Barring any further moves, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ offseason has been more defined by what was lost than what was gained. The departure of reigning leading scorer Mitch Marner leaves a massive hole in the lineup, one that none of the incoming forwards like Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy or Dakota Joshua can be expected to fill on their own.
Sure, the Maple Leafs may be more balanced and flexible in terms of their organizational structure and salary cap, but it’s difficult to argue that the current roster is an improvement on the one that we last saw fall to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the postseason.
While Toronto was figuring out how to move on from their 102-point superstar forward, the remaining seven teams in the Atlantic Division were all working to address their own rosters. Even if the Maple Leafs managed to at least maintain roughly a similar talent level to last season’s division-winning club, they will have to contend with a group of improved rivals who will be hungry to wrestle the Atlantic away from them this season.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Maple Leafs’ rivals were up to over the summer and how they are looking heading into 2025-26, as Toronto seeks to defend its division title:
Boston Bruins
Key Arrivals: Tanner Jeannot, Viktor Arvidsson, head coach Marco Sturm
Key Departures: Jakub Lauko, Parker Wotherspoon
The first steps towards a rebuild for the Boston Bruins came at last year’s trade deadline, as Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau all found new homes as part of a stunning sell-off by the organization. In that sense, most of the legwork was already done by general manager (GM) Don Sweeney ahead of the summer.
Nevertheless, Sweeney and the Bruins weren’t idle this offseason. They looked to remain tough to play against by signing hard-nosed forward Tanner Jeannot to a five-year contract and also adding Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers. Perhaps most important to their long-term growth, they drafted Boston College standout James Hagens with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 Draft.
Former Maple Leaf Fraser Minten will get an opportunity to crack Boston Bruins’ lineup out of training camp. (Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)
Despite the presence of holdovers like David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, this looks like it could still be a development-focused season in Boston with a young roster and rookie head coach Marco Sturm at the helm. With that in mind, look for the emergence of Bruins prospects like Hagens, Fabian Lysell and, most notably for Maple Leafs fans, Fraser Minten.
Buffalo Sabres
Key Arrivals: Michael Kesselring, Josh Doan, Alex Lyon
Key Departures: J.J. Peterka, Jacob Bernard-Docker
After a seventh-place finish in the Atlantic last season extended their playoff drought to a whopping 14th season, things didn’t get much better for the Buffalo Sabres in the summer. At a time when the franchise should be focused on amassing as much young talent as possible, they shipped out J.J. Peterka, a 23-year-old rising star on the wing who was reportedly unhappy with the direction of the team.
Regardless of how you feel about promising youngsters Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan, who came over from the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Peterka, this still represents the loss of a potential cornerstone who has recorded 55 goals over the past two seasons.
If we’re looking at the positives for the Sabres, they possess a surprisingly strong blue line for a bottom-feeding team, with Kesselring, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and the newly re-signed Bowen Byram representing a good, young top-four. Overall, however, this is a team sorely in need of upper-tier talent – and you don’t get that by trading away one of your best forwards.
Detroit Red Wings
Key Arrivals: John Gibson, Mason Appleton, James van Riemsdyk, Jacob Bernard-Docker
Key Departures: Alex Lyon, Petr Mrazek, Vladimir Tarasenko
Every season, the Detroit Red Wings appear poised to break through and return to the postseason for the first time since 2015-16. And who knows, maybe in a division without the Maple Leafs, Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning, they would have by now. GM Steve Yzerman spent the summer addressing some of the organization’s weaknesses, namely in net, but it remains to be seen whether it was enough.
After a season in which Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and Petr Mrazek all shared the crease with varying degrees of success, the Red Wings took a gamble on effective but injury-prone Anaheim Ducks backstop John Gibson. The oft-rumoured trade candidate came relatively cheap (a 2026 fourth-round pick, a 2027 second-round pick and Petr Mrazek), but he also comes with two years and $12.8 million on his contract and a dodgy track record of health that has seen him make just 75 appearances over the past two seasons.
John Gibson is the new hope in net for the Detroit Red Wings. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
Otherwise, little was done to add to a group that finished 22nd league-wide in goals scored. Mason Appleton and James van Riemsdyk will help in depth roles, but any offensive improvement will hinge on the growth of forwards like Marco Kasper, Jonatan Berggren and maybe even another leap from Lucas Raymond (who is somehow still only 23). The big question in Motown is whether teams like the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens have already passed the Red Wings by.
Florida Panthers
Key Arrivals: Jeff Petry, Daniil Tarasov, Jack Studnicka
Key Departures: Nate Schmidt, Nico Sturm, Vitek Vanecek, Jaycob Megna
Let’s be honest: if the Panthers’ three key free agents, Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand, had all found new homes in the offseason, we’d probably still be including them in discussions about Cup contenders for 2025-26. The fact that Florida and GM Bill Zito found a way to get all three under contract means that the reigning two-time Cup champions enter the season as heavy favourites to three-peat.
The willingness of Bennett, Ekblad and even the trade deadline pickup Marchand to stick around when they likely could have earned more elsewhere speaks to the culture that the Panthers have built. They enjoyed a dominant Cup defence last spring (only Toronto took them to seven games) and now get to run it back with a full season of Marchand.
If there was one area of concern for the Panthers, it would come in net, where the club has little depth behind 36-year-old Sergei Bobrovsky. Current backup Daniil Tarasov comes over from the Columbus Blue Jackets organization with a career 3.44 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 65 games. That said, there simply isn’t much hand-wringing in South Florida these days – and with good reason.
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Montreal Canadiens
Key Arrivals: Noah Dobson, Zach Bolduc, Sammy Blais, Joe Veleno, Kaapo Kahkonen
Key Departures: David Savard, Christian Dvorak, Emil Heineman, Joel Armia
One of the best stories of the 2024-25 season and now with one of the most enviable collections of talent league-wide, the Canadiens were in prime position to make an offseason impact by virtue of having star talent on rookie contracts. And make an impact they did, acquiring Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders and signing him to an eight-year contract.
Dobson arrives as an immediate difference-maker on the blue line. Just 25 years of age, he and 21-year-old Lane Hutson should form the foundation of Montreal’s back end for years to come. Up front, the Canadiens made some modest moves with the additions of Zach Bolduc, Sammy Blais and Joe Veleno, but smartly prioritized internal development over external help.
New Montreal Canadien Noah Dobson might be the most notable fresh face in the Atlantic Division this season. (John Jones-Imagn Images)
There is, after all, plenty of opportunity for growth from within. Juraj Slafkovsky is poised to take the next step forward in what will be his fourth NHL season, while Ivan Demidov now gets a proper training camp after bursting onto the scene last season. Even Bolduc could be ready for more production after a breakthrough 19-goal season with the St. Louis Blues. The club also still might have more moves up their sleeve, boasting more than $4.5 million in cap space after trading Carey Price’s contract.
Ottawa Senators
Key Arrivals: Jordan Spence, Lars Eller, Arthur Kaliyev
Key Departures: Adam Gaudette, Anton Forsberg
Last season, the Senators made the leap into the postseason picture and even gave the Maple Leafs a handful in their six-game opening round loss. Now, how can they take the next step?
It was a fairly quiet offseason in Ottawa, with the Senators making an under-the-radar trade for defenceman Jordan Spence and adding forwards Lars Eller and Arthur Kaliyev. The club also re-signed Claude Giroux, Fabian Zetterlund and Nick Cousins, while losing 19-goal scorer Adam Gaudette.
While some Senators fans may be disappointed that the club didn’t follow up their first playoff appearance in eight seasons with a big splash, Ottawa is showing their faith in an in-their-prime core that includes Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Dylan Cozens, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson. GM Steve Staios and the front office is counting on the fact that the group’s newfound taste of playoff hockey helps them grow as players.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Key Arrivals: Pontus Holmberg, Jakob Pelletier, Boris Katchouk
Key Departures: Nick Perbix, Luke Glendenning
The blockbuster signing of Jake Guentzel last summer meant that cap space would be tight for the Lightning this season, so it was of little surprise that they had a fairly quiet offseason. The additions of Pontus Holmberg and Jakob Pelletier represent smart, low-risk moves for players who could play useful roles (Maple Leafs fans are readily aware of the value of the versatile Holmberg). Furthermore, with apologies to Nick Perbix and Luke Glendening, Tampa Bay didn’t lose much either.
For better or for worse, the Lightning are roughly back to where they were last season. Their success or failure will be up to the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Andrei Vasilevskiy and, to a lesser extent, Guentzel. Even years after their Cup triumphs, that talented core is still good enough to stand tall in the Atlantic, as they did en route to a 102-point second place finish last season. However, it may not be enough to help them emerge from the shadow of the state-rival Panthers.
Nevertheless, expect the Lightning to be back firmly in the chase for the division crown. What happens come playoff time – and against Florida – is another matter entirely.
Already contending with moving on without Marner, the Maple Leafs will face challenges aplenty in the Atlantic this season. As the season progresses, they must contend with the class of the NHL in the Panthers, an always-formidable Lightning team and two of their chief rivals – the Senators and Canadiens – very much on the rise. And don’t sleep on the Red Wings or Sabres, either. There won’t be many nights off in the Atlantic.
