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.