Training camps are underway. There are still some final roster decisions to be made, but we have a pretty good idea what each team will look like when the regular season gets underway. Let’s take a look at the current Atlantic Division landscape, along with the most notable roster moves each team made since our last Atlantic Division Snapshot in mid July.
Atlantic Division Projected Standings
There Atlantic Division projections look much the same as they did in mid July. Florida and Boston still appear to be the favorites, with playoff incumbents Toronto and Tampa Bay also looking strong. The Red Wings look like the team most likely to break into the playoffs. Let’s take a look at each team’s late summer moves in order of the current projected standings.
1 – Florida Panthers
Change in Projected Standings Points: +3
Change in Division Rank: +0
The Panthers were involved in the biggest trade of the salary cap era just after our last snapshot. Gone are Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar. New in Florida is Matthew Tkachuk. At 24 years old, Tkachuk is just entering his prime and has established himself as one of the leagues elite wingers. The deal gave the Panthers a slight bump in their projected point percentage and further established them as the top rated team going into the 22/23 regular season.
2 – Boston Bruins
Change in Projected Standings Points: +1
Change in Division Rank: +0
The question marks around Patrice Bergeron’s future were answered in early August, as he signed a new 1 year deal with the Bruins. David Krejci signed a 1 year deal the same day, returning to Boston after a year in Europe. The band is back together for one more kick at the can.
3 – Toronto Maple Leafs
Change in Projected Standings Points: +0
Change in Division Rank: +0
The Maple Leafs made no transactions since our last update on July 18. No trades. No signings. William Nylander is pretty good though.
4 – Tampa Bay Lightning
Change in Projected Standings Points: +0
Change in Division Rank: +0
The Lightning did nearly as little as the Leafs since our last update. They did sign Philippe Myers to a 1 year extension for the 23/24 season.
5 – Detroit Red Wings
Change in Projected Standings Points: +0
Change in Division Rank: +0
The Red Wings also didn’t make any significant roster moves for the upcoming season since our last update, either. They did ink RFAs Jake Walman and Filip Zadina to new deals.
6 – Ottawa Senators
Change in Projected Standings Points: +5
Change in Division Rank: +1
The Senators regained some of the ground they lost in our last update with some late free agency work. They signed Tim Stutzle to an 8 year extension and added Tyler Motte. Motte has a strong projected impact for a bottom six forward, including a strong defensive presence, and helps improve the Senators depth up front.
7 – Montreal Canadiens
Change in Projected Standings Points: -2
Change in Division Rank: -1
The Canadiens announced that Carey Price would likely miss the season and put him on LTIR in August. They took advantage of the cap space created to acquire Sean Monahan from the Calgary Flames. Monahan’s impact and role had diminished in Calgary over the past few seasons as he battled a rash of injuries. If he can stay healthy, he could become a impact player for the Habs or become trade bait at the deadline with his expiring contract.
8 – Buffalo Sabres
Change in Projected Standings Points: -3
Change in Division Rank: +0
The Sabres signed a couple of free agents through the latter part of the summer but the big news was the 7 year extension signed with Tage Thompson. Thompson landed a massive payday coming off a breakout season and the lingering question is whether he can repeat his performance from last season.
More Plots
Want to peruse the player projections behind the team profiles or browse player cards for more of the new free agent signings? Sign up for an annual membership to get access to all 22/23 team and player projection cards. Plots will be updated to track progress through the season so you can follow along with the changing landscape.
Input data for models from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
