Take: Lane Hudson puts up 40 points in his rookie year after getting top power play time.
BS Reports 
Leave a comment