As much as I try to save face by ranking forward and defence corps separately, I’m bound to miss the mark with at least one of these Atlantic Division teams. I ranked your Ottawa Senators in third place last season, which I don’t think aged poorly at all given their performance.

Still, it’s looking like a potential humiliation ritual once again. You’ve got five of the league’s top nine clubs from last season, back-to-back Stanley Cup champions from 2024 and 2025, and the league’s 4th-best team from 2025. In the most luck-heavy of the major North American sports leagues. If enough coins land on heads, any of these teams could take the division in 2026-27.

#8. Detroit Red Wings

Out: Patrick Kane, James van Riemsdyk

In: Viktor Arvidsson, Keegan Kolesar

Except for these chumps. The only stat they’ll be improving on is their games played in the regular season.

They’re finished. GG. Blow it up. Preferably with C4. Dylan Larkin has one foot out the door, and Alex DeBrincat will likely be in the same boat come February, as per his unwavering desire for playoff hockey. Marco Kasper was a friendly ghost last season with 19 points in 81 games, and you still have to endure J.T. Compher in your Copp six.

The crazy thing is that the Wings have more than enough cap space ($19.5M) to bring in an additional high-end forward, but not only are there no more options (unless they bring the Kevin Hayes sweepstakes to a dramatic conclusion), there’s no GM to even make that call. Some might look at their situation as a major reason not to expand the NHL past 32 teams, but have you also considered that it’s funny?

#7. Boston Bruins

Out: Viktor Arvidsson

In: J.J. Peterka

Congratulations on getting back to the playoffs! Your reward (aside from getting your heads smashed in by a team that hadn’t made the playoffs in 15 years) is moving up one measly spot from last season.

Let’s be real, the main reason Boston rocketed up the standings was Jeremy Swayman’s dominance in net. Several forwards vastly improved from last year as well, namely Morgan Geekie, with a 39-goal season, but it doesn’t seem all that sustainable (14 goals in his last 45 games, after 25 in his first 37). J.J. Peterka, as I’ve opined before, isn’t that much of an upgrade on Viktor Arvidsson’s masterclass last season, and David Pastrnak, while still the best winger in the division after Nikita Kucherov, has been a constant for the last four seasons while the group around him is slowly morphing from Macklin Celebrini into Macklin Celebrini’s teammates.

This is a group that could very well be next in line for the 2024 Kraken experience – i.e. plummeting down the standings after a ridiculous shooting percentage the year before.

#6. Toronto Maple Leafs

Out: Bobby McMann, Mattias Maccelli, Nick Robertson, Nicolas Roy

In: Gavin McKenna, Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons, Nick Paul

The addition of Mr. McKenna We Would Like to Draft You to the Toronto Maple Leafs complicates things a wee bit, but it’s hard to imagine the 2026 first-overall pick making up for the absence of a 100-point Selke-caliber forward in Mitch Marner, in his rookie year.

It certainly helps them improve from last season, but in the Atlantic division, there’s far too big of a gap to close for a team whose biggest additions outside of their lottery win, are Nick Paul (who is unable to do it all at this stage of his career), Jack Roslovic, and Colton Sissons. And it’s not like Bobby McMann’s scoring touch won’t be missed, either.

There’s also the question of Auston Matthews’ receding…production – I suspect he’ll pop back up to 40+ goals this season, but it’s very possible we won’t see the MVP-caliber player from 2022 and 2024 return without a Marner-level threat alongside him. Still, William Nylander remains an elite winger, while John Tavares and Matthew Knies are arguably first-line talents as well. If they had kept Fraser Minten instead of trading him and a first-round pick to Boston for Brandon Carlo, before flipping him to St. Louis for a pair of thirds one year later, I’d be somewhat concerned.

Man, I’m glad we don’t have to deal with that sort of asset management anymore.

#5. Buffalo Sabres

Out: Alex Tuch

In: None

I can definitely see an argument for the Sabres being ranked higher, but this is an incredibly cutthroat division.

Despite only having one point-per-game player in Tage Thompson, they have a deep middle-six that combines youth (Zach Benson, Ryan McLeod, Josh Doan and Jack Quinn) and experience (Jason Zucker and most of Josh Norris), with Konsta Helenius being a major breakout candidate this year. Compared to the teams above them, however, their top forwards are outclassed in various areas – with Florida, Montreal, and Tampa being a cut above in terms of firepower, while Ottawa more than makes up for the minor gap in offence with their unmatched shot suppression and better contributions from the bottom of the lineup.

Not counting the injury-riddled Panthers, four Atlantic teams ranked between 4th and 8th in goals per game last season. The Sabres were the only one to lose a key forward in Alex Tuch without bringing in a potential replacement – without Jeff Skinner’s $6.4M buyout, we could’ve seen Buffalo challenge for the top spot here.

#4. Montreal Canadiens

Out: Brendan Gallagher

In: Likeability

It’s interesting to see two division rivals with contrasting builds, separated by just four goals last season.

On one hand, Ottawa simply isn’t capable of deploying a top line that’s as good as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and that dude from Slovakia. On the other, is that Kirby Dach? How many more times do we have to do this? Outside of the top talent, the Sens have the clear advantage in depth, with their projected 13th forward, Nick Cousins, outscoring five different Habs regulars at 5-on-5 last season.

The deciding factors in Ottawa’s favour are their better defensive play (the Habs are a joke with Suzuki on the bench), as well as the Habs’ being likely to regress from their league-best shooting percentage. They’ll probably finish in the Top 10 again, but 1st place in two consecutive seasons? Yeah, no.

#3. Ottawa Senators

Out: Lars Eller, someone’s brother

In: William Eklund, Andre Burakovsky

Do the Sens have a hole in their top-six? Absolutely. But here’s the thing – so does every team that plays against them.

Every combination Travis Green sends over the boards will both outplay their opponents and finish on their chances. Shane Pinto and Mike Amadio in particular are two of the best disruptors of opposing play in the league, and Pinto does it to the best of them while scoring at a 50-point pace himself, without needing to play with Tim Stützle, Dylan Cozens, and Drake Batherson. Speaking of Stützle, while he’s improved by leaps and bounds defensively over the years, William Eklund might very well be the winger he needs to finally explode (preferably not with C4) and realize his potential as a 100-point player in the NHL.

As we alluded to in the previous entry, Ottawa’s depth is the key to taking the bronze. Having a player like Fabian Zetterlund that’s capable of outscoring over half of the league at 5-on-5 in spite of significant deployment on the fourth line is an example of what allows the Sens to rank in the Top-10 in offense, in spite of a perceived lack of star power up front. It’s a high floor, higher ceiling kind of deal that’s only beaten out by some preposterous groups down south.

#2. Tampa Bay Lightning

Out: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nick Paul

In: Ilya Mikheyev, Jeffrey Viel

I know we all hate the Panthers, but I couldn’t justify putting a team with Ilya Mikheyev in their top six at #1.

In spite of four first-round exits in a row, Tampa continues to reap the rewards of an MVP-caliber player in Nikita Kucherov, as well as two of the biggest bargains in the league in Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel. However, for playing with those three, I’m beginning to question the legitimacy of a one-two punch down the middle of Brayden Point (50 P in 63 GP) and Anthony Cirelli (52 P in 71 GP). They’re still great players, but I’m not convinced it’s a better tandem than Florida, Ottawa, Buffalo, or Toronto. Something to keep in mind going forward for anyone clinging to a shred of hope of this perennial contender finally falling victim to senescence.

But yeah, Kucherov. That’s still a problem. They’re not going anywhere.

#1. Florida Panthers

In: Someone’s brother, Lars Eller

Out: Evan Rodrigues, A.J. Greer

We learned some interesting things about the Panthers last season – most notably, how vulnerable they become without Aleksander Barkov. With his return, however, Florida now boasts the most robust top-six in the league, as well as a bottom-six that’s only marginally weaker than Ottawa’s. Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, Craig Oster’s nephews, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luotsarinen, and an intriguing prospect in Sandis Vilmanis to boot.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the rest of the league, however, once you realize the issues under the hood with the Panthers’ defence and goaltending.

To be continued…