The first wave of NHL offseason movement has already changed the look of the Atlantic Division, and if you’re a Bruins fan, the picture isn’t exactly calming. Free agency has settled down, the draft is in the books, and with two days of free agency on the board, the division still feels like it’s shifting under Boston’s feet.
At the top, the Florida Panthers remain the team everyone else has to chase. They didn’t need a major overhaul, with injured players expected back healthy next season, but they still went out and added more.
Florida acquired Brady Tkachuk and brought back Radko Gudas. They also let Sergei Bobrovsky walk in free agency, then brought in Jacob Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils.
Former Bruins forward Garnet Hathaway is also now in the mix. That’s a nasty group to deal with in a seven-game series.
Right behind them, the Buffalo Sabres look like a team with real upward potential if they can solve one glaring issue. The roster is in good shape, and the only thing holding them back from climbing even higher is the crease.
The source material points to a capable goalie, even naming Connor Hellebuyck as the kind of addition that could push them up a spot. That’s the difference between being interesting and being dangerous.
Montreal sits in the next tier, and the Canadiens are in a similar spot to a few other teams in this division: not especially active yet, but positioned well enough that a few smart moves could be enough to land them in the top three and back in the playoffs. More changes are expected there before long.
Tampa Bay is still Tampa Bay. The Lightning added defenseman John Carlson, forward Ilya Mikheyev, and Jeffrey Viel, who previously played for Boston.
They also dealt Nick Paul to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dennis Hildeby. Even with some turnover, the core of the roster is expected to remain intact, and with Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal, they’re still a playoff team.
Then there’s Boston, and that’s where the concern starts to creep in. Don Sweeney’s offseason approach has apparently gone well beyond his well-known goalie fascination and into a heavy defenseman pileup.
The Bruins have so many blueliners that more moves seem inevitable, with trades likely coming. Boston sent Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers, cleared Viktor Arvidsson off the books when he signed with Detroit, and added JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth along with defenseman Will Borgen from the Rangers.
But Borgen, at least in this view, doesn’t solve the right-shot issue on defense.
Toronto is slotted just ahead of Boston, though the article notes the Bruins could easily have been placed there too. The difference is that Boston made the playoffs last season, while the Maple Leafs did not.
Toronto’s fortunes changed when it won the NHL Draft Lottery in May. Auston Matthews is expected back healthy, Brandon Carlo was shipped out, and the team now has Gavin McKenna after selecting him first overall in last week’s Entry Draft.
Ottawa comes next, and the loss of Brady Tkachuk looms large. That absence is going to be felt next season, even after the Senators acquired William Eklund from the San Jose Sharks.
There’s still plenty of work to do, and Linus Ullmark’s future remains uncertain after a rough season in Ottawa. He was a possible summer trade candidate, according to the source material, and among the teams near the bottom of the division, the Senators have the best shot to move up before opening night.
Detroit rounds out the list, and the frustration there is obvious. The Red Wings collapsed late last season and missed the playoffs, yet Steve Yzerman kept his job.
Detroit added former Bruins forward Viktor Arvidsson on a two-year deal with a $5 million AAV, bringing in a player who posted 25 goals and 29 assists in his only season in Boston. The article makes clear that more needs to happen in Detroit before anyone should feel better about where this is headed.
In Other News...
Bruins Got Shut Out Of Darnell Nurse Deal For One Stunning Reason
Bostons search for help on the blue line took an unexpected turn when Darnell Nurse wound up headed to the San Jose Sharks instead of New England. Edmontons deal sent Nurse to San Jose for Shakir Mukhamadullin and the rights to Zachary Sharp, but the path that might have brought him to Boston reportedly hit a wall inside the Bruins own locker room structure.
Reports indicate a Bruins player with a no-trade clause blocked the potential move, forcing the club to keep looking for a defenseman who could fit the need. Boston eventually pivoted to Will Borgen from the New York Rangers, a move that now reads like the fallback after the Nurse option never got off the ground. [Read more 🡒]
Former Bruins Forward Just Landed A Deal That Will Sting Fans
A former Bruins depth piece is getting a fresh start in Tampa Bay, and it is the kind of move Boston fans will notice even if it is not a headline grabber on its own. Jeffrey Viel, who spent part of last season with the Bruins before finishing the year in Anaheim, has landed a new deal with the Lightning as Tampa continues to stock up around the edges of its roster.
The signing adds another familiar name to a division rival and gives Viel a longer runway than he had in Boston, where he appeared in 10 games without recording a point. Tampa Bay also added unrestricted free agent forward Ilya Mikheyev, a move that further reshapes the Lightning's forward group as they look to build out their depth for the seasons ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Goalie Picture Just Took Another Sudden Turn On July 1
The goalie picture around Boston took another turn on July 1 as the Rangers used a busy day in free agency to reshape their roster, and one of the moves involved a familiar name to Bruins fans. New York added Joonas Korpisalo while also making a separate trade for defenseman Sean Durzi, then continued its roster tweaks by bringing in forwards Joe Veleno and Oliver Bjorkstrand on one-year deals.
For the Bruins, the Korpisalo move is the part worth watching most closely because it nudges an already unsettled goaltending landscape in a new direction. Boston has been sorting through its options since the offseason opened, and with another prominent goalie now off the board, the pressure only grows on the Bruins to decide how they want to handle the position before the summer settles down. [Read more 🡒]