NHL Season Preview: Atlantic Division Breakdown/Analysis
NHL Season Preview: Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) celebrates their victory with left wing Brad Marchand (63) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Bruins beat the Maple Leafs 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Puck Prose’s NHL Season Preview: Breakdown and analysis of the Atlantic Division with a special guest
Welcome to yet another divisional preview here at Puck Prose! In this edition of our NHL season preview, we look at the Atlantic Division with former ISS Intern Scout and LeafsHub author Jordan MacKenzie! Now, let’s continue to the teams.
Boston Bruins
Jordan’s Thoughts: The Bruins should be an interesting team to keep an eye on this season after just missing out on the 2016 post season. They brought in former Blues captain David Backes who can instantly slot into their top 6 if needed and he provides more leadership to an already experienced core group.
Riley Nash, another offseason addition, will likely bolster their bottom 6 group as well. Despite the offseason additions up front, the blue line remains a question mark in my opinion. However, Tuukka Rask remains the starting goalie and given he stays healthy, the Bruins could surprise people.
Aly’s Thoughts: This team could surprise a lot of people. Bottom six depth has always been an issue for the aging Bruins, but adding David Backes, along with the emergence of youngsters Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano, solves that problem.
The defensive core has been labeled as mediocre by some pundits, but if you take a good look at the Bruins blue line it’s not as bad as it seems. Torey Krug proved himself as a minute-munching defender last season, John-Michael Liles impressed during a seventeen game stint with the Bruins in April, and youngsters Colin Miller and Joe Morrow showed solid upside in the second half of 2015-16. A healthy year from David Pastrnak would be nice.
Buffalo Sabres
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Jordan’s Thoughts: Heading into this season, the question remains, are the Buffalo Sabres now a playoff team? The rebuild seems to be going on the right track. Tim Murray did well in adding Kyle Okposo to a group of forwards that already includes Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, and Tyler Ennis as well as Dmitry Kulikov on the back end.
On paper, the Sabres look quite okay heading into the season despite Kane’s off-ice behavior and Lehner as their number 1 goalie.
Aly’s Thoughts: I really like this team heading into October. Jack Eichel is a 70-point threat entering 16-17 and fellow forwards Ryan O’Rielly and Sam Reinhart are both dominant two-way forces. If wingers Evander Kane (legal troubles aside) and Kyle Okposo can put the puck in the net, this offense is looking very dangerous.
The Sabres defense is solid and I am high on youngsters Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe. Goaltender Robin Lehner, the real x-factor here, will be counted on to post quality numbers. If Lehner does just that, expect the Sabres to be a playoff team.
Apr 17, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) receives congratulations from teammates after game three of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Detroit Red Wings
Jordan’s Thoughts: Could this be it? Could this be the year in which the Red Wings don’t play in the postseason for the first time in just over 20 seasons? Some will say yes due to an aging core and no Pavel Datsyuk. I say, never count the Red Wings out. With the additions of veterans Frans Nielsen, Steve Ott and Thomas Vanek, the Red Wings can still keep up with an improved Eastern conference but will need big contributions from Petr Mrazek and Dylan Larkin.
Aly’s Thoughts: Sorry Jordan, but I just don’t see the Red Wings making the playoffs this season. GM Ken Holland has maintained quality depth within his franchise, but you can argue that there are no elite players on the Red Wings with Datsyuk gone. Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist have established themselves as solid top six forwards, no more, no less. Niklas Kronwall is in decline and I don’t envision Dylan Larkin exploding for 70-plus points. However, goaltender Petr Mrazek does have the potential to steal a lot of games in Detroit.
Apr 15, 2016; Sunrise, FL, USA;The Florida Panthers line up to congratulate goalie Roberto Luongo (1) after defeating the New York Islanders 3-1 in game two of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Duyos-USA TODAY Sports
Florida Panthers
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Jordan’s Thoughts: The Panthers had a very busy offseason from big signings and trades to changes in the front office. Extensions for players such as Trocheck, Huberdeau, and Ekblad were key moves. Free agent signings included Yandle, Demers, and Reimer. The Panthers look to be in great shape heading into the new season as they managed to keep their young core intact.
Aly’s Thoughts: This team looks great on paper, but you wonder if chemistry on the back end will be a problem as Keith Yandle, Jason Demers, and Mark Pysyk are all new faces on a remodeled blueline. On the other end of the spectrum, scoring should be no problem. Offseason acquisition Jared McCann joins an established forward core in Jaromir Jagr, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Nick Bjugstad.
Apr 9, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; The Montreal Canadiens players celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports
Montreal Canadiens
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Jordan’s Thoughts: Carey Price is healthy and that’s really all that should matter with this Habs team as he’s got them on his back. Although the same question remains, where will the offense come from?
The only real addition they made offensively was signing Radulov but there is certainly no guarantee he will translate his KHL production to the NHL. In short, Price is healthy, therefore the Habs are in good shape.
Aly’s Thoughts: I don’t know what to think about this team. Carey Price can’t do everything on his own. Coach Michel Therrien’s system hasn’t proved to be effective, and although Shea Weber is a nice piece he can’t drastically alter a visibly unstable blue line. If we see improvement from Alex Galchenyuk, and signee Alex Radulov puts up solid numbers, that will do wonders for the offense.
Mar 16, 2016; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; The Ottawa Senators celebrate the game winning goal scored by defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) against Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Ottawa Senators
Jordan’s Thoughts: Despite taking a small step backward up front in trading Mika Zibanejad, they still hold a solid group of forwards heading into the season. With Guy Boucher as the new bench boss, Sens fans have a reason to be optimistic. While an upgrade in goal is needed and extra help on the blue line, Ottawa still has the potential to surprise people.
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Aly’s Thoughts: The Senators have the potential to be a bubble playoff team. If that second pairing of Cody Ceci and Dion Phaneuf takes off, that greatly improves the Sens defense.
The addition Derick Brassard of gives Ottawa a solid one-two punch with Brassard and Kyle Turris, and head coach Guy Boucher should give back-to-back 20 goal scorer Mike Hoffman a lot more ice time.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jordan’s Thoughts: Even with Kucherov still to sign, the Lightning are in great shape heading into the season. Their weapons up front and a steady blue line will be key for them in going deep into the playoffs. You can argue that Bishop may not be the guy to win them the ultimate prize but it is already fair to say he just needs to be “good enough”.
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Aly’s Thoughts: I am high on the Lightning heading into the regular season. The depth on this team is unreal. There is a fair bit of concern surrounding the current stalemate with RFA Nikita Kucherov, but they still have Drouin, Stamkos, Palat, Johnson, Namestnikov, heck, I haven’t even mentioned Alex Killorn yet.
On the blue line, the first pairing of Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman is as good as any, and GM Steve Yzerman has established underrated depth on the back end. For the record, I strongly disagree with Jordan’s ‘good enough’ assessment of goaltender Ben Bishop. I think Bishop is one of the top five goaltenders in the game, as you can see.
Oct 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (29) celebrates an overtime goal scored by defenseman Matt Hunwick (2) against the Montreal Canadiens during a preseason hockey game at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens 3-2 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Toronto Maple Leafs
Jordan’s Thoughts: The Leafs are well ahead of schedule on their rebuild. Great young talent up front in Matthews, Marner (Yes I do think he makes the team) and Nylander just to name a few, sprinkled in with a few veterans as well as a goaltending tandem that is now solved. The blue line remains in the works but players like Rielly, Carrick and the addition of Zaitsev are reasons to be excited about the upcoming season. The team is trending upwards and should be fun to watch.
Aly’s Thoughts: This team has the potential to surprise a lot of people, although I think a playoff berth will have to wait one more year. A healthy James Van Riemsdyk will help the offense, as well as the additions of rookies Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Willam Nylander. The defense is improving, but the Leafs are missing that elusive first pairing defender to go along with Morgan Reilly.
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