The landscape of the Atlantic Division is likely to change over the next couple years with an influx of young franchise building blocks in Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Aaron Ekblad and Jonathan Drouin, while teams that have dominated the division for the first half of the decade are beginning to show cracks and appear to be on the downslide due to salary cap considerations, age and fiscal constraints.
Today we look at the four teams in the Atlantic who may have reached their high water mark and are beginning to recede. These clubs may be capable of making the post-season one or two more years, but very soon they will have key players retire or start trading off veterans to begin to rebuild.
Boston - After a long string of playoff success, including a 2011 Stanley Cup victory and loss in the 2013 Cup Final, the Bruins have missed the playoffs the last two seasons. The once imposing roster is now without Milan Lucic, Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Boychuk due to salary cap constraints
Boston still has solid goaltending with Tuukka Rask, but the club's defense is nowhere close to what it was during the early part of the decade.
39-year-old Zdeno Chara is still effective, but not the dominating force that he used to be. GM Don Sweeney bought out the final two years of Dennis Seidenberg’s contract and the slack will have to be picked up by Adam McQuaid, veteran John-Michael Liles and Kevan Miller.
Torey Krug signed a new four-year deal and needs to be an offensive catalyst, but the diminutive defenseman could miss the start of the season following off-season shoulder surgery.
Head coach Claude Julien still has Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand remaining from the Cup winning squad, along with Matt Beleskey and youngster David Pastrnak, but Krejci’s durability continues to be a concern, which was part of the motivation to sign veteran center David Backes to a five-year, 30 million contract.
Detroit - The Red Wings have been a model of consistency, making the post-season 25 years in a row, but the departure of future Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk and the failed attempt to draw Steven Stamkos to Detroit may put that playoff streak in jeopardy.
Goalie Petr Mrazek took a step backward after a successful rookie season and it is uncertain whether he or veteran Jimmy Howard can provide any consistency between the pipes.
The Wings blueline has never recovered from the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom, with veterans Niklas Kronwall, Danny Dekeyser and Mike Green anchoring an unspectacular group.
Head coach Jeff Blashill has talent up front with veterans Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and youngster Dylan Larkin. GM Ken Holland brought in free agent Frans Nielsen to replace Datsyuk up the middle and hopes that Thomas Vanek has enough in the tank to provide some secondary scoring. Depth at forward is where there are question marks, as Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar regressed after strong seasons.
Montreal - The trade of Norris Trophy winner PK Subban for Shea Weber has been a public relations disaster for the Canadiens, but it may help them on the ice in the short term, as Weber's two-way ability may be a better fit with head coach Michael Therrien’s more defensive structure.
The concern with Montreal has been and always will be their ability to generate enough offense, so that goaltender Carey Price does not have to stand on his head to get wins.
The Habs had the NHL’s best record when Price went down in November and the league’s worst after the Hart Trophy winner’s season-ending knee injury.
Montreal is hoping that the acquisition of Andrew Shaw from Chicago and the signing of former Nashville Predator Alexander Radulov will be enough to provide offensive support for Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher and team captain Max Pacioretty.
Weber is still one of the best defenseman in the NHL, but the Habs blueline is thin after that with 37-year-old Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin and Jeff Petry.
The success or failure of the Canadiens rests solely on Price. If he is healthy, they will be a contender in the East. If the knee problems are chronic, Therrien and GM Marc Bergevin may not survive the season.
Ottawa - The Senators continue to be a franchise that is choked by budgetary restrictions. Last February's massive trade with Toronto for Dion Phaneuf was perceived as owner Eugene Melnyk opening up his wallet to take on the veteran defenseman’s $7 Million contract, but actually by moving the contracts of Colin Greening, Milan Michalek and Jared Cowen, the Sens saved $4.2 Million in salary for next season.
The same could be said for the deal made on Tuesday sending former first-rounder Mika Zibanejad to the New York Rangers for Center Derick Brassard. The 23-year-old Zibanejad has a back loaded two-year bridge deal and will make more money than Brassard next season, after which he will be due a payday as a restricted free agent. Brassard’s salary goes down to $3.5 Million for the final two years of his contract.
The Senators were in the top 10 in goals for last season, with Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Bobby Ryan and Zack Smith all scoring over 20 goals, but new head coach Guy Boucher was brought in to bring about more defensive responsibility from a club that surrendered 247 goals against last season(28th in the NHL).
Veteran Craig Anderson can be great at times but is 35 years old and needs more support. Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson led the club in scoring with 82 points, but may have his burdensome ice time lowered, giving Phaneuf, Marc Methot and Cody Ceci an expanded role.
*******
Listen to myself and TSN's Craig Button with the guys from the Blue and White Tonight podcast:
*******If you are interested in sponsorship or advertising your business in the Greater Toronto / Southern Ontario area on this column, please send a message for more information by clicking on the “Contact” button at the top of the page.*******
Note : Continue to check back to my column on Hockeybuzz throughout the day for the latest Leafs updates or on Twitter
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information
click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»