Dominick Scarpino

With the 2024-2025 NHL season set to start in about three weeks, now is the time to take a look at the offseason moves made by the teams in the Atlantic Division.

Boston Bruins – The Bruins have had a very quiet offseason, with the only real notable move being signing Tyler Johnson to a professional tryout agreement. Johnson had 17 goals and 31 points in 67 games with Chicago last season. If the Bruins do sign Johnson to an actual contract, he would provide the team with some more forward depth as well as veteran leadership.

Buffalo Sabres – The Sabres have had a pretty successful offseason of their own. The biggest signing was locking up their young goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for 5 years. Luukkonen had a record of 27-22-4 while having a 2.57 goals allowed average and .910 save percentage. This signing was the Buffalo front office showing that they believe that they are starting to form the part to make a proper push into the playoffs.

Detroit Red Wings – The Red Wings have also had a decent offseason. Their main signing was Vladimir Tarasenko to a two year contract. Tarasenko had an incredible season last year, posting 23 goals and 55 points in 76 regular season games. In the postseason, Tarasenko had 5 goals and 9 points as well as winning the Stanley Cup with Florida. He will be abe to bring some much needed star power to a team that desperately needs it.

Florida Panthers – The Panthers have had an incredible offseason in more ways than one. Coming off of their Stanley Cup victory over the Oilers in June, Florida shows no signs of slowing down. The main signing was Anton Lundell to a six year contract. Lundell had 13 goals and 35 points in the regular season, coupled with 3 goals and 17 points in the postseason. Lundell will continue to provide Florida with reliable play and leadership for years to come.

Montreal Canadiens – The Canadiens had a very quiet offseason. That is not really a surprise though, considering that they have been a rebuild since their 2021 Stanley Cup run. The only signing to really be happy about if you are a Montreal fan is Arber Xhekaj’s two year contract. Xhekaj is a great defensive prospect for the Canadiens who posted 3 goals and 10 points in 44 games. While those numbers are low, he does seem to have a lot of room for development in the next couple of years.

Ottawa Senators – The Senators have had a very busy offseason after a disappointing drop off from where everyone was expecting them to be last year. Ottawa has had a massive reset because of that. Most of the front office has been replaced with new faces. They also do not really have a big name signing this time around, mostly a bunch of underdeveloped prospects that they hope turn into something good. The next season will really be a trial to see whether or not this is a team that can go far, or if management needs to take another look at the drawing board.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Oh boy. The Lightning have probably had the biggest up and down offseason of any team in the NHL. To start off, the Lightning lost longtime captain Steven Stamkos, who held almost every franchise record possible for a forward. To replace Stamkos, the Lightning went with Jake Guentzel for 9 million dollars a year. Guentzel had 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games last season, as well as 4 goals and 9 points in the postseason. Guentzel has the potential to be deadly with the Lightning, specifically on a line with Kucherov and Point. It will certainly be very entertaining to watch him play.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Toronto is another team with a very quiet offseason. That is not really a shocker given that they do not have any cap space to sign anyone. The main success of the offseason is Auston Matthews being named captain of the team. The main challenge for Toronto will come, as it always does, in April. Will they be able to replicate any success?