With trades and signings slowing to a crawl and the bulk of arbitration cases settled, NHL rosters will not see any significant change between now and the regular season, which gives a clearer picture of the challenge in front of the Toronto Maple Leafs to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.
Looking at the landscape of the Atlantic, Boston is still the class of the division but could be weakened by cap problems that made re-signing veteran Jarome Iginla impossible. The Bruins are transitioning from veterans like Shawn Thornton and Iginla and may have to trade a significant contract like pending UFA Johnny Boychuk to get RFA’s Torey Krug and Reilly Smith signed.
Tampa appears improved with the additions of free agents Brian Boyle, Brenden Morrow, Evgeni Nabokov and Anton Stralman, the re-signing of Ryan Callahan, the acquisition of defenseman Jason Garrison and the emergence of top pick Jonathan Drouin, but the key factor in the Lightning making the post-season for the second year in a row is for Vezina Trophy finalist Ben Bishop and superstar Steven Stamkos to stay healthy.
The Canadiens look to have taken a slight step backward after making the Eastern Conference Final last season, as free agent rental Thomas Vanek, veteran forward Danny Briere and team leaders Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges have departed and been replaced by P.A. Parenteau, Manny Malhotra and Tom Gilbert. Montreal was able to re-sign Andrei Markov and extend Lars Eller, but has yet to sign their biggest free-agent, PK Subban.
Detroit struck out in their attempts to sign free agents Dan Boyle and Matt Niskanen to upgrade their defense and bring back the same club that made a valiant post-Olympic run to make the playoffs for the 23rd consecutive season. It is unclear whether coach Mike Babcock can conger up the same effort from young players like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar and Tomas Jurco and if veterans Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Jimmy Howard and Henrik Zetterberg can stay healthy.
Florida made the most significant changes, with the signings of free agents Dave Bolland, Jussi Jokinen, Shawn Thornton, Willie Mitchell and Al Montoya to provide depth and leadership for new coach Gerard Gallant. The key for the Panthers becoming playoff contenders will be the performance of Roberto Luongo , finally free from the Canuck calamity and the maturation of young stars Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and 2014 first pick Aaron Ekblad.
Ottawa and Buffalo appear more focused on qualifying for the Connor McDavid/Jack Eichel sweepstakes than contending for a playoff spot.
The Sens traded top center Jason Spezza to Dallas for Alex Chiasson and prospects and have three pending unrestricted free agents in Bobby Ryan, Clarke MacArthur and Craig Anderson who could be moved before the trade deadline.
The Sabres added Gorges, Gionta and re-signed former Sabres Matt Moulson and Cody McCormick to get over the cap floor, but did not significantly improve from the club that finished 30th overall last season.
Boston and Tampa look to be locks for two of the top three spots in the division, while Montreal, Detroit, the Leafs and Florida appear more likely to be fighting for third place and the two Eastern Conference wild card spots.
Toronto and other teams in the Atlantic may have an advantage over their Metropolitan Division competitors for the wild card, as they will play the potential bottom dwelling Sabres and Sens between eight to 10 games, while the Metro foes will only play them six times.
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The two-year contract for goaltender James Reimer has a cap hit of $2.3 Million, but the deal for the 26-year-old goalie is front-loaded, paying $2.6 Million in the first year and $2 Million in the final year.
This fact may be insignificant, but also may make it easier for the Leafs to trade the Morweena, MB native prior to the trade deadline or next summer.
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