2024-25 NHL Divisional Rankings for Atlantic

NHL teams across all 30 divisions are soon set to resume competition, while Buffalo and New Jersey have already taken to playing overseas in Czechia’s Global Series tournament. This summer brought considerable changes across each division as players with top talent made moves into new teams.
At the outset of each season, expectations can run high. Elite teams aspire to win the Stanley Cup while those rebuilding pursue competitive play and improvement – yet only one will ultimately claim glory as champion.
As in past seasons, NHLRumors.com will preview both Eastern and Western Conferences with rankings for teams within each of four divisions – starting off this new campaign by looking at Atlantic Division Rankings!
1. Florida Panthers (Last Year: First Place)
The defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers will once again finish first in the NHL Atlantic Division this year, as was true last time. Despite losing Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, and Ryan Lomberg to free agency or retirements; their deep bench remains capable of carrying them all the way.
Are the Florida Panthers Going to Strive This Year?
Bill Zito made significant additions to his roster this off-season by adding Adam Boqvist, Nate Schmidt and keeping Dmitry Kulikov on defense while adding Tomas Nosek for Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk Sam Reinhart Carter Verhaeghe Sam Bennett; with Anton Lundell being signed to an extension contract.
The Panthers are packed, and Sergei Bobrovsky remains their starting goalie, providing plenty of reasons why the team remains one of the favorites to capture another Stanley Cup this season. Though no easy task, their focus remains on today rather than dwelling on what happened previously.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (Last Season, Third Place) One of the more improved teams in the NHL Atlantic Division are the Toronto Maple Leafs, particularly on defense. Adding Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpaa as well as Anthony Stolarz for Joseph Woll has resulted in increased defense success this year for Toronto.
Management decided that Craig Berube would be an appropriate coach to lead this core, though Mitch Marner and John Tavares could leave at season’s end; also it marks a new era with Auston Matthews serving as captain and William Nylander striving to take another step.
However, one question still looms large for this team in the playoffs: are they capable of victory? Goalies and defense haven’t been an issue in these playoffs; goal scoring has. Berube needs everyone onboard the system they employ so he can lead it effectively.
This team may not be perfect yet, but they must show more intensity to win when it counts. As is usually the case when playoff failure occurs, changes could come at the start of 2019. Let’s see what develops this year as they start the comeback campaign once more.
3. Boston Bruins (Final Year Runner-up)
In the NHL Atlantic Division, things can get confusing quickly and unexpectedly. Boston remains an excellent team; don’t count them out! Jeremy Swayman just agreed on a contract agreement and will take over as their primary goalie when ready.
Does Boston Bruins Goalie Jeremy Swayman Deserve to Join the Elite Goaltender Group? Joonas Korpisalo serves as Swayman’s backup, with Linus Ullmark now playing for Ottawa Senators. Boston boasts an excellent goalie coach in Bob Essena who has shown amazing success working with goalies of all abilities; along with Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov’s signing, which addressed areas in need, Boston now have one of three elite goaltenders among all three teams within its divisional.
4. Tampa Bay Lightning (Last Year Finished Fourth)
One team that remains fascinating within the NHL Atlantic Division is Tampa Bay Lighting. General Manager Julien BriseBois made headlines last season when he selected Jake Guentzel over Steven Stamkos; as well as recalling Ryan McDonagh while sending Mikhail Sergachev away for Utah.
Last Summer, Tampa Bay and Steven Stamkos parted ways and went their separate ways.
So this team has undergone significant change. Victor Hedman was appointed captain, while Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Guentzel remain strong first line forwards; however, their offensive depth seems limited beyond these three players; Brandon Hagel may offer something extra while Cam Atkinson may no longer match what was once offered him by other NHL clubs.
BriseBois made some questionable decisions over time. If Tampa Bay do not experience similar success as before due to his mistakes (Tanner Jeannot trade and Stamkos Saga being two examples), one might point fingers at him for these decisions as mistakes. While Andrei Vasilevskiy remains with them as is McDonagh with no Sergachev around to protect their defense corps – thus keeping Tampa Bay on a threshold team status again this season.
5. Detroit Red Wings (Last Year: Fifth Place) If Tampa Bay does not take fourth, Detroit may make the playoffs this season and should. General manager Steve Yzerman has put together an effective roster reminiscent of Red Wings teams from the mid to late 90s.
Do the Detroit Red Wings Need to Make Playoffs This Season? Young guns Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider got extensions this offseason; Patrick Kane returned, Vladimir Tarasenko signed his two year extension, Alex DeBrincat is healthy as Dylan Larkin, while JT Compher, Andrew Copp and Tyler Motte provide quality pieces.
This team boasts excellent defense with Erik Gustafsson as part of its lineup, but their goaltending needs to improve for an ideal finish in 2019-20 – Detroit nearly made the playoffs but missed out due to tiebreakers. Ville Husso, Alex Lyon, and Cam Talbot will need to step up. Goaltending was handled last season for this squad but failed.
Could 2019 be their year to break through? There’s promise there, no doubt; let’s see if they can secure one or two saves and make their mark in history.
6. Ottawa Senators (Last Year Finished Seventh)
A lot of people expect something great this season from Ottawa Senators; although, in reality they have disappointed since Linus Ullmark joined as goaltender. However, many still hold high hopes that they could do something remarkable this time around.
NHL Rumors: Linus Ullmark and Ottawa Senators Not Eager to Sign Extension Agreement
Ullmark has had an outstanding preseason. For Ottawa Senators fans, starting strong is paramount this season and Nick Jensen from Capitals was traded to them to strengthen the defensive unit as Jakob Chychrun rejoins Brady Tkachuk Tim Stutzle Shane Pinto and Claude Giroux join the offense as stars like David Perron become part of their attack lineup.
The Senators need to score goals this season and get off to an aggressive start, particularly during October and November, which have proven fatal to their playoff hopes the past two seasons. Travis Green must get his team playing more aggressively defensively and having Shane Pinto around will certainly aid this cause.
Ottawa will see improvements, but will that be enough for playoff consideration? This division can be very competitive.
7. Montreal Canadiens (Last Year Finished Eighth) This season could determine their place either sixth or eighth; all depends on how things unfold this year and when their rebuild will progress further. Regardless of what their management says, Montreal expects meaningful games during March and April and it would be an immense let down if that didn’t materialize.
Montreal Can Help Patrik Laine Succeed with Canadiens
Patrik Laine was set to bring Montreal closer to success this season with his addition; unfortunately though he will miss at least several months due to a left knee injury suffered during preseason play he would have added goals this year; nonetheless Montreal continues as an inviting family for players.
Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle have seen another year together with Montreal Canadiens’ players like Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky Nick Suzuki Alex Newhook Kaiden Guhle becoming veterans on both ends. If Kirby Dach remains healthy he could prove an invaluable addition while Lane Hutson could make more than you realize as backend player with Montreal – keep your eye on Montreal this season for sure.
8. Buffalo Sabres (Last Season: Sixth Place)
Unfortunately, the Buffalo Sabres will likely finish near the bottom of the Atlantic Division again this season. While making several adjustments over the off-season such as signing Jason Zucker and extending Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen extensions respectively and trading Matthew Savoie without much fanfare; none were major initiatives by management that might change this fateful outcome for their franchise.
Lindy Ruff returned as head coach of the Sabres for his second stint and hopes to end their playoff drought, just like before when he made it in. Buffalo remains locked into its endless rebuild, having seen talent come and go while still failing to qualify for postseason playoffs.
Now the Sabres boast an elite group on defense with Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram and Mattias Samuelsson – not to mention forwards JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson Alex Tuch and Jordan Greenway who must find ways to score goals for them! They need a strategy in order to do that successfully.
Buffalo will face another challenging year without making the playoffs – this would mark 14 consecutive seasons without reaching that milestone.