It’s finally hockey season again. After the complete mess that was the state of the world for the last year and a half, it’ll be nice to see hockey get closer to normalcy with a full schedule and no more division-only games. The NHL is returning to their old divisions this year, which means the Sabres are going back to the Atlantic Division. The Bruins are the only other team who will be in the same division again, and past rivalries with Canadian teams like the Leafs and Senators will be reignited with international travel being allowed again. Just like last year, we gave the Sabres their own article, so now it’s time to look at who they’ll be going head to head with the most this season.
Boston Bruins
Top Players: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy
Key Additions: Linus Ullmark, Nick Foligno, Erik Haula
Key Subtractions: David Krejci, Jeremy Lauzon, Sean Kuraly, Nick Ritchie
X-Factors: Taylor Hall, Matt Grzelcyk, Craig Smith
Ever the threat to fill a playoff spot, the Bruins retooled their roster and are looking to do the same this year. They have one of the best lines in the league in Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak, and Charlie McAvoy is one of the best defensemen in the entire league. Craig Smith and former Sabre Taylor Hall fill out the depth scoring for the Bruins, and they added Nick Foligno and Erik Haula for extra support in that area. Sabres fans know how well Linus Ullmark played behind a pretty poor defense most nights, and if he can stay healthy and play that well behind the Bruins, he could be one of the best goalies in the business. Tuukka Rask is out with an injury long term and still does not have a contract, but if he comes back, he and Ullmark could be one of the best tandems in the league. The only real issue with the Bruins is their lack of depth at defense and center, with David Krejci’s decision to return to the Czech Republic being felt on and off the ice. If the Bruins’ remaining depth steps up and Ullmark continues where he left off in Buffalo, the Bruins should have no problem securing at least a Wild Card spot in the 2022 playoffs.
Detroit Red Wings
Top Players: Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Filip Hronek
Key Additions: Pius Suter, Nick Leddy, Alex Nedeljkovic
Key Subtractions: Dennis Cholowski, Jonathan Bernier
X-Factors: Moritz Seider, Filip Zadina, Lucas Raymond, Joe Veleno
After another year of rebuilding in Hockeytown, it still doesn’t look like the Red Wings will be contending just yet; the Yzerplan doesn’t take shape overnight, after all. The Wings have a solid top line of Jakub Vrana, Dylan Larkin, and Tyler Bertuzzi (although Bertuzzi’s unvaccinated status will prevent him from playing games in Canada), and Filip Hronek is a solid defender to build around. They also picked up Nick Leddy in a trade and made some sneakily good pickups in Alex Nedeljkovic and Pius Suter to shore up the goaltending and center depth. This year will primarily be about giving more opportunities to the young guns in the system for the Wings, and to see how ready they are for the NHL level. First rounders like Filip Zadina, Joe Veleno, Moritz Seider, and maybe even Lucas Raymond will have the opportunity to contribute on a nightly basis for Detroit. Seider appears ready to contribute on the blue line, Zadina will likely see increased icetime up front, and Veleno and Raymond could be solid depth scorers if they prove to be ready for the big leagues. While they will probably still miss the playoffs, look for the Wings to take a step forward in the overall league standings this year.
Florida Panthers
Top Players: Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar
Key Additions: Sam Reinhart, Joe Thornton
Key Subtractions: Keith Yandle, Chris Driedger, Alex Wennberg
X-Factors: Sam Bennett, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe, Spencer Knight
A lot of people are claiming the Florida Panthers are this year’s sleeper team or the “winners of the offseason”, and those people might be onto something. The Panthers already had two elite forwards in Jonathan Huberdeau and reigning Selke winner Alex Barkov, and adding Sam Reinhart bolsters their top 6 immensely (hope Sam kills it down there, he deserves it). Aaron Ekblad is returning from injury, and barring any complications will be extremely solid for them. Carter Verhaeghe and MacKenzie Weegar both broke out in a major way last year, and they each provide insurance behind the star players at their respective positions. Joe Thornton also took a flier to be a depth scorer and adds some good ol’ veteran leadership. The Panthers lost Chris Driedger to Seattle in the expansion draft, and Sergei Bobrovsky declined even quicker than most expected, but Spencer Knight has arrived to take the reigns in net. He was excellent at Boston College last season and was very good in the few NHL games he played. If Knight continues his upward trajectory and is as good as advertised, the Panthers will be that much tougher to beat. They will also count on guys like Sam Bennett and Anthony Duclair to build off their strong scoring they finished last season with. This team was pretty close to knocking off the Lightning in the first round of last year’s playoffs, and they certainly have the potential to be even better this year, and go on a deep playoff run.
Montreal Canadiens
Top Players: Jeff Petry, Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Carey Price
Key Additions: David Savard, Mike Hoffman, Cedric Paquette
Key Subtractions: Phillip Danault, Tomas Tatar, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Corey Perry, Shea Weber (injury)
X-Factors: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Josh Anderson, Alexander Romanov
Last summer’s Cinderella team is going to have to pull some more magic out of thin air if they want to make another Stanley Cup run. The Canadiens had an extremely turbulent offseason, from Shea Weber’s pending injury status, to Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s offer sheet signing with Carolina, to the draft selection of a player recently convicted of a sex crime in Logan Mailloux (which was abhorrent). Add on losing important players like Phillip Danault, Corey Perry, and Tomas Tatar in free agency, and the Canadiens have already dug themselves in a deep hole to start the new season. However, there’s still a lot of reason for hope in Montreal. They still have solid forwards like Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki, and Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry is always a threat from the back end, and Carey Price still has the ability to be the best goalie in the world for some stretches of time. They added David Savard to help out the back end, Mike Hoffman to produce on the power play, and Cedric Paquette for some grit. Plus, they still have excellent young talent like Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov to show what they can do in a full season. It’ll be an uphill climb back to the top, but it’s definitely too early to count out the Habs altogether.
Ottawa Senators
Top Players: Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot
Key Additions: Zach Sanford
Key Subtractions: Evgeni Dadonov, Logan Brown
X-Factors: Matt Murray, Tim Stutzle, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Erik Brannstrom, Shane Pinto
The Senators were a pretty bad team for the majority of last season, but they hit a hot streak at the end of the year that instilled a lot of hope in their fans. However, a lot has to go right for the Sens to fulfill those hopes. For starters, they still need to resign Brady Tkachuk, who is their best forward, a fan favorite, and one of their biggest leaders in the locker room. Thomas Chabot needs to continue being a top tier defenseman, and youngsters like Erik Brannstrom and Artem Zub need to grow so he has some support back there. There are a lot of young, talented forwards on the roster that had varying degrees of success last year; Josh Norris was very solid but Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson certainly had their ups and downs.If the Sens want to come close to the playoffs, those guys will need to continue to grow. Goaltending is also a big issue for the Sens, as Matt Murray hasn’t been able to regain his Cup-winning form. Ottawa has the ability to be the most improved team in the division, but the chance of that happening-and the Sens’ playoff chances-are still far from certain.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Top Players: Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Anthony Cirelli, Ondrej Palat
Key Additions: Corey Perry, Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare, Zach Bogosian
Key Subtractions: Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Barclay Goodrow, David Savard, Cedric Paquette
X-Factors: Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph
The two-time defending champs are looking to run it back for a three-peat this year, and anyone who watches hockey will see why. The Lightning still have arguably the best core of players in the league with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point all being elite offensive players, Victor Hedman being a perennial Norris trophy contender on the back end, and Andrei Vasilevskiy being a brick wall in net. However, their path to a third straight cup may be considerably more difficult than the first two. The Lightning no longer have the “flexibility” of using LTIR to spend over the cap, and their depth has suffered because of it. They lost their entire checking line of Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, and Barclay Goodrow, among other veterans like Tyler Johnson and David Savard. To fill the gaps, Tampa has brought on some veterans like Corey Perry, Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare, and Zach Bogosian. Youngsters like Mathieu Joseph and Alex-Barre Boulet will see increased roles, and Ross Colton will look to build off of his breakout season last year. Even with so much turnover, the Lightning will probably be fine. If Tampa is known for anything, it’s organizational depth and development, so it’s not outlandish to expect young players to step in and contribute effectively right away. Last season, Hedman struggled while playing hurt for the majority of the year, and the rest of the team was so good it was barely noticeable. Don’t be surprised if we see Stamkos lifting the Stanley Cup over his head for a third time next summer.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Top Players: Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin
Key Additions: Nick Ritchie, Ondrej Kase, Petr Mrazek, Michael Bunting
Key Subtractions: Zach Hyman, Frederik Andersen
X-Factors: Jack Campbell, Rasmus Sandin, TJ Brodie, Ilya Mikheyev
Oh Toronto, how you bring us joy. Every spring, when the Sabres’ season is finally over, we can always count on the Leafs embarrassing themselves in the first round, regardless of how good they were in the regular season. Will they be able to finally end their cold streak come playoff time? For the sake of our enjoyment, let’s hope not. The Leafs still have a very good roster, with the Core Four of Matthews, Marner, Nylander, and Tavares leading the offensive charge, while Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin lead the defense. It remains to be seen if Jack Campbell will remain the starting goalie after taking the crease by storm last year, and Petr Mrazek was brought in as insurance. The Leafs lost Zach Hyman in free agency, but will hope to replace his grit with Nick Ritchie, and add some more forward depth with Ondrej Kase and Michael Bunting. Young players like Rasmus Sandin and Ilya Mikheyev will be trusted to improve more this season as well. Toronto media is painting this upcoming season as a “Last Dance” type scenario with the current core-except, you know, without any championships to show for it so far. Everyone knows the Leafs have the talent to go on a deep run, but every year they simply fail to execute when push comes to shove. Will this finally be the year they make it past the first round, or will the foundation Dubas built finally crumble and be destroyed beyond repair? The results will surely be entertaining either way.
This year will surely be an entertaining one in the Atlantic Division. Thanks for reading, and as always, Go Sabres.
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