The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Still In the NHL’s Toughest Division

The Toronto Maple Leafs have had to contend with playing in the NHL’s toughest division for years.

Don’t exchange this to change next year, even if the Toronto Maple Leafs have a decent enough chance to win the division.

In recent years, the Leafs have been hurt by the NHL’s seeding system that has, two years in a row, forced them to play Tampa in the first round, even though they are two of the NHL’s best teams.

In fact, you could argue that Toronto vs Tampa was just as big, if not bigger, than what the Stanley Cup Final ended up being in each of the last two years.

Next year Boston and Tampa won’t be as good, but regardless, don’t expect too much to change.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Still In Toughest Division

The teams might change, but the Atlantic is still going to be crazy next year.

First, the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite a horrible summer, will remain one of the NHL’s top teams.  This is because star players are all that matters, and the Leafs didn’t lose any. However, even as good as they are, the strength of the Atlantic means any team can miss the playoffs.

After that, you’ve got the Florida Panthers who two years ago won the President’s Trophy and last year won the Stanley Cup.

They are gonna be a good team again this year.

Buffalo may be a loser team most years, but with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, that is coming to an end.  With two elite defenseman and a ton of highly drafted skilled players on their way or already here, expect Buffalo to be a much more competitive team.

Boston set an NHL record for points in a season, and while they will decline, any team with David Pasternak (61 goals) and top-ten NHL defenseman Charlie McAvoy will be a contender.

Both Detroit and Montreal will likely still be terrible, but that’s just two of the eight teams.

Ottawa will be much improved.  They would be a playoff team for sure if they were in any other division. They’ll still probably make it.

Last, but not least, is Tampa.  They were eliminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in last year’s opening round, but they still have Andrei Vasilevski, Steve Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Braydon Point and Nikita Kucherov.

In other words, there is a very good chance they will go back to being the best team in the NHL after a bit on off year.

The Atlantic Division is nuts.  Outside of Detroit and Montreal, any of the six other teams could win the Division or the Stanley Cup.

Tampa, Toronto, Florida and Boston should all be absolute locks to make the playoffs. They should be four of the very best teams in the NHL.

But that then means either both Wild Cards come from the Atlantic or Ottawa and Buffalo both miss the playoffs again, which, given their rosters would be very surprising.

Basically, it’s a guarantee that at least one of these teams misses the playoffs, and that in itself is kind of crazy.