While the Florida Panthers reign supreme over the division, and possibly the league overall, the Atlantic Division is due for a shakeup. The usual contenders have consistently been the two Florida teams comprised of the Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, plus the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators seemingly concluding their rebuild, it's time to examine which teams' stock is trending up, which clubs are trending down, and what remains to be seen.
Stock Up
1. Florida Panthers
The Panthers are without a doubt the biggest winners of the NHL offseason. The Panthers, essentially only losing defenseman Nate Schmidt, have managed to extend every essential piece that contributed to their back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. To replace Schmidt as a depth defensive piece, the Panthers have added Jeff Petry to the mix, who could potentially rebound in Florida's system. Florida additionally traded for Danill Tarasov from the Columbus Blue Jackets to back-up Sergei Bobrovsky. Tarasov struggled in Columbus but could be poised to bounce back in Florida's defensive system implemented by Head Coach Paul Maurice.
After bringing back all of their crucial free agents, which many analysts and insiders thought would be near impossible, and even a vital restricted free agent in Mackie Samoskevich, the Florida Panthers seem to be the best equipped at making a three-peat this upcoming season.
2. Ottawa Senators
The Senators, after putting up a great fight against the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs last season, made a decent push in this year's offseaon with their latest improvements. The acquisition of Jordan Spence from the Los Angeles Kings has been the jewel of their offseason so far, as they add a promising 2-way defenseman on their right-hand side. The Senators also extended Fabian Zetterlund, who was acquired last year in a trade with the San Jose Sharks, who will likely serve as a stimulant for Ottawa's middle six.
Ottawa has been prudent this offseason, carefully assembling a versatile and balanced roster to compete with the other rising powers in the division. The extension of noted veteran, Claude Giroux, was a remarkable move to maintain consistency and stability in the top six. The Senators will be an exciting team that should make some waves in the upcoming season with the continuance of their new second-line center, Dylan Cozens, who was acquired in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres at this year's trade deadline. Another noteworthy move was the signing of veteran center, Lars Eller, to provide some further experience and tenacity on the fourth line.
With their bottom nine set for the upcoming season, it'll be interesting to see if Ottawa makes a trade at this year's deadline for a scoring winger to upgrade their top line or another bottom-pairing defenseman if Tyler Kleven is deemed for further development. But for now, Ottawa will likely provide some shock and awe in a division that has been routinely dominated by the Florida teams and their provincial rivals in Toronto.
3. Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens have had a solid offseason by adding crucial pieces to help them compete against the titans in the division. The acquisition of Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders is an excellent addition to their blue line and their power play. A pairing of Kaiden Ghule and Noah Dobson or a combination of Dobson and recent Calder Trophy winner, Lane Hutson, opens up a landscape of opportunity for the Canadiens and their firepower from the blue line.
The second crucial move was the addition of Zach Bolduc from the St. Louis Blues, a promising prospect that will likely provide a spark to the Canadiens' middle six after being exchanged for defensive prospect Logan Mailloux.
But this offseason hasn't been perfect for Montreal, as they are currently still missing a vital part of their top six in a second-line center. While it can be argued that Kirby Dach hasn't been given a chance to properly prove himself due to his injury spree, the Canadiens should be proactive in acquiring an experienced second-line center to properly manage wingers Patrick Laine and Ivan Demidov.
To be determined
This category is for teams that have made improvements or subtractions that could be net positive or negative but will need further evaluation as the season goes on.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto has had a turbulent offseason, with the main event being Mitch Marner's departure to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Leafs have made some very interesting additions as of late, which include the third-line center of Nick Roy, who was acquired in the Marner trade from Vegas; Mattias Macceli, who was acquired for a third-round pick in 2027; and recently acquired Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick in 2028. While the Leafs only made one significant signing in free agency in Michael Pezzetta, the Leafs should be commended for using their assets to acquire quality depth pieces to round out their lineup.
The Leafs additionally extended their second-line center, John Tavares, and Matthew Knies, who will likely play with Auston Matthews on the top line, and managed to ship out an aging Ryan Reaves. The additions of these quality depth pieces will make it difficult to replace a 100-point player in Mitch Marner, who will be assuming a role on Vegas' top line with Jack Eichel and Pavel Dorofeyev, but this is a wonderful start in the right direction in being capable of deploying 4 capable NHL lines. As a result, the Maple Leafs will be a fascinating team to look out for in the upcoming NHL season.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins, ever since their collapse in the 2023-24 postseason in a huge upset by the Panthers, have been on a downward spiral. Losing pieces and being incapable of filling crucial positions without paying extravagant contracts has led to the Bruins' competitive window snowballing to a close. But the Bruins are being consistently underestimated, as they still have franchise pieces in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman.
Boston began their offseason by trading for depth defenseman Victor Soderstrom from the Chicago Blackhawks. On July 1st, they traded a 2027 5th round pick for Victor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers to reinforce their top six. The free agency spree began when the Bruins signed Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont to reconstruct their bottom six. To add further defensive depth, the Bruins signed former Buffalo Sabre, Henri Jokiharju.
The Bruins are a wild team on the fringes of a new frontier in their storied history. While it can be argued that they have signed some questionable contracts, especially after signing some eyebrow-raising deals last year in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins have built a fascinating roster that will be interesting to watch this year. Who knows, maybe they will make a splash and make the playoffs if other teams in the East collapse. If not, I am sure that the Bruins wouldn't mind using their two first-round picks in next year's exciting draft.
Stock Down
This category is for teams that have had a lackluster offseason or made some decent moves, but they are still not enough to push the needle. Many teams on this list have potential, but they have been unable to capitalize on this year's offseason to improve their lineups to compete with the up-and-coming teams in their division.
1. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings will receive some flak for their relatively uneventful offseason, mainly due to their general manager's comments after missing the playoffs for the 9th consecutive year. Steve Yzerman stated, “We’re prepared to use our draft picks, we’re prepared to use our prospects, we’re prepared to use any player, for that matter, in a trade that makes us better and helps us in our timeline to get better...and ultimately be a team that not only makes the playoffs but competes for a Stanley Cup.” Since then, Detroit's only acquisitions have been headlined by goaltender John Gibson, accompanied by depth signings in James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton.
While John Gibson is an incredible add for the Red Wings at a relatively cheap price, solving a huge question in net after last year's goalie carousel, the acquisition is likely not enough to make them a contender this year in an unforgiving Atlantic Division. However, Red Wings' fans should remain hopeful that under a full season of new head coach Todd McLellan, a second line managed by rising star Marco Kasper, and with a full season with a proper starting goalie, the Red Wings are seemingly on the right track. Though Yzerman's comments days before and after the free agency deadline should be a cause for concern, as it seems that he is unable to attract key free agents to build a competitive team.
2. Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres, believe it or not, are in a very similar spot to the Detroit Red Wings. Both have promising young rosters but also have close to a decade of missing the playoffs, with Detroit going on its 10th year and the Sabres going on their 15th. Additionally, Kevyn Adams, similarly to Steve Yzerman, is on a scorching hot seat for his ineptitude in adding free agents after clearing and weaponizing his cap space. Instead, the Sabres are projected to start Jiri Kulich as their first-line center, Jason Zucker on the second-line left wing, and Connor Timmins on the third defense pairing.
While this roster is certainly better than last year, and the Sabres should be commended for their efforts, the Sabres are in an Eastern Conference that tends to be a war of attrition in order to gain a playoff spot. While the listed players aren't bad by any means, they are still riddled with inconsistency or are being thrown in the deep end by the coaching staff by having to assume greater responsibilities than their developmental trajectory will allow them.
While the fallout of the JJ Peterka trade to the Utah Mammoth has calmed down, the return package for the Sabres does seem to fit their needs, with Michael Kesselring filling in a crucial role on their right-side second pairing as well as Josh Doan sliding into that critical third-line role. The Sabres have had a decent offseason, but the reasoning for their spot in this ranking is due to them not making enough moves to adequatel compete for a playoff spot. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise the league, but for now their stock remains at a consistent buy low.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning stocked up at this year's deadline with the likes of Oliver Bjorkstrand and former Stanley Cup Champion Yanni Gourde, from the Seattle Kraken, in which they sacrificed crucial draft capital (including two first-round picks) to round out their top 9. These moves have handicapped the Lightning from making additional moves this offseason; regardless of the rumors that they were in on big-fish RFAs and UFAs, their cap situation wasn't exactly in their favor.
Instead, they were relegated to making logistical moves in extending Gourde to a long-term deal, signing Pontus Holmberg to a two-year deal for their bottom six, and making an eye-opening trade by exchanging this year's Hobey Baker winner, Issac Howard, for Sam O'Reilly from the Edmonton Oilers.
While the Lightning seem poised to take another run at the Stanley Cup with an improved lineup, there are still questions on if they have been able to improve their lineup further this offseason in order to keep up with the likes of the Florida Panthers. While a top line of three 40-goal scorers is very impressive, the Lightning have consistently fallen short in back-to-back first-round defeats to the Florida Panthers, who have had a much deeper roster. While the Lightning haven't had a bad offseason by any means, the Lightning will be plagued with the uncertainty of being capable of competing with their fellow Florida team in a competitive division like the Atlantic.