BY MIKE RIFKIN
Puck drop is officially upon us for the 2026-27 NHL season. Most teams have the expectation to win the Stanley Cup, but there can only be one winner. In this article I will talk about how the division played out last season, and with key moves how I expect it to play out this season. Let’s talk about the Atlantic Division.
2025-26 ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS
- BUFFALO SABRES
- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
- MONTREAL CANADIENS
- BOSTON BRUINS (WC)
- OTTAWA SENATORS (WC)
- DETROIT RED WINGS
- FLORIDA PANTHERS
- TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
KEY MOVES
BOSTON: JJ PETERKA, FRASER MINTEN (EXT)
BUFFALO : PEYTON KREBS/ NOAH OSTLUND (EXT)
DETROIT :
FLORIDA : EETU LUSTORAINEN, GARNETT HATHAWAY, RADKO GUDAS, JACOB MARKSTROM, BRADY TKACHUK
MONTREAL : CHRIS KREIDER, IVAN DEMIDOV (EXT), KAAPO KAKOKKEN
OTTAWA : DRAKE BATHERSON (EXT), CLAUDE GIROUX, ANDRE BURAKOVSKY, WILLIAM EKLUND
TAMPA BAY : JOHN CARLSON, ILYA MIKHEYEV, DENNIS HILLDEBY
TORONTO : DARREN RADDYSH, GAVIN MCKENNA, COLTON SISSONS, NICK PAUL, BRANDON DUHAIME, SERGEY BOBROVSKY
ONE BURNING QUESTION FOR EACH TEAM
BOSTON : THIRD STRAIGHT 30 GOAL SEASON FOR MORGAN GEEKIE? : Morgan Geekie’s career high in goals was nine before going to the Bruins. His first season he put up 17 and the last two years 33 and 39 respectively. If he gets a third consecutive 30 goal season along with Pastrnak and JJ Peterka the Bruins can be a very dangerous team.
BUFFALO: WILL THE GOALTENDING SET THEM BACK? : The Sabres were the best team in the NHL from December onward. They were able to finally end their playoff drought, and even won a playoff series. Now there are expectations, and there were Connor Hellebuyck rumors. If they don’t land Hellebuyck and the goaltending fails it’ll be a missed opportunity.
DETROIT : CAN WE END THE DYLAN LARKIN SAGA? : Like the Winnipeg Jets with Connor Hellebuyck, the Red Wings have a problem with their captain Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade. Larkin, unlike Hellebuyck was only open to going to a few teams, but with the season starting his situation might become a distraction. On top of that the Red Wings waited two months to hire an interim GM, this mess might extend their playoff drought.
FLORIDA : ARE THEY BACK? : After winning back to back Stanley Cups, 2025-26 was a lost season for the Panthers because of injuries. Captain Alex Barkov tore his ACL in training camp and it was downhill from there. Now healthy and they changed a lot of pieces on the team, are the Panthers back?
MONTREAL: READY FOR TAKEOFF? : The Canadiens shocked the world last year when they beat the Lightning and Sabres to get to the Conference Final. As Uncle Ben says in Spiderman “With great power comes great responsibility.” Now the Canadiens are the hunted and they have an extremely young nucleus, that is the envy of most teams in the league, how will the handle the expectations?
OTTAWA : NO MORE DRAMA? : With what occurred last year in Ottawa, whether it was Linus Ullmark taking a leave of absence due to mental health, or Brady Tkachuk starting a podcast with his brother, it felt like the Sens had a lot of drama surrounding them. Now with their captain gone, it feels like there should be no more distractions and the Sens can just play hockey.
TAMPA BAY : LAST DANCE? – The Lightning haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since they lost to the Avs in 2022. This is a Tampa team that is getting older and they do have some big contracts, but you have to wonder what changes could be made if they fail to win a round again this season?
TORONTO : WHAT COMES NEXT? : The Leafs last year were a disaster. Whether it was nobody sticking up for Auston Matthews when he got hurt or William Nylander flipping off a camera. GM John Chayka was aggressive this summer on how he changed the team, but was it enough and what happens if the Leafs fail?
PREDICTIONS
- MONTREAL
- FLORIDA
- BUFFALO
- TAMPA (WC)
- BOSTON
- TORONTO
- OTTAWA
- DETROIT
