Atlantic Report: Recapping Each Atlantic Team’s Offseason

The band is back together in the Atlantic. The Bruins, Red Wings, Sabres, Lightning, and Panthers will once again be joined by their friends from the north in the Maple Leafs, Canadiens, and Senators. 

The Atlantic division returns after a season in which it was split up across the NHL. Let’s recap each team’s offseason to see who improved most.

Boston Bruins

Players added: Linus Ullmark, Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek, Mike Rielly, Derek Fortbort

Players lost: Tuuka Rask, David Krejci (retired), Jaroslav Halak, Dan Vladar, Nick Ritchie, Sean Kuraly,

Boston turned over 3 of their 4 starting goalies from last season in Rask, Halak, and Dan Vladar. Linus Ullmark was brought in to fill the void along with Jeremy Swayman. The Bruins lost a couple depth players in Ritchie and Kuraly but quickly replaced them with Foligno, Haula, and Nosek. Boston also traded for Taylor Hall at the deadline, re-signed him.

Boston have a strong team already so other than finding a goalie there wasn’t much to do here.

Grade: B+

Buffalo Sabres

Players added: Will Butcher, Robert Hägg, Vinnie Hinostroza, Craig Anderson, Aaron Dell

Players lost: Linus Ullmark, Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart, Carter Hutton, Will Borgen

Buffalo’s main objective this offseason was to clear cap space and they did so in moving on from players like Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart. They brought in cheap capable defensemen in Will Butcher and Robert Hägg who are signed only for the upcoming season. Jack Eichel is still on the roster which is interesting because he’s been playing during the offseason but is apparently “too injured” to play for the Sabres.

Looking at Buffalo’s contract/cap situation, I like what they’re doing. It appears GM Kevyn Adams has a plan and he’s sticking to it. The roster for the up-coming season is not ideal but this is a work in progress. I can’t give higher than a C because Jack Eichel is still on the roster. You might also mention how the Sabres don’t have a goalie but let’s face it, it won’t matter with this lineup playing in front of whoever is in goal.

Grade: C

Detroit Red Wings

Players added: Alex Nedeljkovic, Pius Suter, Nick Leddy, Mitchell Stephens

Players lost: Johnathon Bernier, Richard Panik, Darren Helm, Dennis Cholowski

Yzerman mainly focused on re-signing his own players in Bertuzzi, Vrana, and Adam Erne. However he did go out and trade for Calder Trophy runner-up goaltender, Alex Nedeljkovic, and also signed Pius Suter in free agency. The trade for Leddy is a sneaky one as Leddy is signed for only one more season at $5m and I can’t imagine he gets a raise so he’s either a trade deadline asset or he can re-sign in Detroit for less money.

The Red Wings still have close to $20m in cap space and added a quality net minder during the off-season. Their time to add significant talent to the NHL roster is getting close. They’re a team to watch next offseason for me.

Grade: B

Florida Panthers

Players added: Sam Reinhart, Joe Thornton

Players lost: Chris Driedger, Anton Stralman, Alex Wennberg, Keith Yandle

Florida was able to snag one of the most buzz-worthy names of the offseason in Sam Reinhart and only had to part with a 1st round pick along with former 7th round pick, Devon Levi. Adding Joe Thornton is also a nice touch.

The Panthers will be one of the most fun teams to watch in the NHL this season and could potentially make a push for a Stanley Cup if they can escape their division.

Grade: A

Montreal Canadiens

Players added: David Savard, Cedric Paquette, Mike Hoffman, Chris Wiedman, Mathieu Perreault

Players lost: Phillip Danault, Corey Perry, Tomas Tatar

Time will tell if losing key pieces in Danault and Perry from their Stanley Cup Final roster will hurt this team. Having said that, the Canadiens went out and signed hometown defenseman, David Savard, who presumably will attempt to fill in for Shea Weber.

On paper Montreal added some good pieces. Time will tell if they fit.

Grade: C+

Ottawa Senators

Players added: Nick Holden, Michael Del Zotto

Players lost: Evgeni Dadonov, Joey Daccord, Derek Stepan

The Senators are a young and exciting team on the rise with almost $30m in cap space and 6 draft picks in next offseason’s NHL draft. It would appear that this wasn’t the year they were going to add significant players.

This is another team to watch for next offseason but unfortunately for their fans, this offseason was a let down.

Grade: F

Tampa Bay Lightning

Players added: Corey Perry, Zach Bogosian, Brian Elliott

Players lost: Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Johnson, Blake Coleman, Luke Schenn, Mitchel Stephens

After winning their second straight Stanley Cup, Tampa Bay was essentially gutted. Losing almost all of their middle six is going to hurt big time. Yes, they have younger players who can step in, but they’re no Goodrow, Coleman, Gourde, and Tyler Johnson.

Adding veteran players like Perry and Bogosian are solid additions but I’m not sure it’ll be enough to catapult this team to a 3rd consecutive championship.

Grade: D

Toronto Maple Leafs

Players added: Petr Mrazek, Nick Ritchie, Kurtis Gabriel, Michael Bunting, Ondrej Kase

Players lost: Frederick Anderson, Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, Zach Bogosian

Sure Mrazek is a serviceable back-up, sure Nick Ritchie is a serviceable depth player who can play on the PP, and sure why not take a shot on a guy who can score a little in Ondrej Kase. Are these the depth guys that are going to put Toronto over the top? I’m not so sure. I still don’t trust the goaltending in Toronto and I don’t see how these moves make them significantly better.

Grade: D

Let me know what you think in the comments! Follow me on Twitter @JimIkeHW

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