Sizing up the Maple Leafs and the Atlantic Division

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Finally, National Hockey League training camps are around the corner.

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We’re under two weeks away from the start of full preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, as clubs will hit the ice on Sept. 19.

Once the Maple Leafs are done with their annual pre-camp golf tournament and medicals, they’ll get underway at the Ford Performance Centre before beginning their six-game pre-season schedule on Sept. 22 at home against the Ottawa Senators.

With coach Craig Berube now running the bench and Auston Matthews recently named the 26th captain in team history, it’s the start of a new era in Toronto. The goal, of course, remains the same: Win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1967.

As usual, the competition within the Atlantic Division will provide some required regular-season tests for the Leafs. The Florida Panthers have eyes on winning the Cup for the second consecutive year, while the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning each will strive to remain in the top four in the division.

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In each of the past four seasons that the NHL has had its usual divisional alignments, the Leafs, Bruins, Panthers and Lightning have finished in the top four.

Whether the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators or Montreal Canadiens can move from the bottom four remains to be seen. Despite the hold that Florida, Boston, Toronto and Tampa Bay have had in the Atlantic, there are no easy nights for any of the eight teams when they face divisional opponents.

Here’s a glance at how the division shapes up as the off-season comes to an end:

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Regular season/division finish: 52-24-6, first

Playoffs: Won the Stanley Cup final against Edmonton in seven games after eliminating Tampa Bay (five games), Boston (six games) and the New York Rangers (six games)

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In: D Nate Schmidt, D Adam Boqvist, F Jesper Boqvist, LW Tomas Nosek, G Chris Driedger, RW MacKenzie Entwhistle, LW A.J. Greer.

Out: D Brandon Montour (Seattle), C Eric Staal (retired), LW Ryan Lomberg (Calgary), D Josh Mahura (Seattle), G Anthony Stolarz (Toronto), D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Toronto), F Steven Lorentz (Toronto PTO), F Nick Cousins (Ottawa), RW Vladimir Tarasenko (Detroit), F Kyle Okposo (UFA).

Skinny: A year after knocking on the Stanley Cup door and losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the final, the Panthers kicked it down and beat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games after taking a 3-0 series lead.

The Panthers’ three consecutive losses in the final became moot when Sam Reinhart scored the winner in a 2-1 victory in Game 7, giving Florida its first Cup in franchise history. A week later, general manager Bill Zito got his most important piece of off-season business done, signing Reinhart to an eight-year, $69-million US extension on July 1.

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The Panthers will defend their Cup title with the majority of the roster that sent the Oilers into a nightmarish summer.

There’s no arguing with what Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk bring up front. Sergei Bobrovsky was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, too.

Still, the Panthers took a hit on the blue line with the departures of Montour and Ekman-Larsson. And some depth snarl will have to be replaced with Lomberg and Cousins gone.

Everything considered, count on coach Paul Maurice’s group to be among the Cup contenders to emerge from the Eastern Conference.

BOSTON BRUINS

Regular season/division finish: 47-20-15, second

Playoffs: Lost in the second round against Florida in six games after beating Toronto in the first round in seven games

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In: C Elias Lindholm, D Nikita Zadorov, D Jordan Oesterle, G Joonas Korpisalo, LW Max Jones, LW Riley Tufte, F Mark Kastelic, F Vinni Lettieri, C Tyler Johnson (PTO).

Out: G Linus Ullmark (Ottawa), LW Jake DeBrusk (Vancouver), F Jakub Lauko (Minnesota), LW Pat Maroon (Chicago), D Derek Forbort (Vancouver), D Matt Grzelcyk (Pittsburgh), LW Danton Heinen (Vancouver), LW James van Riemsdyk (UFA), C Oskar Steen (Farjestad, Sweden), F Jesper Boqvist (Florida).

Skinny: It’s not where they want to be with their top goalie, but the Bruins and restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman remain in a contract stalement with camp looming.

Korpisalo could provide insurance for the time being, but given the poor way he performed in Ottawa last season, the Bruins probably don’t want to go too long without Swayman.

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Captain Brad Marchand will be determined to make the kind of impact that has been a hallmark of his NHL career, even as he comes off three surgeries (elbow, groin and abdomen).

The Bruins got by nicely last season following the retirement of centres Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, but just to be sure, landed Lindholm in free agency with a seven-year contract. On the blue line, Zadorov will add some size and snarl that should be a benefit within the division.

The Bruins, along with the Leafs, hold the longest active streak of NHL post-season berths at eight years. The Bruins always set high expectations and, though they have not advanced past the second round since 2019, always are in the conversation at season’s end.

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TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Regular season/division finish: 46-26-10, third

Playoffs: Lost in the first round against Boston in seven games.

In: Coach Craig Berube, D Chris Tanev, D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, G Anthony Stolarz, F Steven Lorentz (PTO), F Easton Cowan, D Dakota Mermis, D Philippe Myers.

Out: Coach Sheldon Keefe (New Jersey), G Ilya Samsonov (Vegas), LW Tyler Bertuzzi (Chicago), LW Noah Gregor (Ottawa), D TJ Brodie (Chicago), D Joel Edmundson (Los Angeles), D Ilya Lyubushkin (Dallas), D Mark Giordano (UFA), G Martin Jones (UFA).

Skinny: Perhaps the biggest question involving the Leafs heading into the season: How will Berube make perceptible improvements to a team that recorded more than 100 points in each of Keefe’s three full seasons (82 games) behind the bench? We’re not going to know the full extent of Berube’s impact until the playoffs start.

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Key for the Leafs will be the health of goalie Joseph Woll. The starting role is his as long as he can stay in the lineup, which has been a challenge in recent seasons. Stolarz is a fine backup option, but he has never played in more than 28 games in one NHL season.

Tanev and Ekman-Larsson will provide a veteran presence, in different ways, on the blue line. If we’re being honest, none of the departing defencemen will be missed.

Offence from the left side will be a challenge. At the least, Matthew Knies and Bobby McMann must take steps forward after each shone in chunks of 2023-24.

Matthews would love nothing more than to mark his first season as Leafs captain by reaching 70 goals after he fell one short last year.

All the while, the scrutiny around Mitch Marner as he plays in the final year of his contract will be constant. Still, will this be the year that Marner finally records 100 points?

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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Regular season/division finish: 45-29-8, fourth

Playoffs: Lost in the first round against Florida in five games

In: LW Jake Guentzel, D Ryan McDonagh, F Zemgus Girgensons, D J.J. Moser, D Derrick Pouliot, D Steven Santini, RW Cam Atkinson, RW Jesse Ylonen, C Conor Geekie

Out: C Steven Stamkos (Nashville), G Brian Elliott (retired), D Mikhail Sergachev (Utah), D Matt Dumba (Dallas), D Haydn Fleury (Winnipeg), LW Anthony Duclair (N.Y. Islanders), D Calvin de Haan (Colorado), C Tyler Motte (Detroit), C Alex Barre-Boulet (Montreal), LW Austin Watson (Detroit, PTO), F Tanner Jeannot (Los Angeles)

Skinny: For the first time since 2007, the Lightning will play a hockey game without Steven Stamkos as a member of the organization.

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Selected first overall by Tampa in 2008, Stamkos was named captain in 2014 and won two Cups with the club, further entrenching himself as the face of the franchise. He’s going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, no matter what he does with his new team, the Nashville Predators.

Rather than retain Stamkos, who signed a four-year, $32-million contract with Nashville, general manager Julien BriseBois signed Guentzel to a seven-year, $63-million pact. And defenceman Victor Hedman put his signature on a four-year, $32-million extension in July.

In Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Guentzel, Hedman and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jon Cooper (the longest-serving current head coach in the NHL) still has a solid nucleus. With the departures of Stamkos and Sergachev, among others, however, the Lightning might be hard-pressed to get past the first round again. After winning back-to-back Cups, Tampa lost in the final to Colorado in 2022 and was eliminated in the first round in each of the past two years.

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DETROIT RED WINGS

Regular season/division finish: 41-32-9, fifth

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

In: G Cam Talbot, D Erik Gustafsson, D William Lagesson, G Jack Campbell, C Tyler Motte, RW Vladimir Tarasenko, LW Austin Watson (PTO).

Out: G James Reimer (Buffalo), C Zach Aston-Reese (Vegas), C Austin Czarnik (Bern, Switzerland), RW Daniel Sprong (Vancouver), LW David Perron (Ottawa), D Shayne Gostisbehere (Carolina), F Robby Fabbri (Anaheim), D Jake Walman (San Jose).

Skinny: The Red Wings last spring couldn’t have come closer to making the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They finished with 91 points, as did the Washington Capitals, but the Caps got the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as they had five more regulation wins (32) than Detroit (27).

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Patrick Kane thought enough of the Wings’ immediate future that he re-signed for one year after joining Detroit last November once he recovered from hip surgery. Detroit doesn’t boast superstar power — Lucas Raymond’s 72 points were the team-high a year ago — but there was scoring depth in 2023-24 as the club finished ninth in the NHL with 278 goals.

Tarasenko could help make the departures of Perron, Sprong and Fabbri (a combined 53 goals) easier to digest, while Alex DeBrincat will look to return to the 40-goal range after scoring 27 in his first year with the Wings.

In goal, the addition of Talbot on a two-year contract should provide a strong veteran presence.

Raymond and defenceman Moritz Seider, both restricted free agents, remain unsigned.

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BUFFALO SABRES

Regular season/division finish: 39-37-6, sixth

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

In: Coach Lindy Ruff, D Dennis Gilbert, LW Jason Zucker, RW Nicolas Aube-Kubel, G James Reimer, RW Sam Lafferty, C Ryan McLeod, F Beck Malenstyn.

Out: Coach Don Granato, LW Jeff Skinner (Edmonton), D Riley Stillman (Carolina), G Eric Comrie (Winnipeg), LW Victor Olofsson (Vegas), LW Eric Robinson (Carolina), F Tyson Jost (Carolina), F Zemgus Girgensons (Tampa Bay), C Matt Savoie (Edmonton).

Skinny: One of these years the Sabres are finally going to figure it out, right?

A dedicated fan base has been holding its breath since 2011, the most recent year that the Sabres took part in the Stanley Cup tournament. It’s the longest non-playoff drought in the NHL.

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General manager Kevyn Adams made the decision to turn back the clock, hiring Ruff in April after Granato was fired. Ruff took the Sabres to the post-season eight times during his first tenure in Buffalo from 1997-2013. Whether that can be rekindled in 2024-25 is debatable.

Ruff inherits a team that, on paper, appears to have a good young core. Tage Thompson will be looking to rebound after falling to 56 points from 94 two seasons ago, while Zucker and McLeod will add depth up front.

A defence group that boasts Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Bowen Byram should be capable of doing good things. In net, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be relied upon after signing a five-year, $23.75-million extension.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Regular season/division finish: 37-41-4, seventh

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Playoffs: Did not qualify.

In: Coach Travis Green, G Linus Ullmark, F Nick Cousins, F Noah Gregor, LW David Perron, D Nick Jensen, F Michael Amadio, F Nikolay Kulemin (PTO), D Calen Addison (PTO).

Out: Coach Jacques Martin, D Jakob Chychrun (Washington), G Joonas Korpisalo (Boston), F Mark Kastelic (Boston), LW Boris Katchouk (UFA), LW Dominik Kubalik (Ambri-Piotta, Switzerland), C Parker Kelly (Colorado), F Mathieu Joseph (St. Louis).

Skinny: A year after the Senators put their goaltending eggs in one basket with the signing of Korpisalo to a five-year contract, they’re hoping they actually got it right this off-season with the acquisition of Ullmark from the Boston Bruins.

The play of Ullmark, who has not been signed to an extension, could determine whether Ottawa returns to the playoffs for the first time since losing to Pittsburgh in the 2017 Eastern Conference final.

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Green takes over behind the bench with a team that has a core of players that has potential. Forwards Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Josh Norris, and defencemen Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot will be aided by veterans Claude Giroux, Perron and Jensen.

No matter who has coached the Sens recently, whether it was D.J. Smith or Martin after Smith was fired, it’s a group that often played with some edge (at least against Toronto).

Green, meanwhile, will look to have more playoff success than he did coaching in Vancouver or New Jersey, getting to the post-season just once in five years.

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Regular season/division finish: 30-36-16, eighth

Playoffs: Did not qualify.

In: RW Patrik Laine, C Alex Barre-Boulet.

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Out: D Jordan Harris (Columbus), LW Tanner Pearson (Vegas, PTO), C Mitchell Stephens (Seattle), C Colin White (San Jose, AHL), RW Jesse Ylonen (Tampa Bay), D Johnathan Kovacevic (New Jersey).

Skinny: Times have been tough, to say the least, for the once-proud Canadiens.

Since losing to Tampa Bay in the 2021 Cup final, a meeting brought about because of impact of COVID-19, the Canadiens have not even made the playoffs. They’ve finished last in the Atlantic in each of the past three years as coach Martin St. Louis tries to find a way to put a lasting imprint on the group.

A couple of factors will have to come into play if Montreal has any chance at moving up in the division standings. Goalies Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau each will have to take a step.

Ditto for forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach. A wildcard here is Laine. There’s belief in the organization that Laine, acquired in a trade with Columbus, can re-discover the scoring touch that he had earlier in his career in Winnipeg.

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