Where Will The Florida Panthers Finish In The Atlantic Division?

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Last year the Atlantic Division standings went very much as expected. The Bruins, Lightning, Canadians, and Red Wings controlled the top 4 spots while the Senators, Maple Leafs, Sabres, and Panthers rounded out the bottom of the list. However, this year should be much more unpredictable as teams shuffled up their rosters making the Atlantic Division much improved. Here’s how I think the division will shape up this coming season.

Mar 31, 2014; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) makes a save in the first period against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

• Last Year’s Finish: 5th 
• Key Additions: David Legwand, Alex Chiasson
• Key Losses: Jason Spezza, Ales Hemsky

In my opinion, the Senators took a huge step back this off-season and it all started when they traded away disgruntled star Jason Spezza for Alex Chaisson, two prospects, and a 2nd round pick in 2015. That’s a very small return for a player that had been so crucial to the team’s success in past years. Chances are the Senators didn’t have much leverage in any deal involving Spezza as he had made it known he wanted out of Ottawa and he is scheduled to become a free agent next year.

The Senators also entered the free agent period with tons of money to spend and they barely used any of it. In fact, the only player of importance they signed was veteran David Legwand. The Legwand signing won’t be enough to fill the void left by the departures of Spezza and Hemsky and as a result the Senators and their mediocre roster will finish at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 8th 
• Key Additions: Matt Moulsen, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Andre Benoit, Andrej Meszaros, Sam Reinhart
• Key Losses: Christian Ehrhoff, Henrik Tallinder, Jamie Mcbain, Corey Conacher

While the additions of Moulsen, Gionta, Gorges, and Meszaros help, the Sabres are not ready to compete for a playoff spot just yet.  Give Buffalo 2-3 years and they should be a force to be reckoned with given all the young talent they have including just drafted Sam Reinhart. Buffalo fans will have to continue to be patient as chances are Buffalo will once again hold a top 5 draft pick and they could add Connor Mcdavid or Jack Eichel to their prospect pool.

There is a small chance Buffalo could surprise this year. If some of the Sabres young players like Mikhail Grigorenko, Tyler Myers, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Michal Neuvirth can all breakout than they could slide up to the 6th spot I believe.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 6th 
• Key Additions: David Booth, Daniel Winnik, Mike Santorelli, Stephane Robidas, Leo Komarov, Roman Polak, Matt Frattin
• Key Losses: Dave Bolland, Mason Raymond, Nikolai Kulemin, Jay McClement, Carl Gunnarsson, Tim Gleason

Toronto has had a sneaky off-season in my opinion. They have signed David Booth, Mike Santorelli and Daniel Winnik to cheap, low-risk high-reward type deals and they’ve  added some toughness by acquiring Robidas and Polak. But I also think Toronto lost some very important pieces on their team when Mason Raymond and Nikolai Kulemin decided to sign elsewhere.

The Maple Leafs were a playoff team for most of last season until a late year collapse doomed them. During the off-season, rumors swirled around this team like mad with players like Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer all being connected to rumored deals. Toronto fans and supposedly some players wanted coach Randy Carlyle to be fired but he eventually would end up staying and he signed an extension to stay head coach for an additional two years. Mix all of this in with the Canadian spotlight and the Leafs could be in for a disaster of a season if they don’t start off well. I expect another 6th place finish by the Leafs but if they reach there potential they could surprise and make the playoffs.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 7th
• Key Additions: Dave Bolland, Willie Mitchell, Shawn Thornton, Jussi Jokinen, Derek MacKenzie, Al Montoya, Aaron Ekblad
• Key Losses: Tom Gilbert, Jesse Winchester, Matt Gilroy, Krys Barch, Ed Jovanovski

The Panthers have been busy this off-season. The Cats hired Gerard Gallant to be the next head coach, drafted Aaron Ekblad first overall, re-signed several key players like Dmitry Kulikov, Brandon Pirri, and Erik Gudbranson, and brought in six new players on July 1st. With the new additions the Panthers roster is very deep and it should translate into more wins this coming season and possibly a wild card berth.

For the Panthers to make the playoffs a couple things need to happen. First, they need to stay healthy. We can ill afford injuries to players like Roberto Luongo, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Brian Campbell. Second, we need our young players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Erik Gudbranson, and Aleksander Barkov to progress. If Huberdeau can regain his mojo under his former HC Gerard Gallant, If Gudbranson can take a leadership role, and if Barkov can continue to impress like he did last season the Cats can be a team to watch this upcoming season. Playoffs are not out of the question.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 4th
• Key Additions: Kevin Porter
• Key Losses: David Legwand, Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson, Daniel Alfredsson

The Red Wings did very little to improve their roster as the main focus for them was re-signing key players such as Tomas Tatar, Danny Cleary, and Kyle Quincey. Detroit is still waiting for Daniel Alfredsson to decide on whether he will continue his playing career or retire.

Last year Detroit was hit hard by the injury bug. Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Jimmy Howard all missed significant time and they still managed to sneak into a wild card spot. This was largely due to the rise of some of the youngsters on the team like Gustav Nyquist, and Tomas Tatar. This season elite prospect Tomas Jurco may get a shot to crack the line-up for Detroit. If Detroit can stay healthy and they can get contributions from their young players they could even jump past the Canadians in my standings. Either way, the Wings should have no problem sliding into at least a wild card spot and continuing their amazing playoff run.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 3rd
• Key Additions: Tom Gilbert, Manny Malhotra, P.A. Parenteau, Nikita Scherbak, Jiri Sekac
• Key Losses: Brian Gionta, Tomas Vanek, Francis Bouillon, Douglas Murray, Josh Gorges, Daniel Briere

The Habs have had themselves a busy off-season and it still isn’t done as they have to re-sign restricted free agent superstar P.K. Subban before the start of the season. They lost some important players including Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges but the Canadians should have no problem getting back into the playoffs as they added players like Tom Gilbert, Manny Malhotra, P.A. Parenteau, and the KHL young star Jiri Sekac.

As long as the Habs are led by elite goaltender Carey Price, the prolific goal-scorer Max Pacioretty, and star defenceman P.K. Subban I have no reason to believe they wont make the playoffs this year and depending on how the Bruins handle their salary cap situation, I could actually see the Canadians sliding up to the second spot in the division.

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• Last Year’s Finish: 2nd
• Key Additions: Brenden Morrow, Evgeni Nabokov, Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison
• Key Losses: Keith Aulie, Teddy Purcell, B.J. Crombeen, Nate Thompson, Sami Salo, Ryan Malone

The 2014-2015 Atlantic Division champs will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last season the Lightning finished second in the division and they did this all with superstar Steven Stamkos and Vezina Trophy candidate Ben Bishop all missing significant time due to injury. If these two players can stay healthy most of the season the Lightning will be a without a doubt Stanley Cup Contenders.

Tampa also did a nice job adding players to their roster as they brought in center Brian Boyle to solidify a position that already includes Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, and Valteri Filppula and they brought in defenceman Anton Stralman to go along with Victor Hedman, Matt Carle, Jason Garrison, Eric Brewer and Radko Gudas. Oh and don’t forget that super-prospect Jonathan Drouin is expected to make the jump to the big club this season. The Lightning have the perfect mix of solid goaltending, solid forwards, and solid defenceman to claim the top spot in the division.

How do you think the Atlantic will shape up? Let us know in the comments section as any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and feel free to follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. Thanks for reading.