Habs should be atop the Atlantic Division, but where does Ottawa fit in?

Montreal Canadiens

The Habs have yet to make a major move to reinforce the roster. But unlike other teams looking to protect their long-term assets while preparing for contention, the Habs have the playoff experience required for success.

And even then, the Habs are in position to make a major move. Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko is a player to watch in terms of the trade market, and the Habs are the likeliest team to acquire him.

Outside of that, the Habs are more or less set. Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are expected to continue leading the way up top, while the likes of Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky aren’t far behind. Defensively, it’s Lane Hutson quarterbacking the unit, while others like Alexandre Carrier should get offensive contributions throughout the season.

It’s easy to see why the Habs aren’t division champions heading into the season. Florida got a lot tougher and faster, the Sabres finally got over the hump, and the Lightning could still be the Lightning.

But the Habs remain unchanged; that can be a disadvantage for some teams, but for other teams with more experience, it can be a boon. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If things remain strong in the locker room and if the offense can improve even marginally from the end of last season, then the Habs should easily be a top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. And if other contenders opt to wait it out until the playoffs or struggle to get going until later on in the season, then the Habs could very well have a path to the top seed in this side of the bracket.

Florida Panthers

Yeah, the Florida Panthers are not going anywhere anytime soon.

But are they the same, Cup-contending team of a few years ago, or more of a husk of their former selves.

Sure, the arrival of Brady Tkachuk via trade with the Ottawa Senators and Jacob Markstrom via trade with the New Jersey Devils might help the team navigate their way back to contention. But both moves came with significant costs. In terms of the Tkachuk trade, Florida gave up more draft capital (part of which came in a trade with the Seattle Kraken that sent Mackie Samoskevich to the United States’ northwest). With regard to the Markstrom trade, Florida gave up forwards Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist.

Other losses include forwards A.J. Greer and Tomas Nosek, but the Panthers did well to replace their production. And the defense will also get a boost with the return of Radko Gudas.

In terms of how the season goes, it’s a question of scoring vs goaltending. The Panthers’ defense is strong and physical enough to hold its own, but much of the scoring will be done by the forward group. It also remains to be seen if swapping Sergei Bobrovsky for Markstrom, who is almost as old as the former, will change anything in net. A lot of scoring will almost certainly offset any goaltending concerns, but if the Panthers’ offense can’t create much night in and night out, then there might be a reliance on an older version of Markstrom.

I would be shocked to see the Panthers miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season, but I don’t think they’re going to win the division. A second or third-place finish in the Atlantic feels best.

Buffalo Sabres

The playoff drought is over.

After 15 years of ineptitude and middling-at-best hockey, the Sabres broke through and won the Atlantic Division title. They then defeated the Boston Bruins in six games while pushing the Habs to seven games in the second round.

But over the summer, it’s possible to argue that the Sabres are in a weaker position heading into the campaign. Among the departures the team suffered, Alex Tuch was signed-and-traded to the Washington Capitals, Bowen Byram was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, while Michael Kesselring left for the San Jose Sharks.

The Sabres were able to add players like Olen Zellweger in an effort to fill those holes, but that alone won’t be enough to secure a second-consecutive postseason berth for the first time since they achieved the feat in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Not only has the majority of the division improved to a point where they could catch the Sabres in the standings, but they also have a history with tough starts to the season.

Last season, the Sabres opened the season 0-3-0 before turning the ship around and making the playoffs. The year before, Buffalo also started 0-3-0 and then 1-4-1 before finishing the year 36-39-7. And in 2023-24, the Sabres opened the season 0-2-0 before finishing October with a 4-5-0 record. So while the Sabres haven’t had the worst records possible as of recent – they’ve actually finished with a winning record in three of the last four seasons – they have started at least 0-2-0 or worse in each of the last three campaigns.

The schedule doesn’t exactly do them any favors. Though they open against the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks, the former was one of the hottest teams in the league since the start of 2026, while the latter brought Patrick Kane back into the fold. After those two games, Buffalo will have to contend with a trio of Central Division opponents (Minnesota, Dallas, and Utah) before four straight games against Atlantic Division opponents (vs Florida, at Montreal, at Toronto, vs Montreal). Oh, and they also have to play the Capitals and San Jose Sharks before the end of October.

If Buffalo can survive that first month of the season with a .500 record, they should be able to fight for a playoff spot once again. The experience of last season should also come into play if the Sabres start slow again, which should also be a difference maker.

Even though things might look somewhat dire at the moment, the Sabres should be able to make the playoffs as a top-three team in the Atlantic.

Ottawa Senators

The Brady talk in Ottawa might be done for good, but will the team be better off without him?

In the trade that sent their former captain to the Panthers, the Senators acquired the Panthers’ two first-round picks in 2026, a first-round pick in 2029, as well as a second-round pick in the upcoming 2027 draft. They used the ninth-overall pick to acquire Sharks forwards William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and prospect Brandon Svoboda. The former should be able to help the Senators now, while the latter two seem to be more long-term assets. The same goes for Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, who the Senators selected with the 25th-overall pick.

And even after all that, Ottawa still has room to make a move. They have over $4 million in cap space, in addition to the 2027 second-rounder and the 2029 first-rounder, to weaponize in an effort to make a move and push themselves closer to bonafide Cup contention.

There are still a few question marks.

Can the Senators keep Drake Batherson? Batherson is eligible for an extension, but a late-July update indicated that Batherson and the Senators were not close on a new contract. And with only a week-and-a-bit separating us from the deadline to agree to an eight-year extension, the price to keep Batherson could soon go up. The team would prefer to not have to trade two star forwards in the span of one year, but one shouldn’t rule out a trade if there is no chance at a deal and if the Senators can get a good return that helps them now and in the future.

Is Andre Burakovsky the short-term Tkachuk replacement? Four years ago, Burakovsky recorded 61 points in 80 games as the Colorado Avalanche speed-ran regular season and the Western Conference playoffs with relative ease, ultimately upending the then-two-time-Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, he hasn’t crossed the 40-point threshold once. Burakovsky will more than likely be a middle-six forward, potentially joining up with the likes of Claude Giroux and Ridly Greig, so there is room for him to prove himself without putting too much of the spotlight on himself.

Can the goaltending catch up? The Senators’ goaltending to open last season was atrocious, though part of that was due to Linus Ullmark‘s leave of absence. After he came back, the Senators went 19-6-4 to complete a late-season turnaround and qualify for the playoffs as the second Wild Card team. Given that the Senators seem to have fixed their early-season woes (aside from the first handful of games, the Senators were a .500 team or better last season), top-half goaltending could be all that is needed to establish the Senators as legitimate contenders.

One could make the argument that the Senators will not make the playoffs after trading their captain, but there is an argument to be made that they are better off without him. And there is still a lot of quality on the roster; until then, the Senators should be firmly inside the playoff picture.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning once again went through an offseason of change.

After putting together yet another phenomenal season that had them looking like their old selves, the Lightning once again crashed out of the playoffs in the first round, losing in seven games to the Conference Finals-bound Canadiens. It’s now been four seasons since the Lightning advanced past the first round, a streak that is starting to look more Leaf-like by the day.

But can the Bolts establish themselves as a playoff team once again? That is the big question.

They traded Paul and Raddysh (in separate deals) to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with only a handful of mid-to-late round picks coming back. They also lost Oliver Bjorkstrand and Corey Perry (alongside the semi-guaranteed Cup Final loss that comes with his services) via free agency.

While John Carlson and Ilya Mikheyev are two of the players coming in the other way, we are talking about 36-year old Carlson and a 31-year old Mikheyev. That’s only a bare representation of how old this Lightning roster is getting; Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli are the only top-six forwards below the age of 30, while three defenseman are above that same age. On top of that, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jonas Johansson are above the age of 30.

Tampa Bay is going to have the talent to remain in postseason contention, but whether they can make it 10 straight playoff appearances is another question.

Toronto Maple Leafs

I will be honest, the Leafs actually did something.

The arrival of general manager John Chayka brought some sweeping, and arguably much-needed, changes to the organization.

In terms of the head coach position, Chayka swapped Craig Berube for ex-Los Angeles Kings bench boss Jim Hiller.

Among the rosters moves made, Chayka brought in Nick Paul and Darren Raddysh from the Lightning, Jack Roslovic from the Oilers, and Teddy Blueger from the Vancouver Canucks. He also added Bobrovsky from the Panthers to shore up the goaltending while flipping Joseph Woll for defensive help in Emil Andrae. On top of all that, the Leafs took Gavin McKenna with the top pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

But is the complete roster shake-up going to be enough to turn the Leafs around in one season?

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

The big question surrounds Auston Matthews, whose performance has been in decline since his stellar 2023-24 campaign. And despite being a bonafide superstar, he’s only crossed 80 points four times across his decade-long NHL career. In all fairness, he was forced out of action last season after a collision with then-Ducks defenseman [Radko] Gudas.

But with Matthews eligible for an extension next offseason, there is a chance that this season could very well be the turning point for the franchise as a whole. If the Leafs turn things around and make the playoffs, things will be judged based on how they do at that point. But if they can’t make the playoffs once again, then one might have to seriously consider the possibility that Matthews opts to use the last year of his contract to contend for a Cup elsewhere.

The same goes for the rest of the roster. With a majority of the lineup set to hit free agency in 2028, this season could very well determine if the Leafs go all-in on this lineup or if they decide to hit the reset button and build around McKenna and other young stars like Matthew Knies, who is under contract with the team until 2031.

We’ve heard this story before, but we might have to hear it again.

The Leafs should be much better than they were last year, but it remains to be seen if they can get back into the playoff picture, or if the significant roster turnover will create too much unfamiliarity and an inability to properly gel.

Boston Bruins

After rising from the NHL’s basement to the playoffs during the 2025-26 campaign, the Bruins might be forced back to the cellar.

That’s not necessarily of their own doing; the Bruins did well to make some moves during the offseason; one such move took the form of bringing J.J. Peterka into the fold after a stint with the Utah Mammoth. But the loss of Viktor Arvidsson to the Detroit Red Wings essentially offsets that.

Outside of that, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo leaving, and the potential addition of James Hagens, the roster remains largely unchanged. That could be small potatoes if David Pastrnak puts together another strong season and others like Morgan Geekie continue to contribute, but it could also be a little problematic given that the Leafs, Panthers, and Senators all made their own moves and improvements.

The Bruins should once again be competitive, but the playoffs could very well become a long shot if they can’t win the big divisional matchups.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings are the NHL’s equivalent of the Buff Doge vs Cheems meme.

At one point of the season, they’re looking like the most dominant team in the league and on course to finally end their playoff drought.

At another point of the season, they turn into a pumpkin and decide to do nothing.

Case in point: last season. On January 24, the Red Wings were 32-16-5 and on pace for well over 100 points and their first playoff appearance in a decade.

The rest of the way, they proceeded to go 9-15-5 and miss the playoffs by seven points. There was a point late last season where the Red Wings handed playoff spots to two division rivals in the span of a week. A 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on April 4 gave the Sabres their first postseason berth in 15 years, while a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on April 11 ended their own playoff hopes and put the Senators into the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

That’s not even considering the fact that the 65-point pace that would have resulted from the 9-15-5 stretch would have put the Red Wings on course for their worst point total since the 2018-19 season.

The big question that they’re going to have to answer this year: was Steve Yzerman really the problem?

Sure, removing him from the general manager position fixes some things and keeps the fans happy, but will it actually jumpstart this Wings organization? Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat are still on the team, but the rest of the offense is going to have to step up big time with Kane gone.

But will they? Andrew Copp is coming off a 30+ assist season, but J.T. Compher‘s performance has been in decline since arriving in Detroit. Viktor Arvidsson and Keegan Kolesar are noteworthy additions, but only Arvidsson was a 20+ goalscorer last season. The other three forwards have just 26 goals between them.

This is a big, big year for the Red Wings. With the supposed bogeyman gone, there has to be results. Anything less than last year’s start will almost certainly pull the alarms in HockeyTown, especially with DeBrincat on the brink of free agency and Larkin’s previous trade request in mind. Both will want out if things don’t go well, but I don’t see a path to the playoffs through the Atlantic at this point in time.

Maybe they get out of the cellar, but that’s about it.

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