The Toronto Maple Leafs Will Win the Atlantic Division

The Toronto Maple Leafs made significant changes to their roster this off-season which were necessary because they had 10 expiring contracts.

The Toronto Maple Leafs remain built around their core of superstars, and as such, can win the Atlantic Division this season.

Top divisional rivals Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins lost significant pieces from their winning teams of years past. Other teams in the Atlantic have improved, but have they improved enough to challenge for the top spot in the division? I don’t think so, but that’s why they play the games.

The Leafs will still need a lot of things to go in their favor to win the division, but they do have all their core players in the lineup for this season.

If there was ever a season the Leafs should be able to win their division, it’s the 2023-24 season. As of right now, the future beyond this season is unknown for some of the Toronto Maple  Leafs top players, so they should be in a win-now mode all season.

Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has put together a team that has many different elements. Hopefully, those different elements will help the Leafs win more games, but especially the close one goal games.

A deciding factor in winning the division will be playing well against divisional rivals and winning those games.

Here is a closer look at each team in the Atlantic Division and what they bring into the start of the 2023-24 NHL regular season. The teams will be placed in order of how I think the final standings will look at the end of the regular season.

First though, I’d like to take a moment and offer my condolences to all of Rodion Amirov’s family and friends. The Leafs prospect passed away on August 14th after a two year battle with a brain tumor.

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings finished 7th in the division last season.

They did make decent additions to their lineup this off-season, but not enough to gain ground on the teams that finished ahead of them during the 2022-23 regular season.

The Red Wings have a good amount of talent, and could finish higher than 7th in the Atlantic, but everything will need to come together.

For now, I am keeping them in 7th place for the 2023-24 NHL season.

Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jeff Petry are the Red Wings key additions this off-season.

Some of these additions will make a big impact while others will be a little less noticeable. The addition of Debrincat is a huge win for the Red Wings.

Adding Gostisbehere and Petry to the blueline are improvements over last season. However, the Red Wings need a lot to fall into place to gain ground in the Atlantic standings.

Key players the Red Wings lost this off-season include Dominik Kubalik, Filip Hronek, and Pius Suter. I think the team has replaced those players with adequate replacements, but those replacements will need to produce better than those they’re replacing for the Red Wings to move up in the standings.

Detroit’s time is coming, but it’s not here yet. I won’t be surprised if they do challenge for the 6th spot in the Atlantic, but I’ll keep at 7th right now.

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres finished 5th in the division last season.

They have a talented team and have been quiet this off-season.

The Sabres will enter the 2023-24 season with a lineup similar to what they ended the 2022-23 season with.

There is an abundance of talent in the Sabres lineup, so it’s easy to see why they didn’t make any significant changes to the roster.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they challenged for a spot in the top three of the division. Goaltending is a weaknesses for the Sabres, so their offense, and their twin-franchise defenseman will need to carry them on most nights.

This is why I have them in 6th to start the season. Betting on Tage Thompson, Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch, Rasmus Dahlin, and Dylan Cozens to all finish with more than 65 points is not a bad idea, but will it be enough? It wasn’t enough last season.

The Sabres still have $6 million in available cap space, so they could still sign a free agent or make a trade to improve their lineup.

For now, they haven’t made any significant additions, but also have not lost any significant players. It will be interesting to see where this lineup takes them. Keep your eyes on Victor Olofsson, and Owen Power. (Salary cap info from capfriendly.com)

I would like to take this time to also send my condolences to the family and friends of Rick Jeanneret. He was the voice of the Sabres for 51 seasons. The team, and fans will miss his voice and passion.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers made it to the Stanley Cup final last season.

It makes people forget that they just snuck into the playoffs in a wild-card spot after finishing 4th in the Atlantic Division. (Though just one season removed from winning the President’s Trophy).

Although the team made some decent additions to their lineup, they also lost some good players. The Panthers will also start the season without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, as they are on LTIR.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Evan Rodrigues, and Dmitry Kulikov are the Panthers key off-season additions. However, they lost Eric Stall, Marc Stall, Radko Gudas, Colin White, and Alex Lyon.

There is really nothing significant in or out on that list, but Montour and Ekblad on LTIR, could spell trouble for the Panthers this season.

The Panthers still have plenty of talent in their lineup, but will it be enough to try and stay in the mix of the Atlantic Divison? I don’t think it will.

They will need to rely heavily on Matthew Tkachuk, Alexander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sam Reinhart. If goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky struggles, Anthony Stolarz is the Panthers best option until Spencer Knight returns from the NHLPA’s player assistance program.

I don’t think the Panthers will find as much luck this season as they did during the 2022-23 season, and that is why I have them finishing in 5th place in the Atlantic Division. They could surprise us and go on a good run with momentum from their long playoff run, but I think they’re missing too much.

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators finished the 2022-23 regular season in 6th place in the Atlantic Division.

Although they lost some valuable players, the Senators made some good additions to their lineup for the 2023-24 season.

Vladimir Tarasenko, Dominik Kubalik, and Joonas Korpisalo highlight the Senators key off-season additions.

They will also have Jakob Chychrun for an entire season. Adding these players to play with Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Claude Giroux, and Drake Batherson makes the loss of Alex DeBrincat more manageable.

The Senators will also get forward Joshua Norris and goaltender Anton Forsberg back for injured reserve at some point.

Getting them back will further improve the team for the 2023-24 season. The Senators did not trail behind the Sabres and Panthers by much last season. I think we will see them make a jump in the standings this season. That is why I have them finishing 4th in the division.

Although I don’t think they’re ready to reach the top three spots in the division, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Whether they finish in 4th or 3rd in the Atlantic, I think the Senators will make the playoffs this season.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins not only finished 1st in the Atlantic Division last season, but they finished 1st in the NHL and won the President’s Trophy for the NHL’s top team.

However, due to some significant players retiring or leaving free agency, the Bruins will see a fall from grace this season.

Boston’s additions do not adequately replace those who left.

Team captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both retired this off-season. They were 3rd and 5th in Bruins scoring, respectively. Losing them to retirement and the departure of Taylor Hall will have a big impact on where the Bruins finish in the standings this season.

The Bruins also lost Anton Stralman, Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway, Nick Foligno and Dmirty Orlov this off season.

The re-signings of goaltender Jeremy Swayman and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk help, but their other signings are not enough to replace the production that left. James Van Riemsdyk, Milan Lucic, Jesper Boqvist, and Morgan Geekie are the Bruins key additions this off-season.

I think the Bruins are still talented enough to stay within the top three of the division, but they are nowhere near as good as last season.

Tampa Bay Lightning

After three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup finals, the Lightning were eliminated in the first round of the 2023 playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Lightning finished the regular season in 3rd place in the division last season. I think the decline in Boston will allow the Lightning to move up a spot in the standings.

The Lightning will enter the 2023-24 regular season with Alex Killorn, Corey Perry, Pat Maroon, and Vladislav Namestnikov all playing elsewhere.

Their departures will not affect the Lightning too much, thanks to the additions of Conor Sheary, Josh Archibald, and Luke Glendening. The core of Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Points, Victor Hedman, Mikhail Sergachev, and Andrei Vasilevskiy are all still in place.

The number one concern for the Lightning will be health. Some of their core players are not young, and health has been an issue for some of them.

The Lightning have the players to accomplish a great season, but they need to stay healthy.

Although I have them finishing the 2023-24 regular season in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division, it will be a battle between them and the Toronto Maple Leafs for 1st place.

These two teams have a good rivalry going, and seeing them battle for 1st in the division will be entertaining hockey.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs finished the 2022-23 regular season in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.

With the expected decline of the Bruins, the Leafs should be able to win their division for the first time since winning the North Division in 2021 during the pandemic.

Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg are the Toronto Maple Leafs key additions this off-season.

They replace the departing Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, and Justin Holl. The Leafs also lost Erik Gustafsson, Luke Schenn, Ryan O’Reilly, and Noel Acciari.

However, the Leafs will give more playing time to rookie Matthew Knies, Pontus Holmberg, Sam Lafferty, Timothy Liljegren, and Conor Timmins.

The important thing to remember is that the Leafs main offensive threats are all still in the lineup. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly will be counted on to produce the majority of the teams offense. Newly signed Bertuzzi and Domi, give the Leafs additional scoring threats up front, and Klingberg provides an offensive threat from the blueline.

So long as the Toronto Maple Leafs get good goaltending from Ilya Samsonov, and Joseph Woll,  the team has the offense to win most nights.

This is why I believe the Toronto Maple Leafs will finish 1st in the division.