The Detroit Red Wings FINALLY acquired a starter-level goalie, but is John Gibson enough?

The Detroit Red Wings FINALLY acquired a starter-level goalie, but is John Gibson enough?

2024-25 featured a change in the Atlantic Division playoffs for the first time in a while. Will we get another change in 2526? That’s coming up here on the Locked On NHL podcast. This is the Locked On Network’s 2025 NHL season preview. Your team every day. What’s up, hockey fans? Welcome in to another great season as we get rolling here towards the 202526 NHL season. Welcome in to the Locked On NHL podcast season preview series. We’re here talking about the Atlantic Division today. My name is Jody Biosi from the Locked On Sabres podcast, joined by Brian Fiser from the Locked On Red Wings podcast, Ian McLaren from Locked On Bruins, and then Ian Bove from the Locked On Canadians podcast as we are not fully the non-playoff teams from last season. Ian B from uh up there, not in Montreal, but covering the Canadians. you made the playoffs last year, so you’re looking to repeat. We got a couple of droughts over here on this side. And um we’re looking for a better and brighter season. I’m sure everybody is a step in the right direction for these four teams. So, a lot to get to coming up on today’s show. We’re going to look at the offseason additions and subtractions from each of these teams, what the expectation is for each. We’ll take a look at the overunders at the betting markets over our buddies at FanDuel Sportsbook, what the level of expectation is for everybody as well. So, lot of fun, lot to get to coming up as we get rolling towards the hockey season. And we can jump right into it on starting with you, Ian, on the Habs last year and making the playoffs. So, tell us, especially here in uh Buffalo, someone who hasn’t seen his team make it since he was 15. What are the playoffs like? What’s that like? It was, you know, it was a lot of fun last year. It was I I’ve always thought that the teams that you don’t expect to do well that are sort of making the steps in the right direction are the most fun to watch, right? There’s no expectations. There’s no We’re not white knuckling it through games. We’re having a good time watching Lane Hudson just ball out every night. We’re having a fun time just watching Nick Suzuki have a career year. And we get rewarded at the end of the year with with, you know, a playoff birth. They they clinched on the last day of the regular season for them. um you know a season that didn’t start all that well. They struggled out of the gate. They lost Patrick Line last year um for a good portion of it and he comes back and he’s electrifying. Um it was really exciting. It was exciting to get rewarded for those years of the tank. It’s something that you know you you’re sold that as the trade-off where you know if we tank and we we are intentionally bad for a few years we will get rewarded with this. It’s not every team gets rewarded with it and I think the Canadians were very early in that. We were a lot quicker than any of us expected the Canadians to be in that position. So coming into this season, like we’re feeling great. There’s a little bit higher expectations, but I think we’re still kind of in the same feeling. We’re we’re very much like we didn’t really Yeah. You know, expect to be there. We might not really expect to be there again this year. So, let’s just enjoy another, you know, young season with these guys. Yeah. And making the playoffs even could just take a little bit of that pressure off your back, little monkey off your back if you’re the coaching staff and management, too. And I think that can open things up for what they do as well. Ian McLaren joining us this year. You’re not uh normal to our show on our side here. U there man I I wonder from your perspective because looking up at the division this division has had no parody over the years. Like it is rare that one of Toronto, Tampa, Florida, Florida in the last three years and Boston have all been right there in the postseason or at least close to it. and last year a very big difference. So, we’ll get to it. But, I mean, could not have been a fun season for Bruins fans. No, it’s uh yeah, it was definitely a situation the last few years where there was a clear top four, bottom four in the uh in the Atlantic division for the Bruins. I mean, there’s no one thing that went wrong for them last year. There was just so many ingredients in the soup that ended up being yeah pretty rank and uh un inedible at the end of the season. And you know it started with uh Jeremy Swayman’s uh prolonged contract stalemate and how public that was in training camp. He missed all of the exhibition season. Wasn’t even back for the season opener. And then you had of course Jim Montgomery fired. You had the uh kind of exodus of core guys at the trade deadline including captain Brad Marshon, Charlie Makavoy getting injured at Four Nations, Hampus Lindome. There was just so many things that went wrong and uh the vibes around Bruins fans pretty low right now. uh already on edge here even in the preseason and really hoping for, you know, not everything to go right or to kind of turn around overnight, but at least some more things to go uh in their favor. I know to many hockey fans that would seem ridiculous for Bruid’s fans to kind of be looking for things to go in their favor after such a long string of success, but uh there is some optimism under new head coach Marco Sturm. Uh not maybe not as much oppos or uh optimism when it comes to roster composition, but when it comes to coaching staff and the vision, uh it seems to be somewhat on track at least heading into this season. Sure. No. and that that level of winning will always raise the bar. It’s a different life that that you live when you’ve done that for so many years. And then finally, introduce everyone to Brian Fischer, my uh my drought brother uh from Detroit here. Uh Sabres with the longest drought in NHL history. The Red Wings with the fourth longest drought in NHL history. So, we have definitely felt the short end of the stick on that parody in the division. Detroit’s come a little closer than Buffalo has in the last couple of years. So, I don’t know where you are after last season going into this year. Um, but man, it would be fun to just do some shows and some previews of playoff series at some point. That’d be fun hopefully. Yeah, I’m been doing this since uh 2022, I believe, was Raymond Insiders rookie year, so I’ve not covered a playoff game yet. Uh, after 25 consecutive years of making the playoffs, uh, it’s been a long drawn out rebuild, which Joe, I’m sure you can relate to. Oh, yeah. But in as far as vibes go, a tense is is I think a lot of what Red Wings fans are feeling. We’ve had Eiserman as the general manager since 2019. So this would be year seven, I think, by the end of the season. And Red Wings fans feel as if it’s been dragging on for a little bit too long. And me myself going into the off season said, “Okay, the drafting and the development of young players has been phenomenal.” You look at Lucas Raymond at fourth overall. He and Tim Stutzel look like the best two players from that draft. Even after they get screwed in that weird expanded draft lottery that year because they did the two draft lotteryies and the Red Wings somehow fell to fourth, uh, they got Lucas Raymond out of it. Year prior, Eisermanman reached for more at Cider. became a CER trophy winner and last year established himself as one of the in my opinion one of the best two-way defenseman in the league. Um the development’s been great. Lots of young prospects in the pipeline. The issue then becomes the pro scouting has been abysmal. The contracts that they have signed in three free agency have been rough. Andrew Cop hasn’t lived up to expectations. JT Comfort hasn’t lived up to expectations. Ben Sherat has been overslotted. I will get defend him in that element that he’s playing way higher than he probably should be, but they also signed him to a contract to do that, which again, bad contract yet again. So, it’s those acquisitions made through free agency that largely have not panned out. And so, a lot of Red Wings fans going into this offseason said, “Okay, young talent’s here, but you need to supplement this young talent with an impact move.” And kind of not through entirely his own fault, right? this last off season who became available. Everyone signed with their team and the ones who didn’t knew already where they wanted to go because the cap was surging up. Everyone had the money to retain their guys and so nobody had to trade anyway uh trade anyone away through cap crunch either. So the the tense it’s definitely tense in Detroit because we’re ready for this team to make the playoffs especially after missing out on a tiebreaker two seasons ago. But at the same time, looking at similar to Ian M, Ian of Bruins, uh, was bringing up, it’s hard to see them breaking through with this roster composition unless internal growth ensues. Yeah, that the cap point is really good. Eers goes to Carolina, but otherwise, like, right, they’re half the league has more than $4 million in cap space that they couldn’t use because there just weren’t enough guys that were worth it. Um, so maybe we’ll see that filled out in the coming years. So, we’re going to take a look at the overunders. Our best positive spin on each team as well. I’m going to try really hard for Saber fans on that one. Uh, so that’s coming up here. And here, if you’re watching along on YouTube, we got the overunders up there. Montreal at 92 over at FanDuel Sportsbook for their point total. The Sabres coming in at 86 12. That even surprised me a little bit. That was a little lower a couple weeks ago. I think it’s actually been bet up, but 86 12 for the Savers. Detroit at 83 and 1/2. And then Boston down at 79 a half. So the betting line not being kind to the Bruins line on the season. So Ian Boa where we’ll start with you on Montreal for that total and best sales pitch for them hitting the over 92 and a half. Would that even be a a successful season in your mind just barely getting over that that threshold and maybe squeaking into the playoffs again or do you think the most optimistic point of view for Montreal is something beyond that? I I think it’s a reasonable aspiration for them to to hit the over on this one. Last year they made the playoffs with 91 points which wouldn’t have been enough in the West. Um the West would have been uh the Flames would have beaten them out to get into the playoffs if they were in the Western Conference. So, I think I I’m going to take the over. This feels like a 95 point team. And I I say that because, you know, they’re getting a full season out of Patrick Lane. Whether or not that is, you know, what what they’re, you know, what they need, they’re going to get it. Um they’re getting a new guy and no adoption. They’re getting the odds on favorite to win the caller trophy and Ivon Deidov. Uh there’s a lot to be excited about them adding to this roster. ENM, the Bruins 79 and a half. That’s a low total. What’s your most optimistic view of the Bruins? And would you be over or under on that number? Uh, in terms of the Bruins, they finished 76 points last season, tied for worst in the Eastern Conference. I find it hard to believe that they can’t muster at least two more wins to get back to 80 points to hit the over on this. Uh, like I said before, Hampus Lindomes coming back, Charlie Makavoy coming back. You take any top two defenseman off any team in the NHL and that that’s certainly going to hurt uh bring them back. Hopefully that will also help Jeremy Swayman to reestablish himself as a a hand goalender in the NHL. You know, the biggest question for the Bruins is who’s going to score beyond Dave Apostro? He had 106 points last season. The next closest guy was Morgan Geeki with 57. Uh, which is just a staggering difference. Uh, I know the Bruins bottomed out, but David Apostto should be more in the in the MVP conversation maybe this season if they’re challenging for a wild card spot. I don’t think they’re going to make the playoffs. I think they’re at best like second wild card team maybe sneaking in. Uh but to suggest that they can’t muster at least four more points than they did last year seems uh seems for me like if if Swayman can have an incredible year too like he I think he’s capable of that but it’s just going he’s going to have to be way better than he was last year obviously. Um Brian on the Red the Red Wings this year 83 and a half is their total which is a very familiar season to what they’ve had in the past couple of years. They’ve been a little bit above that um in recent seasons. So what do you like about that number over or under? And what is the high end? What’s the most optimistic view for you on Detroit? I’m taking the over on this one. Uh, actually Scotty and I did a whole episode on this overunder and we personally were they they finished with 86 points last year. It was a tumultu tumultuous Oh my god, I can’t say that word right. It was a difficult season last year. Um, yes, it’s late. And uh, they went through a coaching change. They went through a long slump of losing. Then they went through highs of two sevename win streaks. They finished with 86 points. The year prior they finished with 90 91 again missing on the tiebreaker. I think their absolute ceiling is what we saw from the Montreal Canadians last year. You know 91 92 points clinching the final wildcard seed. I can see that. I think 83 and a half is actually a little low because I can’t I see them easily replicating their point production from last year. I think that’s honestly the slot is like 85 86 points. I think that’s likely where they end up missing the playoffs which sucks to predict for my own team. Unless, of course, going back to what I was saying earlier, internal growth happens. Like, if Marco Casper and Simon Edison can take that step, great rookie years, can they take the step into being legitimate, impactful NHL players at the top of the lineup? If that happens, in a good spot. If newcomer John Gibson can be the goalie that we hope he can be in Detroit, playing behind a albeit marginally better defense in Detroit over Anaheim. like there there are factors in play that I think that Detroit I think Detroit’s going to hit that over regardless, but their absolute best I think they can get to about 91. If they hit below a 500 point percentage, I would be shocked because roster to like year to year, year-over-year, this roster is really not any different. And I think Todd Mlen as a in a full season with the Detroit Red Wings is going to help a lot because as much as I approved of Derrick Lonesome, and I’ll wear that because I I was in Derrick Lone’s corner. Um he was a little bit rigid in Lone was in his belief and I think the team kind of suffered from that. The offense and creativity stagnated. Mlullen came in and immediately first practice he had is play effing hockey. You’ve done it your whole lives. He wants the team to rely on their instincts. Now they have this system that’s based fully on gas all the time. 100%. Do not ride the brakes. If you make a mistake, I’d rather you make a mistake because you were trying rather than being afraid to make a mistake. And it last year it felt a lot like they didn’t want to make mistakes rather than trying to win hockey games. Yeah. Sounds a man that sounds a lot like what the Sabres were a couple years ago when they missed the playoffs by one point and they abandoned that strategy and they haven’t been as good since. Uh I criticized them a lot for it. I have actually compared the Red Wings from two years ago to the Sabres of three years ago a lot because it was a lot of just trying to outscore your problems. Yeah. Don Gran Don Granad say all the time don’t worry like they were all they were the youngest guys in the league. Don’t worry about making mistakes. Just go try to score as many goals as you can. Be aggressive. That that team just didn’t have a goalie, right? Like if you’re going to play that way, you got to get a few saves and they just got none and they still almost made it. Um Detroit hasn’t had a goalie since Jimmy Howard. So, well, it’s funny. I you you can yell be yell at me if if you need to because my reason for optimism on the Buffalo Sabres is taking the goalie that would go under your umbrella of they haven’t had a goalie in a while. The Sabres had Alex Lion in the offseason and I don’t know that I’m expecting Alex Lion to come in and be some Vzna candidate as the reason why I think the Sabres could reach their ceiling which I’m with you guys like it’s around like low 90s points maybe a little lower than what I would think Montreal’s best season is. It’s got to come with goalending though. I the Sabres are trying to play a much more defensive style. They have not been successful at doing that in the last two years as they’ve been trying to. And I’m better I’m in a better place than I have been in the past because last couple years been just hope it’s Ukapeka Lucin and that’s kind of it. It’s him and a rookie. It’s been the goalie setup the last couple of years or James Rymer off waiverss. This year I don’t know which one it will be or if any of them will but between Lucinin, Alex Lion, and Alex Gorggivv three NHL goalies I think they’re just throwing darts in hoping close your eyes and hope that one of them is able to give you a decent season. So, if the Sabres can get that to work, I think they could be like a 91 92 point team. But I think the possibility is that they’re lower. There’s way more of them. So, I some reason for optimism, but if I’m being realistic, I think the Sabres are probably underneath that 86 12 point total. Coming back on the other side, what were our team’s biggest offseason additions and some breakout candidates to look for from Detroit, Montreal, Boston, and Buffalo? All coming back here on a season preview edition of the Atlantic Division on the Lockdown NHL podcast. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there is Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool. helps bring your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. If you’ve put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Monarch does all the heavy lifting for you. You can link all your accounts and minutes, see clear data visuals, smart categorization of your spending, and finally feel feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. I like it best. Helps keep track of how often I’m going out to eat. And also, you know, you and your partner helps keep that in line as well. So, don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with the code locked on NHL. Welcome back, Jody Biosi, Brian Fischer, Ian McLaren, and Ian Bo from locked on Canadians, Bruins, Red Wings, and Sabres. all getting ready for the 2025 26 season and it was a long off season. Longer longer for some than others. Um the it was a weird off season. More cap space for all these teams but not a lot of top players that were available to fill that up. So Ian, we’ll start with you on Montreal. What type of offseason was it for the Canadians and what would you call their biggest offseason edition? It was uh funny. There was a quiet off season and then there were two big pops. Um they didn’t, you know, the Canadians spent a lot of time probably just checking the trade market. Kent Hughes is very active in that. Just, you know, his his past as an agent, I think, lends itself to him uh constantly wanting to know what’s going on out there. Um the big one happened the day of the draft, uh with Noah Doppson coming to Montreal and immediately signing an eight-year contract worth $9.5 million a year. Um Montreal gives up not a lot in their immediate in the immediate sense, but the package is is substantial. It’s two first round picks and Emil Heinman who uh was beloved in Montreal in his brief time with the Canadians. Um you know, Heineman of course last year was was I think he was like top five in rookie goal scoring and then he got hit by that car in Utah and like he his whole his season just fell apart. Like he he broke his wrist. They took they joked like Heinman was a physical player. They joked that the uh the car was totaled. Um you know it was I completely forgot. You know that was it was a wild story. I remember I got a text from my friend like Heinman got hit by a car. I was like excuse me I didn’t think we all just reacted like wait that was real. You weren’t like using an analogy like no he actually got hit by a car. No it was a state vehicle in Utah. So uh be careful on the streets. But you know he that’s that’s it was a substantial trade to get uh no adoption in Montreal and it’s a piece that a lot of teams I think were after. It’s a right shot, mobile puck moving defenseman capable of a 70point season like we saw. What’ll be interesting to see is um he’s not he’s not on the uh alpha power play unit in camp. That’s obviously going to be Lane Hudson’s chair for the remainder of his time in Montreal, you’d have to imagine. Um but he gets a pretty substantial power play unit in uh he gets Ivon Deidov and Patrick Line and Kirby Doc up front. So it’ll be interesting to see how he slots in from an offensers perspective. They also grab Zack Balduk in a trade with the uh St. Louis Blues. They trade Logan Mayu back the other way. With them grabbing Dobson and already having Reinbacher, Mayu become becomes expendable, another mobile right shot defenseman, and they get a guy who’s going to slot in on another power play unit, the one with Nick Suzuki and Cole Coughfield. Uh and he’s going to play the bumper. Uh it’s it’s they added a lot of, you know, they’re starting to add more talent to help them now, which I think is key to their rebuild turning the corner. It’s we’re not trading for futures anymore. We’re trading futures away. It’s it’s it this summer marked a big milestone in the the rebuild in that it seems like the future is still important, but the now is becoming more important. And then of course, we spent all summer talking about Sydney Crosby coming to Montreal. I I don’t It’s super fun. There’s only so much of it I can do before I stop to even I stop even believing myself when I say it. Get ready to do more of it cuz the Penguins are going to be really bad again. and that’s going to be the story again. Yeah. So, I mean, and that’s that’s always going to be in the back of Canadians fans minds until we learn otherwise. Um, it’d be fun, but again, that’s that’s very much a a pipe dream at this point. Yeah. It’s either he retires or he goes to Colorado. One of those two things happens and then you probably start stop talking about it. Um, but other fun to even entertain the possibility. I I some of us can’t live the life of Crosby thinking about their team. Big Dobson move. I You’re right. Like there were a lot of teams in on him. the Sabres were trying to get him, but he didn’t want to sign an extension with a bunch of teams. Uh Montreal was one that he was willing to. So that’s that’s honestly one of the bigger moves I think in the NHL the offseason. By salary it is right 10 million 10.5 million per year for that. He’s their highest paid player going into the season. It’s it’s a big move for the Canadians. Ian on the Bruins Ian McLaren have locked on Bruins. What was their biggest offseason addition? That’s a tough one. They didn’t really do a ton in terms of adding to the roster. They had done some of the heavy lifting at the trade deadline last year by subtracting. I mentioned middle stat. They had some money to spend in free agency uh you know upwards of let’s say after signing some depth guys they sell at about 8 million 7.5 they turned that into the Jano signing and then they traded for uh Victor Arvdson. So that those two guys kind of take up what could have been a contract signed by a better player. As we have mentioned, those guys weren’t that available. Arvetson, I guess, you know, a bit of a flyer on him. The biggest additions though were uh a James Hagens falling to eight. I was going to say like exactly a year ago, if I had told you James Hagen’s going to fall to eight to the Bruins, like well one, you’d be mad they missed the playoffs, but you’d probably be happy he fell. Yes. like the Bruins, there was a chance at one point they could maybe get within the top five once they fell to seven in the draft. You know, who knows who you’re going to get. Hegin was at one point the number one prospect from that draft and to get him uh that was a huge uh a huge get for the Bruins in the draft. And then for you, Brian, so the Red Wings off season, you mentioned the John Gibson trade earlier. I was a little jealous of that move. Only a second round pick to get Gibson. I mean, he’s got potential even though it’s maybe been a while since he had his biggest best seasons in Anaheim, but is that the biggest move you think that that Detroit had? Yeah, without a doubt. It was uh just to go through the full trade since you did mention it there. Uh it was Peter Morazzic, who they picked up at the trade deadline. The only move they made at the deadline was acquiring Peter Morazzic and uh Craig Smith from Chicago who had what I think two points. Uh they traded away a second and a fourth round pick for John Gibson. So essentially a second round pick, right? Because fourth round picks can be become something, but often times they don’t 4% of the time it’s like very and you upgraded at goalending, right? So John Gibson without a doubt is the biggest acquisition that the Detroit Red Wings made this offseason. I I alluded to it earlier that they haven’t had uh stability in net for years since Howard’s retired. It’s been uh we had Thomas Grace, we had E uh Nidelkovich, we’ve had Vill, right? James Rhymer who then went to Buffalo, we had Alex Lion who then went to Buffalo. Um you know Cam Talbet and you know there’s a common theme amongst every single one of these goalies uh especially the most recent ones and Nadulkovicho and Talbot in that and even Lion when we start playing them they play out of their effing mind. They play incredible. And then because the Red Wings have no other goalie and because they have no defense, we wear them into the ground. The Red Wings wear them into the ground and by the end of the season, they’re not performing the way they did at the start of the year. John Gibson comes with a body of work that suggests he can play in a starter role. So that was without a doubt their best acquisition. And um I mean they acquired James Van Ree so now we have the number one and number two overall pick is still out here playing hockey right 16 goals this year getting 12 assists I guarantee it and if that’s what he does if that’s a huge win because the Red Wings depth scoring last season anyone outside the top two lines was terrible. Biggest addition for the Sabres this offseason. It’s funny like you it’s going to be one of the two is going to be the guy that you just talked about they replaced in Detroit. Um, but it was like part of why the Gibson move I thought was smart was the free agency market at goalie. There was nothing. It was Jake Allen who didn’t even move teams. He stayed in New Jersey and then it was Alex Lion. Like those were the top two names. So you can say the Sabres got the number one free agent goalie that changed teams, but it’s not like you’re expecting again super high results. But it’s something they it’s better than what they had from before. It’s a dart throw. So I think the Lions signing is one of them. And then Michael Kessler from Utah. It took too much to get him. But last year there’s a little lesson here of, you know, sometimes if you overpay on a deal, but if it’s the thing you need, it can end up looking okay. That’s what happened last year. The Sabres way overpaid to get Ryan Mloud because they needed a third line center. Top 10 pick they gave up. I still would tell you by in value that wasn’t a smart deal. But on the immediate, they got a third line center who scored 20 goals for them, which was an massive upgrade. So, and he’s only 25. It’s not like he’s 30. So, yeah, they overpaid for Michael Kessler to come play defense for them. 65. They’ve been dying for a partner for Owen Power on the second pairing. And they just have not been able to find anyone to really help him take a big step forward. So, I think Kessle Ring is the idea for that. I’m optimistic that that can work. Not telling he’s worth JJ Purka, but I do think he’s a big piece of what they needed. So, and then very quickly around the room, one one name very quickly on your breakout candidate for the season. Brian, you go with Marco Casper in Detroit? Yeah, let’s go with Marco Casper. All right. I’m going Zack Benson in Buffalo. I think that’s a pretty easy one for me. Uh Ian, on Montreal, who would you say is their breakout candidate this year? It’s it’s tough to not go with Ivon Deidov, right? He’s probably the odds on favor to win the the Calder named to watch this year. Although I don’t know I needed to alert anybody to that fact. He I he probably is the betting favorite to win the Calder. I’ll look at that. And then Ian on Boston who uh who was their breakout candidate? Uh go off a bit off the radar. I was going to say Matte Blum led the the AHL in goals last season. He’s getting a pretty good look in training camp so far and I think he could really uh he could really pop. When we come back, we’ll wrap things up by looking at what happens if these teams don’t make the playoffs and who do we like of our four teams here as the most likely team to jump in uh or in Montreal’s case, stay in. That’s coming up here on a season preview edition of the Locked on NHL podcast. Back here talking some 2526 NHL season, Atlantic Division hockey is almost back. You can you can hear the pucks hitting the boards. You can hear the skates, you know, cutting across the ice. We’re almost there. Atlantic Division and these four teams all looking to take steps forward and in some of our cases make the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Well, what if that doesn’t happen? What’s at stake if it does not happen that their teams make the playoffs? And Ian on Montreal like I think their answer might be a little different than ours because again the pressure of having just made it the year before maybe a narrow miss for them is different than these other teams but what would you say on that? What coaching in danger roster decisions GM or would it pretty much just be status quo you think if they don’t make it? I I think it would have to depend on how badly they miss. You know, if they’re if they’re fighting until April 3rd and they get eliminated, I’m I think we’re probably just saying, “All right, it’s it’s it’s another year.” Uh, you know, the Canadians by by all metrics are still one of, if not the youngest teams in the National Hockey League. They kept most of their young core there and they subtracted guys like David Sevard, who just retired. Uh, Christian D’vorak signed for way too much money in Philadelphia. uh Yul Aria goes back with Mark Gersan in in Los Angeles. So like they lost a lot of veterans on that team. So there might be some growing pains here. It’s they’ve kind of turned the roster over to the kids. Um the front office has always said they want that young core to take ownership of the team. Well, it’s their team now. Um I think there’s some, you know, there might be a sophomore slump of sorts for this core, not not, you know, not for each individual player. I think it also depends on how how healthy Kirby Doc can stay this year. If he can solidify that second line, they’re probably still in pretty good shape. If not, maybe they’re on the outside looking in. But I don’t I can’t like they’re not going to fire Marty St. Louis if things go poorly. Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton are uh reportedly uh working on extensions to stay with the Montreal Canadians in their front office positions. The vibes are good in Montreal regardless of of they’re making the playoffs or not this year. Obviously, it would be seen as a failure if they miss, but not so much so where you start ripping up the foundation on what they’ve already built. Ian, what about for Boston? What’s at stake if they don’t miss? I mean, the coach just got there, Marco Sturm. This is, I’m guessing, a Don Sweeney question. Yeah, you’d think so, but after bottoming out this past season, they actually went out and signed Don Sweeney to a contract extension uh this summer. So, the expectations are always pretty high in Boston. I think this season if they’ve fall down once again, it might be acceptable because the 2026 NHL draft is going to be pretty strong. They got a couple first round picks. Uh, you know, Sturm is going to have more than one season to try to work things out. What’s at stake, I think, for the Bruins is just wasting a prime year from David Posterno, uh, which they did this past season as well. And that would be a real shame. He is one of the elite players in the NHL. And I don’t think the NHL nor the Bruins really have done enough to kind of make him the face. I I would have made him captain already if it was up to me. Um and just kind of wasting one of his prime years and kind of risking having him kind of question whether he fits into the long-term plans. He’s he’s, you know, approaching 30. He’s kind of going to be thinking like, I want to add a cup to my resume here. Is this actually going to be the best place to do it? Yeah. One of the best players in the world. Um, Brian, what about the Red Wings? The Y where are we at in the Eizer plan? If it if the drought hits 10, uh, who’s on the hot seat? Is it could it be Eisermanman? It’s so tough, right? He’s a legend of the franchise. I’m sure you talk about this every day, but where are they at if they miss again? So this is a really this is an interesting situation because the narrative in the media and amongst the fans would be I mean if you don’t believe his seat is already hot it should be hot if they miss the playoffs again. So a lot of people in the fan base who are like already fed up this guy’s seat is hot we have to make a decision if we keep missing the playoffs. I don’t believe that is the reality of the situation though. It’s not about him being a legend which he is of course Steve Eisermanman one of the best to ever do it. uh it’s that he has the full trust of ownership uh ownership from all reports are is fully bought into his plan and you know in defense of that plan I see the logic there but eventually you know you got to see that leap get taken but he’s very he doesn’t show his hand he’s very steady he says when we make the playoffs we’ll be a playoff team we are rebuilding for as long as we’re not in the playoffs he’s literally he says things like that they interviewed him after they drafted and Marco Casper and they go, “Where are you at in the rebuild?” He goes, “Have we made the playoffs?” “Well, we’re still rebuilding.” So, it’s it’s very intentional. He doesn’t like to explain or expound upon or expand upon uh the plan because he doesn’t want to do what the old Ottawa GM did where he goes that rebuild is over and then miss the playoffs for three more straight years because then you’re really under fire. So, what’s at stake? I don’t really think anything unfortunately. And that’s a very nihilistic answer, but I’m being honest. No, it’s it’s tricky. Like I you almost can’t like hockeyy’s not going to have a lot of these examples. I’m almost thinking about in football when John Elway is the Broncos GM, right? And like what do you do? He’s the all-time player of your franchise, but it was going so poorly. And I think they bumped him up to president, which was almost kind of like a quasi we just got to get you out of the day-to-day operations seat. But that was years and years of him failing at the job before they ever they ever did that. Well, and the the difficult part of it is is it’s not even that he’s doing a terrible job either. like he’s doing really good at some things and he’s he’s doing some bad things poorly. And so, you know, when do you draw the line as an owner and go, “Okay, this isn’t working out.” Because again, going back to what I said at the beginning, the drafting and development of young talent, the identification of young talent has been they have a seventh round pick right now taken in 2023, the same year as the Bedard draft, that during training camp and preseason is playing on the line with Larkin and Raymond and he’s just playing his way through it and EMTT Finny. So, it’s just again the bad stuff is the pro scouting and free agent acquisition. So, it’s like uh the it’s it’s it’s a real give and take with uh his tenure right now. And then finally on the on the Sabres here, what’s at stake? I mean, I I kind of think everything is at stake this year. I think this is quietly an enormous season for the Sabres. And while I might not have a full expectation it’s going to go well for them, I think if it goes poorly, I think it could all blow up again, which would be the third time maybe in this drought that you could say that because guys patience runs out and I think it starts at the player level. The rumor about Dalene maybe wanting out last deadline that that was a bust that wasn’t true. But it it is an it’s an alarm bell. It’s okay. It might not have been true that day, but one day it will be. You can’t miss the playoffs forever and have your best players go into their ninth, 10th seasons in the league and expect that they’re just going to be okay with that when they’re playing at the peak of their position in the NHL. So, I don’t know what’s going on in Dali’s head or what’s going on in Ta Thompson’s heads, but those guys have been here for seven years now, and there’s only so much of this that I think you can take. If you’re a highly competitive person, I would question a player’s competitiveness if they were willing to just do this for the rest of their career. So eventually that patience runs out. That’s at the player level. And at the GM level, I mean, in my opinion, it should already be over. I mean, GMs don’t get a sixth season when they’ve never made the playoffs. That that rarely happens. Like it’s h I think Pierre Dorian is actually the only other example of it with the Ottawa Senators recently. So, but part of it is kind of what Brian said, like it’s up to the owner and the owner loves Kevin Adams and he’s an he’s been a Pagoula guy for long before he was even a GM. So, I could sit here and yell until I’m blue in the face that they should move on from the GM. But, it’s the owner’s call and the owner loves him. So, if only you had palm trees. Honestly, man, that’s the other thing. He steps in it a lot in press conferences. the fact that you knew that reference that that that is example enough that you know he steps in it. So that’s uh that’s how it’s going here. Lindy’s a legend of the team. He’s the all-time winningest coach. I don’t think they would take him out back if the season’s going poorly. I think he probably gets the year no matter what, but we’ll see. Uh and then finally to wrap things up quickly here. All right, you got to pick one of the four teams here. Montreal, Boston, Detroit, Buffalo. One of them makes the postseason. Who would you pick? Ian, we’ll start with you. Would you say your home Canadians? Yeah, I think so. I think that they’ve they’ve only improved as a roster over last year. I think, you know, the the remainder of the teams that we’ve talked about today have not taken the steps forward yet. I think Boston, it’s sort of I look at Boston the same way I look at the Rangers and like maybe they return to form a little bit and that’s part of the reason the Canadians got in last year is because both those teams fell off. Um, I I think if you had to pick one of these teams, it’s it’s the Havs. Ian, what about the Bruins? Or uh not about the Bruins, but what would you say of the the four teams here? Yeah, I I’d easily go with Montreal as well. Uh, it pains me to say it, but actually really enjoy watching this team. Uh, live in G, so big Nick Suzuki guy. He helped the the G Storm win the the OHL championship a few years back. Uh, love the the little guys in Cole Cfield. I mentioned my keeper team. I got Slickovski there as well. I’m hoping for bigger Hudson is one of the I think going to be the most fun players in the league. And also you I’m telling you right now I’m going to be angry when he doesn’t make Team USA at the Olympics. Uh I’ll yell at Bill Garin when that comes. Not even in orientation out of these 14. Not even at orientation camp. The guy was like one of the 10 best defenseman in the league last season. You know who else was in orientation camp? Alex Dbrinky who scored 39 goals last season. Yeah, that’s a weird one, too. He should have been on the Four Nations team. I don’t make the decision. We had to put We had to put old man Chris Krider on there. Uh, sorry. I I get mad about the team USA. Uh, Brian, what about for you? I mean, do I’d love to buck a I’d love to buck a trend and say the Detroit Red Wings. And I I do think that is a possibility. Uh, but when I look at the teams that got better this off season, uh, it Montreal, we’ve already said, acquisition of Dobson, acquisition of Zachary Buluk, another year older for Lane Hudson. It just seems like all things point to Well, let me let me let me change it up then a little bit because I think we’re clean sweep. We all agree Montreal is the most likely. Let me let me put it a different way then very quickly because we went really long here. Is it how likely is it that all four of our teams miss the postseason? And I think the real question there then becomes you need a fourth metro team to get in if you think all else is the same in the Atlantic. And I’m looking at the Rangers. There’s really nobody else though. Like I don’t think I think Columbus steps back. the Islanders, Penguins, Flyers don’t impress me. Like it might for me it comes down to Montreal and the Rangers for that final spot. Yeah, that makes total sense. Yeah, I can’t see uh or Ottawa drops out. I could see that happening. Possible. Possible. Uh but who knows? Yeah, the Rangers could bounce back for sure. I’m a big Columbus believer. I really I really like Jet Greavves. Um I I am a big uh Marenko uh uh booster. I think that team, Montreal was sweating bullets last year, man. They just could not get that final point to get in and every day it was like we know Columbus isn’t going to lose. Like they were the don’t look behind you monster last year. Um I’m very much like I think if there’s a team that gets in in the metro, it’s going to be them. That would that would force all of us into an early summer of golfing. Yeah. I I like uh I like what you said though with the the Rangers because when we talked earlier about the the few teams who made impactful additions, they got Vladv Gavikov who is the best defenseman on the market. Uh they did have to offload KeAre Miller to do so, but I do think that that’s a def definite up upgrade and they were doing so to capitalize on the now uh for that hockey team. So Eager Shurken still there, Art Timmy Paneran still very good. Um, I mean they they traded away Trouba and Krider, but I don’t think that’s really The JT Miller angle is the part that questions. Very strange. A very interesting wrinkle. We’ll see. We’ll see if JT Miller’s leadership style is the kick in the butt that that team needs. It’s either going to go really, really well or it’s going to go really, really poorly for them. It’s only going to be one of the two. So, boom bust for the Rangers. All right. Well, we wrapped up on a Metro team, but this was a lockedown NHL Atlantic Division preview, I promise you. Uh, thanks everybody for participating. Be sure to check out Locked on Red Wings with Brian, locked on Bruins with Ian, or locked on Canadians with Ian as well as, uh, we get ready for the start of the regular season. Stay tuned to Locked on NHL throughout the coming days and throughout the coming weeks as we get ready for the start of the season. Be sure to check out Locked on Fantasy Hockey, of course, Flip and Steel. they’ve got your stuff ready for all your drafting as we get closer and closer to the year for some keeper league uh talk during this podcast today. So, uh get a keeper league keeper league hockey is it’s more fun than football keeper league I would even say. So, be sure to get in on that as well. Thanks for listening and stay tuned here on the Lockdown NHL podcast part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. [Music]

Can the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings FINALLY snap their historically long playoff droughts? Can the Boston Bruins return to their usual winning ways after a disaster season? And are the Montreal Canadiens the class of this crop of four squads? In a special Atlantic Divison Hopefuls season preview, Joe DiBiase (Locked On Sabres), Brian Fisher (Locked On Red Wings), Ian McLaren (Locked On Bruins) and Ian Boisvert (Locked On Canadiens) link up to talk about life in the bottom half of the loaded Atlantic Division, and what the path to the playoffs looks like for each of them. They dissect each team’s FanDuel over/under projections, discuss big offseason moves, and dig into the stakes at play for each team if things don’t go to plan this season.

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