The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch being dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.
This week we will finish up looking at the seven other teams in the Atlantic to see where they stand in comparison to where they were at the end of last season and see where they potentially stack up as competition with the Sabres.
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The Tampa Bay Lightning who have been a consistent high-level regular season performer, but have had issues in the playoffs. After winning consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, and reaching the Cup Final for the third year in a row in 2022, the Lightning have lost in the first round of the playoffs for four straight seasons.
Last season, under Jack Adams winning head coach Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay encountered a slew of injuries to key players, including defenseman Victor Hedman and center Brayden Point, but still managed to piece together a lineup that finished only three points behind the Sabres for top spot in the Atlantic, but in the first round they could not play at the same level against the Montreal Canadiens, who surprisingly eliminated them in seven games.
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Additions
Ilya Mikheyev – signed a four-year, $15.4 million deal as a free agent
Jeffrey Viel – signed a five-year, $12.5 million deal as a free agent
Dennis Hildeby – acquired in a trade with Toronto
John Carlson – signed a two-year, $17 million deal as a free agent
Subtractions
Darren Raddysh – traded to Toronto in a sign-and-trade deal
Oliver Bjorkstrand – signed by NY Rangers as a free agent
Nick Paul – traded to Toronto for a third-and-fourth round pick and Hildeby
Corey Perry – signed by Los Angeles as a free agent
Outlook
GM Julien Brisebois has had to jump through hoops over recent seasons to create or manipulate the salary cap, but has also had the advantage of being in a no-tax state and in a destination where players want to play. The main issue with the Lightning is that the core pieces of the club that won the Cup earlier this decade are in the latter half of their prime.
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Both Andrei Vasilevskiy and Nikita Kucherov were phenomenal, winning the Vezina and Hart Trophies respectively, but performed well under expectations in the postseason. Victor Hedman played only 33 games and missed the playoffs, calling into question how much longer does the future Hall-of-Famer have, but the Lightning got productive seasons out of Jake Guentzel (88 points), Brandon Hagel (36 goals), and Raddysh (70 points) taking over the PP quarterback role.
The loss of Raddysh should be diminished by the addition of Carlson, who likely will take over as the QB of the Lightning power-play unit if Hedman cannot, but most of their additions and subtractions were cosmetic. Mikheyev is an excellent penalty killer and speedy winger, Viel will provide a level of toughness needed in the Atlantic, and Hildeby should be an upgrade on backup Jonas Johansson, but the fortunes of Tampa Bay will rest on if Hedman can still be effective, and if veterans like Point, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Anthony Cirelli can stay healthy.
With the loss of Alex Tuch and the Sabres current state at forward, the Lightning would appear to have more firepower and less question marks than the Sabres up front. Defensively, the departure of Bowen Byram and replacing him with Louis Crevier and Olen Zellweger has Buffalo’s defense taking a step back, but age and durability questions with Tampa’s blueline gives Buffalo a slight advantage. Vasilevskiy is in the top five of NHL goalies, while the trio of Buffalo netminders performed above expectations and there is a question whether they can do it again. The Lightning should be a top three club in the Atlantic, but health will be the biggest factor.
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