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Todd Cordell
1. Tampa Bay Lightning - They have players that should seriously contend for the Rocket Richard, Art Ross, Norris, and Vezina. They're also very deep. I don't think the Lightning will run away with the division but I like them to win it.
2. Toronto Maple Leafs - An already elite offense should be even better with John Tavares joining the fold. The continued development of numerous core players will help as well. I think their defense is a little better than it gets credit for and Frederik Andersen is more than capable of providing above average goaltending. The Leafs will be very good.
3. Boston Bruins - The Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak line is the best in the league. Thanks in large part to the emergence of Jake DeBrusk, Ryan Donato, and Danton Heinen, the Bruins should be able to keep that elite top unit intact without worrying about a lack of secondary scoring. I think the defense is fine and, while Tuukka Rask may be a little overrated at this point in his career, a Rask/Jaroslav Halak duo should be good enough to get the job done.
4. Florida Panthers - With the addition of Mike Hoffman, their top-6 is among the best in the league. Full seasons from Henrik Borgstrom and Frank Vatrano should give their bottom-6 some needed pop as well. If the goaltending holds up – a healthy Roberto Luongo would help – they'll be in the mix for a Wild Card spot.
5. Buffalo Sabres - Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary will provide some much-needed speed and scoring ability on the wings. Rasmus Dahlin should be an impact player on defense from the word go. Unfortunately, the Sabres are still pretty shallow and are probably a year or two away from really pushing for a playoff spot.
6. Montreal Canadiens - They're lacking high-end talent but they do have some underrated two-way players (Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry, etc.) and Jesperi Kotknaiemi looks ready to provide them a needed spark offensively. If Carey Price bounces back, they could be respectable.
7. Detroit Red Wings - They have some skilled young forwards (Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin, Andreas Athanasiou, Filip Zadina, etc.) but their defense is old, slow, and severely lacking in talent. I think it'll be another tough year for the Red Wings.
8. Ottawa Senators - The Sens don't have many quality, established NHL forwards and it's possible they sell one, or both, of their best (Mark Stone/Matt Duchene) during the season. On defense, Cody Ceci seems destined to play 22-25 minutes per night, which tells you all you need to know about the state it is in. This could be an ugly, ugly, season.
Trevor Shackles
1.Tampa Bay
They didn't do anything over the off-season, but their team could still easily be the best in the league. They don't really have holes anywhere in the lineup.
2. Toronto
Adding John Tavares is enormous, and the Leafs offense will be electric. At the same time, you have to wonder about their defense and why they didn't add someone in the off-season. They'll still be a cup challenger though.
3. Boston
The Bruins could easily win the division, but they have tough competition. They took a hit to their depth by losing both Nash's, but the top of their lineup is unmatched.
4. Florida
In my official predictions, I have the Panthers just barely missing a wildcard spot. Just like the top three teams in the Atlantic, Florida's top-6 is incredibly good, but I'm not sure the rest of their team will be quite as good as other Metropolitan teams.
5. Buffalo
The Sabres should be better this team, but not a playoff team just yet. Rasmus Dahlin, Conor Sheary, and Jeff Skinner will make a big difference, but losing Ryan O'Reilly hurts as well.
6. Montreal
I have no idea what the Canadiens plans are, but they are going to be very bad.
7. Ottawa
Yes, I don't think they'll finish dead last. The Senators roster looks pretty awful right now, but they're due for a bit better luck---even if that luck won't take them higher than 7th.
8. Detroit
It'll be a dog fight between the bottom three teams to finish last, and the Red Wings have an incredibly uninspiring roster. At the same time, realistically any of the 6th-8th teams can finish last.
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