TSN Hockey U.S. Team Previews - Atlantic Division

TSN's Scott Cullen and TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button profile each U.S.-based NHL team ahead of training camp for the 2016-17 season. Check out their look at the Atlantic Division.

 

BOSTON BRUINS

After missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Bruins brought in gritty veteran David Backes to augment their forward core, and make up for the departure of Loui Eriksson. 

That core, led by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci, keeps the Bruins competitive, but if they are going to get back to the postseason, they could use a step forward from young wingers David Pastrnak and Frankie Vatrano.

Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Bruins is what to do on the back end, where Zdeno Chara may be their best but, at 39-years-old, he’s lost a step and he doesn’t have enough help. 

Tuukka Rask had an off season between the pipes in 2015-16, so if he can bounce back it would go a long way toward putting the Bruins back into the playoff mix.

Off-season Headlines

June 30: Bruins sign Krug to four-year, $21 million contract extension 
July 1: Backes signs five-year contract with Bruins 

Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect

Danton Heinan (Denver, NCAA): Very skilled player who can make plays, be a threat offensively and produce.

Button's Long-Term Prospect

Charlie McAvoy (Boston, NCAA): Has all the attributes to be an impactful defenceman. Skill, physical play and ability to play any style.

 

BUFFALO SABRES

The Sabres are on the way up, and bolstered their lineup with veteran free agent winger Kyle Okposo and a trade for defenceman Dmitry Kulikov.

Okposo joins a skilled group of forwards led by Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, and they could get an additional lift from a healthy Tyler Ennis. Evander Kane can be an asset on the ice, but continues run into problems away from the rink.

The addition of Kulikov could help the defence, but for the unit to take a real step forward, they likely need 21-year-old Rasmus Ristolainen to develop into a No. 1, capable of playing in all situations. Zach Bogosian, Jake McCabe, Cody Franson and Josh Gorges may be a serviceable group, but they haven’t been able to control play.

Last season, the plan was to turn over the starting goaltender job to Robin Lehner, and he got hurt in the first game of the year. The Sabres will hope he can handle the workload this year, but it’s fair to keep in mind that Lehner has yet to play more than 36 games in a season.

The Sabres have reason to expect further improvement, but will find that it’s harder to take the next step.

Off-season Headlines

June 25: Sabres acquire Kulikov from Panthers 
July 1: Sabres sign Okposo to seven-year, $42 million contract 
July 22: Evander Kane arrested by Buffalo police 

Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect

Alex Nylander (Mississauga, OHL): High end skill who is a very well rounded player and despite his age, is very mature as a player.

Button's Long-Term Prospect

Will Borgen (St. Cloud State, NCAA): Smart with and without the puck. Strong positionally and difficult to break down. Shown significant improvement.

 

DETROIT RED WINGS

The 1989-1990 season was the last time that the Detroit Red Wings missed the playoffs and that streak is admirable, but could also be in danger of coming to an end.

It’s not like the Wings will let that happen without putting up a fight. They signed free agents Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott, to an already crowded crew of forwards. With Pavel Datsyuk gone, Henrik Zetterberg is a link to a nearly bygone era of Detroit success and there is such a mess of bodies up front, it seems that it will be difficult to maximize opportunities. The Wings are paying too much, for too long, to grinders Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm, and need to give opportunities to Dylan Larkin, Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Riley Sheahan; but what about Tomas Jurco, Teemu Pulkkinen, Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha? How can all of these skilled forwards fit on the roster? It might seem to be an enviable problem, but not if these players can’t develop.

Ideally, the Wings might dip into that excess of forwards and try to upgrade a defence that is in trouble. It’s probably worth giving Mike Green a few more minutes per night, since Niklas Kronwall’s play has dipped, as he hits his mid-thirties, and results with Danny De Keyser and Jonathan Ericsson have tended to be mediocre. Brendan Smith looks like he’s under-utilized, too; all of this suggests that defensive concerns could prove to be Detroit’s undoing.

Overall, Petr Mrazek has been very good, posting a .920 save percentage in 94 career games, but he slumped down the stretch last year and that just about sent the season off the rails. Given the shaky defence, Mrazek’s play will go a long way towards determining if the Wings can remain a playoff team.

It’s not as though Detroit will collapse and end up at the bottom of the standings, but they’ve been just good enough to get into the playoffs recently, and it wouldn’t take much – a few bad bounces – for them to end up on the outside looking in.

Off-season Headlines

June 24: Wings trade Datsyuk's contract to Coyotes 
July 1: Nielsen agrees to terms with Red Wings 
July 1: Helm, Wings agree to five-year deal 
July 1: Wings sign Vanek to one-year contract 
July 14: Wings sign Glendening to four-year contract 
July 26: DeKeyser signs six-year contract with Red Wings 

Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect

Evgeni Svechnikov (Cape Breton, QMJHL): Has dynamic skill with size. Can be a playmaker and a finisher. Potential to be a difference maker.

Button's Long-Term Prospect

Dennis Cholowski (Chiliwack, BCHL): Needs time to mature but with excellent skating and thinking ability, he could be a real key in the future.

 

FLORIDA PANTHERS

After posting a team-record 103 points last season, the Panthers overhauled their front office, going with a heavy analytics slant, and they’ve been busy locking up their core and making changes to the roster.

The defence has definitely been changed, with Brian Campbell leaving via free agency and Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov going out in separate trades, replaced by free agents Keith Yandle and Jason Demers, with Mark Pysyk coming via trade. Aaron Ekblad will have to step up as the leader in his third NHL season, but this group, along with top prospect Michael Matheson, should be decidedly different than last year.

Florida had two of the best lines in hockey last season, with Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov and ageless Jaromir Jagr handling the first-line duties. Jussi Jokinen, Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith may have been one of the biggest surprises in the league, but they won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year. If the Panthers are to take a step forward, centre Nick Bjugstad is the one Panthers forward who could be better, perhaps with some combination of new forwards Jared McCann, Jonathan Marchessault and Colton Sceviour.

The depth of talent on this roster does give the Panthers a shot to be a playoff team, potentially even a contender if their best players have great seasons, and they have the backbone of strong goaltending. Roberto Luongo remains a strong starting goaltender as he heads into his late thirties, and has a strong No. 2 with the Panthers’ addition of James Reimer.

A lot went right for the Panthers last season – they were one of two teams with a PDO of 102.0 or better – and that figures to regress but, recognizing the opportunity in front of them, they have continued to build.

Off-season Headlines

May 16: Panthers make Tallon president, Rowe GM 
May 25: Panthers deal Gudbranson to Canucks for McCann 
June 23: Panthers, Yandle agree to seven-year deal 
June 25: Panthers deal Kulikov to Buffalo 
July 1: Reimer signs five-year, $17 million deal with Panthers 
July 1: Panthers lock up Ekblad with eight-year extension 
July 2: Panthers sign Demers to five-year, $22.5 million deal 
July 3: Panthers lock up Trocheck with six-year deal 
July 3: Panthers, Smith agree on five-year $25 million extension 
August 25: Bolland and Crouse shipped to Arizona for draft picks 
September 6: Panthers sign Huberdeau to six-year extension 

Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect

Michael Matheson (Portland, AHL): Excellent skater who is very smart and showed at World Championship, he can be a key defenceman.

Button's Long-Term Prospect

Henrik Borgstrom (HIFK, FIN Jr.): Development has been strong. His game is solid from a skill, thinking and competitive standpoint.

 

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Last season was full of speculation about where Steven Stamkos would sign his big free agent contract and, after all the time devoted to that speculation, Stamkos ended up right back in Tampa Bay, where he remains part of a team that should be a Stanley Cup contender.

Part of the reason that the Lightning are contenders is that Stamkos doesn’t have to do the heavy lifting alone. Nikita Kucherov is on his way to stardom; Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn have proven to be reliable performers and, when finally given the opportunity last year, Jonathan Drouin flashed the kind of high-end skill that led to his being drafted third overall in 2013.

Where the Lightning may need to do some tweaking is along the blueline. The top pair of Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman is excellent, but Tampa Bay could use an upgrade on the rest (Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr and Nikita Nesterov). Former first-rounder Slater Koekkoek has a chance to land a regular role and veteran James Wisniewski will get a look on a tryout in camp.

The goaltending duo of Ben Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy is another reason to like the Lightning’s chances. It’s the final year of Bishop’s current contract, but between the two of them, Tampa Bay is covered in net.

Off-season Headlines

June 17: Agent: Drouin withdraws trade request 
June 29: Stamkos signs eight-year, $68 million deal with Lightning 
July 1: Lightning sign Hedman to 8-year, $63 million extension 
July 17: Bolts agree to seven-year deal with Killorn 

Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect

Brayden Point (Moose Jaw, WHL): Diminutive in stature only. Plays big, plays with great determination and has outstanding feel for game.

Button's Long-Term Prospect

Dominik Masin (Peterborough, OHL): Highly competitive defenceman who is strong defensively and very effective with puck.