Alright. It’s late September and I have avoided this for long enough. Sure I did some mostly player level predictions a couple weeks back but now it’s time to take a look at the other teams in the Atlantic Division
The Senators aren’t getting a ton of love from odds makers and experts at this point.
This site currently has the odds set at winning the Atlantic at 16 to 1. Only the Sabres and Leafs have higher odds of winning the division actually. And that’s right about where some of the so called experts are predicting them to finish too, although in this particular prediction, they were originally left out entirely.
It’s a tough division. They all are really. But perhaps more than any other, the Atlantic Division is a difficult one to predict. You have a sort of odd mix of teams on the way up, teams on the way down and then a few sort of caught in the middle. It’s just really tough to know what to expect when the puck drops for real in a couple weeks. But that won’t stop us from trying.
Here are my picks for the Atlantic Division, presented from last to first.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
When all the season previews about a team focus on the Head Coach, you know they’re in trouble. Yes Mike Babcock is a good Coach but no, he’s not going to be able to get results from this team overnight. The Leafs are going to get better but as they’ve been so quick to admit, it’s going to take some time. Let’s all sit back and enjoy the misery that will be the next couple years for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bonus prediction- The first TSN segment questioning the Mike Babcock hiring airs sometime in late November.
7. Boston Bruins
This team is gonna be bad. I was actually tempted to put them in last in the Division but stuck the Leafs down there at the last second. They have clearly been a team on a decline the last few seasons but I think this is the year where they bottom out completely. They lost Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton, like literally lost them completely, getting almost nothing in return. Then they made three off the board picks at the draft and then made it all better by getting Matt Beleskey and Zac Rinaldo. The only way this team bounces back is if Zdeno Chara regains Norris Trophy form and that just not gonna happen. Bonus prediction- Claude Julien is the first Coach fired and Zdeno Chara is traded during the season.
6. Buffalo Sabres
They are better. And after last season, it’s pretty hard to imagine how they could be any worse. The Sabres are definitely one of those teams trending upward in the Atlantic Division but I still think they have a ways to go before they become a serious contender for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The additions of Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane, Jack Eichel and uhh David Legwand certainly improve their hockey team but I still think they’ll have some issues keeping the puck out of their own net at times. Bonus prediction- Tim Murray smiles.
5. Florida Panthers
Like the Sabres, the Panthers are getting better. It’s teams like Buffalo and Florida that are going to make this Atlantic Division so difficult to predict. I have them down near the bottom of the division but when you look at their rosters on paper, it’s pretty easy to see how they could end up much higher. They have a legitimate number one goalie in Roberto Luongo, a ton of young talent (Bjugstad, Barkov, Huberdeau, Ekblad) and some decent veterans to round out the line up. They hung around in the playoff race for longer than anyone expected last year and could very well be in the mix again this year. Bonus prediction- At age 43, Jaromir Jagr puts up 50 points and brings back this hair cut.
4. Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price is still by far, the best player on this hockey team. If I was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens (I would be incredibly obnoxious) I’d be furious that management didn’t do more in the off season to add to the line up. Price doesn’t have many more seasons like last year in him and to this point, they just haven’t been able to build a contending line up around him. Off season additions like Zack Kassian and Alex Semin are fine but this was a team that needed to make a big addition up front and they just didn’t do it. This is probably still a playoff team but I think Price take a step back this and so do the Canadiens. Bonus prediction- Alex Semin doesn’t last a full season in Montreal.
3. Detroit Red Wings
I’m having doubts about this even as I’m writing it. Perhaps more than any other team in the Division, I have no idea what to expect from Detroit. So much of the Red Wings’ success (or lack thereof) this season will depend on whether or not their aging stars can stay healthy. Guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk are still elite players and are capable of carrying this team to the playoffs but with both guys on the back nine of their NHL careers, injuries are to be expected. There’s still a ton of talent on this team and the addition of Mike Green should help their blueline. Bonus prediction- Pavel Datsyuk skips his usual midseason fishing trip and leads the Red Wings in scoring and is top 20 in the NHL.
2. Ottawa Senators
Uhh, excuse me SensChirp. Your bias is showing. Okay, I know this may be a bit of a stretch but I honestly believe that the Senators have a chance to up near the top of the Atlantic Division this season. Building off the momentum from last year’s incredible late season run, the Senators will get off to a much better start this year and sustain that over the course of the season. I think Ottawa has as well balanced a top three lines as anyone in the division and should score a lot of goals. The defence is obviously the biggest question mark here but I think Wiercioch excels in an increased role and Cody Ceci continues to develop into a legitimate top four option. Bonus prediction- Bobby Ryan rediscovers the touch he had as a Mighty Duck and scores 30.
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay was two points from winning the Atlantic Division last season and actually look like they’ll be even better this season. They have a young, talented team with a bunch of players that appear poised for breakout seasons. With names like Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Valtteri Filppula, Jonathan Drouin and Ondrej Palat, goal scoring definitely won’t be an issue. Their defence is strong, goaltending rock solid and they have one of the best Coaches in the game. This is the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Bonus Prediction- Erik Condra finishes the season with 9 goals.
So there they are.
My predictions for the Atlantic Division.
Feel free to tell me why I’m wrong in the comment section below!
-Another quiet day at Senators Training Camp today but both groups are on the ice for practice at 10:30 AM and then 12:30 PM. All of the talk around the Senators last night and this morning revolves around Swedish prospect Mikael Wikstrand, who has apparently returned home to Sweden for personal reasons. Management has been quite clear about wanting Wikstrand to spend the season playing in North America so this is obviously a pretty disappointing development. It’s now up to the Senators to decide whether to suspend his contract or allow him to play the season in Sweden. Either way, you can be sure the organization is not happy with this latest development.
-Couple quick updates from this morning’s practice. Fredrik Claesson and Nick Paul have joined the main group this morning. Colin Greening is not on the ice after that hit he took in the game on Wednesday night. The league is currently reviewing that hit too. Matt Puempel lefty the ice early in the skate with an arm injury of some sort. No immediate update on his condition available but expect we’ll hear more after practice.
