In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on which Atlantic Division team has had the best off-season to date.
Todd Cordell
I really like what the Toronto Maple Leafs have done.
They had next to no financial flexibility entering the summer and yet still managed to make some nice additions and take care of a lot of necessary housekeeping.
I think swapping Nazem Kadri for Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot, who could bring similar production to that of Kadri while playing 3C but at a cheaper cost and for more years, was a win for the Leafs.
Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson were re-signed to very reasonable mid-term contracts.
Kenny Agostino, Nick Shore, and Jason Spezza were all nice bargain bin pickups that will solidify the team's depth up front.
Headlined by speedy forward Nick Robertson, an analytics darling many viewed as a 1st round talent, and defenseman Mikko Kokkonen, I liked their draft as well.
If they can get Mitch Marner locked up prior to the season, I think this will be a near perfect (realistically speaking) summer for Kyle Dubas and his staff.
Honorable mention goes to Buffalo. Not many world-stopping additions – just good ones, and at good prices. Marcus Johansson has averaged nearly 47 points per 82 games through his career and the Sabres only had to make a two-year commitment in free agency. Jimmy Vesey has averaged 17 goals per 82 and cost a 3rd round pick. Colin Miller, a solid puck-mover and underrated defender, was also acquired for pennies on the dollar from the cap-strapped Golden Knights.
The Sabres still have work to do on their roster, but they vastly improved their depth without parting with much of worth.
Peter Tessier I have not had the chance to really look at what teams have done compared to their division rivals but wow the action has happened there. Too much status quo and either by necessity or desire teams came to change their rosters.
Simply by adding a goalie. the one player who can consistently change a game, the Panthers have proved and hopefully the legend of Quennville grows too. However, the moves the Leafs have made suggest a shift in thinking around their roster but will the direction be stymied by Babcock’s stubbornness?
Buffalo getting Miller for a song was a great move and then adding Johansson at a reasonable rate won’t hurt either. The Senators have done plenty and somehow the ineptitude that follows them never seems to allow them a fair shake. They’ve done more than the Canadiens who seems to be in a Bergevin directionless rut.
If the measurement is change then perhaps Ottawa has done the most to change and has the ability to see the biggest upside during the regular season. The Leafs can only improve so much during the regular season it’s playoffs that matter- their changes are designed to make them go further. This is a tough one as there has been so much change across the division and the measurement of success is different for each team. That being said the Sens have to just improve while the Leafs have to progress and they probably did enough to change their future come next post season.
James Tanner Predictably, I've got to go with the Leafs on this one. They started the summer completely capped out and most people didn't think they'd be able to get out of their bad contracts. Instead, they are now free of Marleau, Brown, Hainsey and Zaitsev - 4 players easily replaced with any random players. Then they did the Kadri trade and added two quality players to their roster that fit the two things they were missing (defensive forward, top pairing defenseman).
They've improve their team and their cap situation. The only downside is the loss of Jake Gadiner whom they can hopefully still resign. Regardless, the Leafs have put on a clinic this summer and some of the more outdated teams (pittsburgh, vancouver) are looking pretty rough by comparison.
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