Florida Panthers
The Cats won their first-ever Stanley Cup in June, beating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. However, Florida’s roster is going to look a lot different this season, which has many believing they may not be in the Stanley Cup conversation again. Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Kevin Stenlund are all gone. That being said, the core of Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, and Carter Verhaeghe all remain with the Panthers, while Sergei Bobrovsky is still the No. 1 netminder. It remains to be seen if they could repeat, but the loss of some depth pieces may hurt them. Only time will tell. The Cats are a +225 favorite to win the Atlantic Division at Sports Interaction.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs were third in the Atlantic Division last season and ultimately bowed out in the playoffs against the Panthers. Toronto’s roster looks more or less the same – the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares still lead the way. Although these four have failed to take the Leafs to the Promised Land, there’s no question the talent to do so is there. Anthony Stolarz, Ekman-Larsson, and Chris Tanev were additions to strengthen Toronto’s defense and goaltending, one of their biggest needs.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins surprised a lot of people last season when they finished second in the Atlantic Division and made a bit of a run in the playoffs. Many believed Boston would take a step back and struggle after their historic 2022-23 campaign, but that wasn’t the case. The Bruins also did a nice job this offseason of strengthening the squad. Elias Lindholm was signed and could be their new Patrice Bergeron. David Pastrnak is the focal point of their offense after registering 110 points last season. The health of Brad Marchand is a hot topic following numerous surgeries in the offseason. Boston has the third-best Atlantic Division futures at most NHL sportsbooks.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The main storyline for the Bolts this summer was the loss of Steven Stamkos, who joined the Nashville Predators after spending his entire career in Tampa Bay. He is a franchise legend and one who will be sorely missed. However, the Lightning did bring in Jake Guentzel for some more offensive production while Nikita Kucherov is coming off a ridiculous campaign where he had an NHL-best 144 points. In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the best in the sport. The Bolts had it tough in the opening round of the playoff last season, losing to the Panthers. The Atlantic Division will be competitive, but Tampa should sneak into the playoffs.
