by Scott Rickenbach
Monday, Oct 09, 2023Atlantic Division 2023-24 Quick Hitter Season Preview
Boston Bruins – Boston will battle with Florida but both those teams likely to be a notch below the Leafs and Lightning in this division this season. The Bruins lost too much heading into this season. Bergeron plus Krejci retired and Bertuzzi is now with the Maple Leafs plus Connor Clifton is another key loss. The Bruins still have key players like Marchand and McAvoy and of course Pastrnak and Ullmark but the losses are steep and Bruins will be in a battle to make the post-season most likely. Well-coached they could surprise but I feel the personnel losses are too steep and their regular season will be much different than last year’s incredible run.
Buffalo Sabres – This team should finally make the playoffs and end their drought. I like the fact that they did not change much with this club during the off-season. They have been building an identity and are counting on the foundation they have patiently allowed to develop. I understand there are some concerns about the goaltending but even though Levi is young, Luukkonen is a solid option as well. This team has solid young talent plus some more experienced players that help round this club out and give it a good mix. The additions of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson also should boost this club to finally break the 12-year post-season drought.
Detroit Red Wings – The difficult thing in gauging the Atlantic Division this season is some of the teams that have missed out on the playoffs recently truly look like contenders. The Red Wings and Sabres for example are definitely in that group. The Red Wings have so much solid young talent plus they shored up the defense with some offseason moves and their goaltending looks improved with added depth of Reimer to work in tandem with Husso. This team challenges for a playoff spot as their rebuild is reaching its success point just like that of Buffalo.
Florida Panthers – The Panthers focused on adding D-men in the offseason and this team almost won it all last season. Can goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stay consistent? That will be a key this season plus Florida now has a little more of a target on their backs after their run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. They also have to worry a lot about the Bruins and Lightning and Maple Leafs in this division. It is a lot of pressure but the Panthers are a dangerous scoring club again this season. But can the defense and netminding hold up? They are already dealing with a couple of key D-men being out to open up the season. Ultimately I expect Florida to slide a little this season.
Montreal Canadiens – Quite a bit of youth. Trouble on defense continues to be a problem. Stuck with same goalies and not sure that is a good thing. This organization still has issues to say the least. The Habs have really fallen off a lot from where they were just a few years ago when they made some strong post-season runs. Another year without playoffs is likely here given the lack of off-season improvement.
Ottawa Senators – Maybe Korpisalo is the answer in goal but I am not convinced. This is such a tough division and the Senators are counting on Korpisalo and Forsberg but I am afraid even with slightly better defense this Sens team will have to battle Montreal to avoid the cellar in this division. I know the Senators are close but unless they get surprisingly strong goaltending they are likely to still fall just short of a much-desired playoff berth.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Even though he is not missing the entire season, Andrei Vasilevskiy is so important to this Lightning team. He is one of the best goalies in the world so his absence for a period after recovering from surgery is a big one. I do like the fact that the Bolts did not make a lot of changes compared to last season’s team and this is still a rock solid team. I feel the big key this season will be Vasilevskiy and how he recovers. This team is still so strong with guys like Point and Hedman and Kucherov plus they are so well-coached. It is hard to count them out and I think they will still be tough come playoff time but the early season period could be a bit rocky.
Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs got great goalie work from Ilya Samsonov last season and that changed everything for them. This is a talented and dangerous team again this season and they might have gone deeper into the playoffs last season were it not for Samsonov getting hurt. They made some solid off-season additions covering offense and some added physicality and defense plus goalie depth. This team could challenge for a run at the Stanley Cup.
Boston Bruins – Boston will battle with Florida but both those teams likely to be a notch below the Leafs and Lightning in this division this season. The Bruins lost too much heading into this season. Bergeron plus Krejci retired and Bertuzzi is now with the Maple Leafs plus Connor Clifton is another key loss. The Bruins still have key players like Marchand and McAvoy and of course Pastrnak and Ullmark but the losses are steep and Bruins will be in a battle to make the post-season most likely. Well-coached they could surprise but I feel the personnel losses are too steep and their regular season will be much different than last year’s incredible run.
Buffalo Sabres – This team should finally make the playoffs and end their drought. I like the fact that they did not change much with this club during the off-season. They have been building an identity and are counting on the foundation they have patiently allowed to develop. I understand there are some concerns about the goaltending but even though Levi is young, Luukkonen is a solid option as well. This team has solid young talent plus some more experienced players that help round this club out and give it a good mix. The additions of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson also should boost this club to finally break the 12-year post-season drought.
Detroit Red Wings – The difficult thing in gauging the Atlantic Division this season is some of the teams that have missed out on the playoffs recently truly look like contenders. The Red Wings and Sabres for example are definitely in that group. The Red Wings have so much solid young talent plus they shored up the defense with some offseason moves and their goaltending looks improved with added depth of Reimer to work in tandem with Husso. This team challenges for a playoff spot as their rebuild is reaching its success point just like that of Buffalo.
Florida Panthers – The Panthers focused on adding D-men in the offseason and this team almost won it all last season. Can goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stay consistent? That will be a key this season plus Florida now has a little more of a target on their backs after their run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. They also have to worry a lot about the Bruins and Lightning and Maple Leafs in this division. It is a lot of pressure but the Panthers are a dangerous scoring club again this season. But can the defense and netminding hold up? They are already dealing with a couple of key D-men being out to open up the season. Ultimately I expect Florida to slide a little this season.
Montreal Canadiens – Quite a bit of youth. Trouble on defense continues to be a problem. Stuck with same goalies and not sure that is a good thing. This organization still has issues to say the least. The Habs have really fallen off a lot from where they were just a few years ago when they made some strong post-season runs. Another year without playoffs is likely here given the lack of off-season improvement.
Ottawa Senators – Maybe Korpisalo is the answer in goal but I am not convinced. This is such a tough division and the Senators are counting on Korpisalo and Forsberg but I am afraid even with slightly better defense this Sens team will have to battle Montreal to avoid the cellar in this division. I know the Senators are close but unless they get surprisingly strong goaltending they are likely to still fall just short of a much-desired playoff berth.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Even though he is not missing the entire season, Andrei Vasilevskiy is so important to this Lightning team. He is one of the best goalies in the world so his absence for a period after recovering from surgery is a big one. I do like the fact that the Bolts did not make a lot of changes compared to last season’s team and this is still a rock solid team. I feel the big key this season will be Vasilevskiy and how he recovers. This team is still so strong with guys like Point and Hedman and Kucherov plus they are so well-coached. It is hard to count them out and I think they will still be tough come playoff time but the early season period could be a bit rocky.
Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs got great goalie work from Ilya Samsonov last season and that changed everything for them. This is a talented and dangerous team again this season and they might have gone deeper into the playoffs last season were it not for Samsonov getting hurt. They made some solid off-season additions covering offense and some added physicality and defense plus goalie depth. This team could challenge for a run at the Stanley Cup.
