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Which Atlantic Division team has had the worst off-season to date?

July 12, 2019, 1:38 PM ET [28 Comments]
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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on which Atlantic Division team has had the worst off-season to date.

Todd Cordell

I don't like what Ottawa or Montreal have done.

The Senators finally ridded themselves of one anchor in Cody Ceci – much too late, at that – but brought in another in Nikita Zaitsev, and he's locked up longer than anyone on the roster. Ron Hainsey might be a good veteran to have around the kids. He's certainly not going to improve the team's performance, though. While Connor Brown and, to a lesser degree, Tyler Ennis will help, the Senators still appear to be going nowhere in a hurry. On top of all else, I don't think the Senators drafted well. They reached on several of their top picks and only made six selections. You want more lottery tickets when in the midst of a big-time rebuild.

As for Montreal, they made a handful of odd moves for a team looking to take another step forward. They dealt their No. 2 point producer (Andrew Shaw) on a per game basis for draft picks. They overpaid for depth defenseman Ben Chiarot. They also brought in Keith Kinkaid, who ranked 53rd among 56 eligible goaltenders in 5v5 save percentage last season, to backup the overworked Carey Price. I think Nick Cousins was a fine depth addition but the Habs haven't done much – anything? – to really improve a roster that fell short of the playoffs a year ago. Beyond Cole Caufield, and perhaps Mattias Norlinder, I didn't like their draft either.

James Tanner

The worst off-season offseason by any team in the Atlantic Division was had by Florida because they signed Sergeri Bobrovsky to what has to be the stupidest contract in the NHL since Lucic. They gave him a full seven years and ten million dollars, despite the fact that their team isn't anywhere near contention level. Yes, Bobrovsky can sometimes be the best goalie in the NHL, and if you could guarantee that he'd be his best self, it would probably be a smart signing. Unfortunately, he is already into his declining years, and whether It's Carey Price of Jordan Binnington, no one ever knows what they're going to get year-to-year from a goalie. I hate this signing, but I expected nothing else because the Panthers are a terribly run franchise with a brutal general manager.

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