The Toronto Maple Leafs Will Win the Atlantic Division

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens finished 8th in the division last season.

They haven’t added much to their roster to make one think they have improved much. In fact, many of their moves this summer have been to move out veterans and add draft picks.

The Canadiens have talent, but I don’t think it’s enough talent to make any significant jump in the standings, especially not in the hardest division in the NHL. 

For that reason, I am keeping them in 8th place for the 2023-24 NHL season.

Alex Newhook, Casey DeSmith, and Gustav Lindstrom are the Canadiens key additions this off-season.

None of these additions jump off the page as impact players. The addition of Jeff Petry would have made this list a little better, but he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings shortly after being traded to the Canadiens.

To make any sort of climb within the division, the Canadiens will need their top guys to perform well and consistently.

Key players the Canadiens lost this off-season include Mike Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin, Evgenii Dadonov, and Joel Edmundson.

Not having goaltender Carey Price also doesn’t help. The team has lost too much talent without properly replacing it. The rebuild in Montreal continues and the departure of more pending UFAs expected this season.