Atlantic Division: Why your team won’t or will make the playoffs in 2020

The Atlantic Division is primed to be one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL during the 2019-20 season. Which teams will make the playoffs and which won’t?

The 2019-20 season seems so far away despite it being only a few short months away. In preparation for the upcoming season, I think its time for some early predictions on why each Atlantic Division team will (or will not) make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Like the great hip-hop group ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ once said – “Let’s get it started.”

Ottawa Senators

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No. Just no. If the Ottawa Senators make the playoffs, it will be a miracle. If the Senators make the playoffs, I will eat my shoe. This team is being led by Bobby Ryan, Brady Tkachuk, and a slew of rookies that don’t have an elite billing to them.

The only one that does would be Erik Brannstrom, whom they acquired from the Golden Knights in the Mark Stone trade. In net, Craig Anderson will continue to be the goaltender. While not elite, he can provide some saves and possibly steal some wins for this depleted Senators roster.

While the 2020-21 season will be “Spending to the cap floor” year according to their owner, this season is meant for growing pains and seeing who can be an everyday NHLer. No playoffs for the Senators this year.

Detroit Red Wings

Not quite yet. While Dylan Larkin remains one of the least talked about superstars in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings just don’t have enough talent to make the playoffs. Down the middle of the ice, the Wings are being led by Larkin, Frans Nielson, Valtteri Filppula, and a mash of whoever you want as the fourth-line center.  Point being that they just aren’t strong enough down the middle.

Their wings don’t inspire much confidence either. Anthony Mantha, Tyler Bertuzzi, and one of the fastest skaters in the game Andreas Athanasiou, make up the top six wings. Filip Zadina or Michael Rasmussen could take on full top-six minutes if they earn it.

On the backend, the defense is being held together by Danny Dekeyser, Mike Green, Jonathon Ericsson, and Trevor Daley. With Kronwall’s future still up in the air at the time of me writing this, the Red Wings defense is not good.

The play of Filip Hronek has pushed him into the top four, which desperately needs a youth shot. There are some defensive prospects coming up and the drafting of Moritz Seider sixth overall in the 2019 draft shows that the next step for this rebuild is building up the defense.

In net, Jimmy Howard and Jonathon Bernier will continue being the goalie duo for at least one more year. All in all, the Red Wings just don’t have enough talent and are still being bogged down by some really bad contracts. Once those are off the books and they grab a couple more players to help them with depth, they could be a playoff team. For right now though, it’s a no from me, dog.

Buffalo Sabres

Still no. While the additions of Colin Miller and Brandon Montour will definitely help get the puck up to the forwards and add some help keeping the puck out of the net, the Buffalo Sabres offense still leaves a question mark for me. Adding Jimmy Vesey and Marcus Johansson does add some depth scoring, but nothing that will move the bar to a contender.

Johansson has had his fair share of injury troubles playing 58 games between the Devils’ and Bruins last season and only 29 games in 2017-18. He also has only 44 points in total in the last 2 seasons.

Vesey, on the other hand, has always carried some hype out of his free agency when he signed with the Rangers. However, the hype never translated onto the ice. Last season, he reached 35 points, which set his career-high. The hope for Vesey is to play on Jack Eichel’s line and get him to at least a 50 point pace.

Other than those two additions, the offense is still the same and it went dry halfway through the season last year. With them bringing back Carter Hutton as a starter I still can’t see this team beating out a few in the Metro for a Wild Card spot or the next team on this list.

Florida Panthers

Yes. This is the year the Florida Panthers go to the promised land as a Stanley Cup Contender. Already armed with the likes of Sasha Barkov and Jonathon Huberdeau coming off of 90+ point seasons and the team is in the top ten in goals scored, the additions they made make this team ready to compete.

The reason the team didn’t make the playoffs despite their scoring was their ability to keep the puck out of their own net. They solved those problems by signing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. With Roberto Luongo retired and James Reimer being bought out, the opportunity to bring in a franchise goalie like Bob couldn’t be passed up. They also signed defensemen Anton Stralman out of Tampa to come help shore up some more goals against for good measure.

This team is poised to be one of the top three teams in the Atlantic and could be set for a long playoff run. With their top six being one of the best in the league and their top nine giving them amazing depth with the addition of Brett Connolly, this team is heading back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Montreal Canadiens

Yes. With an infusion of youth plus a healthy year of Shea Weber, I believe that that the Montreal Canadiens will see themselves back into the playoffs. Jesperi Kotkaniemi having another year under his belt will the experience I believe he needs to have a breakout year. I like to compare him to Barkov, in that he has the defensive game down. Now it’s his time to dominate the middle of the ice with added offensive skills.

In system, Ryan Poehling will be coming in to attempt to take a top-nine spot along with the 15th overall draft pick from 2019 and goal-scoring wunderkind, Cole Caufield.

They also have Carey Price. While Price’s numbers haven’t been mind-blowing he is still a capable net-minder that can steal games in a second if on his game. A season with some goal support will be easy for Price as he can shut the door on any team in the league. The Habs needed offense last year and almost made the playoffs without these additions so if all things go right you will see them back in the playoffs as a wild card for now.

Boston Bruins

Yes. Coming off of a long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and ultimately a loss in the Stanley Cup finals to the Blues, the Boston Bruins will be hungry for at least one more season. The team is bringing back 42-year-old captain Zdeno Chara back for one more season, meaning they are still going for it. The team’s defense is solid without him still, with the likes of Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug, and Brandon Carlo. They should carry this team’s backend for years to come.

Upfront, this team is still going to be led by the best line in hockey with the Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, and Brad Marchand line. Depending on health this team is still on the path to compete for one of the top spots in the Atlantic division. A full season of Charlie Coyle as a second or third-line option and Jake DeBrusk’s progression into a top-six talent helps the Bruins maintain a deep lineup.

The goaltending tandem of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak stays the same. While the goaltending battle between the two goalies would’ve been won “stat-wise” by Halak but it was Rask who got the starting job in the playoffs and took them to the Cup Final.

The goaltending is solid, the defense is still top 10 and they have the best line in hockey. The Bruins are going to make the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Yes. This team’s fanbase is at the point where they’d rather them miss the playoffs than get ousted in the first round again. I don’t blame them, this team has John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly, and I could keep going but you get the point. This team is poised to make a long run just hasn’t hit them yet and with Mitch Marner still unsigned their future after this year is even murkier.

For right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs defense consists of Rielly, Jake Muzzin, newly acquired Tyson Barrie, and whoever you want to slot in the top 4. Travis Dermott will most likely be that option once he comes back from injury.

The defense is solid with Rielly being one of the best in the league and Muzzin/Barrie playing for new contracts this could be one of the best bluelines next season. They also play in front of Frederik Andersen.

Andersen remains one of the best goalies on the planet and has played with one of the worst bluelines the last couple of years. This season will be the one where he opens some eyes and possibly wins the Vezina dare I say.

The Leafs will make the playoffs, between them, the Bruins, and the Panthers, this Atlantic Division is one of the best in hockey. The team I believe that wins the division, though, is up next.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The President’s Trophy winners from last season with 128 points were burned badly in a first-round exit to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The beast may have been awakened finally. This team has the reigning Hart Trophy winner, reigning Vezina Trophy winner and if he was healthy, reigning Norris Trophy winner in Victor Hedman. I don’t know many teams that can say they have all three, let alone one of those options.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a dangerous team when they are trying. The problem with last season is that they may have become complacent heading into that first round and that’s what cost them. This season they have mostly stayed the same with one departure of Stralman to their blueline but for the most part, the same team is coming back.

I have to believe that this team will continue to be one of the top teams in the league and will make the playoffs with ease. Whether or not you agree with my list, the Atlantic division heading into the 2019-20 season will be some of the most competitive and fun hockey to watch.