Top of Atlantic Likely to Sport New Big Fish?

We’re in the middle of the summer with the hockey season still months away. Rosters have yet to be finalized and what the NHL’s member clubs are carrying now – as far as bodies – could look entirely different in October.

So, is it the ideal time to prognosticate on what the NHL is going to look like come next spring?

Probably not.

(Make that – definitely not).

But hell, let’s not let a bad idea go to waste.

This whole thing churned up about a week ago while checking in with my TSN guru (and media legend), Tony Ambrogio. We chat generally about once very couple of weeks. I do my best to be annoying. Tony just sighs a lot.

Anyway.

We got talking about the Maple Leafs and Marner and from there kind of morphed into a discussion on the Atlantic Division and how it’s going to play out next winter.

So, Tony says – “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ottawa Senators finish at the top of the Atlantic next season.”

I then asked him if he’d visited the local cannabis shop before the phone call.

But.

Then I thought about it . . . he actually might have something here.

As the guru pointed out, last season’s regular season winners – those Toronto Maple Leafs – are bound to drop after seeing that regular season wiz kid Mitchell Marner head for the slots in Vegas (notice the emphasis on ‘regular season’ here). Toronto – missing the 100-point winger – could potentially plummet 10 points down the standings. At this point, that would not be a shock in the least.

Meantime, the other top dogs could also falter a bit. Face it, Tampa is getting long in the tooth while the Florida Panthers, rightfully so, don’t give two hoots about where they finish up as long as they’re in the post-season dance. As long as they’re in, they’re in.

Remember this too – Ottawa wrapped up the 2025 campaign just a point back of the eventual Stanley Cup champs.

I’m going to say as well that three of the teams that ended up below Ottawa last year don’t make major jumps. Detroit? Not a chance. Steve Yzerman’s done little to add to a lacklustre lineup. Buffalo? The cursed Sabres remain the cursed Sabres. Boston? It’ll once again be David Pastrnak against the world.

If Ottawa (always lot of ‘ifs’ here) can improve a tad, conjure more of an attack and get a full and healthy year from Linus Ullmark, then an increase of anywhere from five-to-10 points isn’t out of the projection.

Add in Jake Sanderson, who’s bound to challenge for the Norris Trophy sooner rather than later, Brady Tkachuk being Brady Tkachuk and full seasons from Dylan Cozens and Fabian Zetterlund, as well as Tim Stutzle, that argument can be made.

But.

We’re missing one team here, right?

And this is where this summertime musing gets even more interesting.

As much as Ottawa could arguably challenge for first place, don’t rule out a Montreal challenge as well.

The Habs faithful were head over heels last spring as the time-honoured club finally made its way back to the playoffs. Like Ottawa, Montreal exited rather quickly. And like Ottawa, Montreal is boldly thinking about making a further jump in 2025-26.

But unlike Ottawa, Montreal made some significant upgrades this off-season.

Extremely significant.

Noah Dobson has the potential to be a steady 60-point type d-man for years. Montreal surrendered a pair of first-round picks in this year’s draft and forward Emil Heineman to the New York Islanders to land the 25-year-old. Considering that this draft, just passed, was considered one of the weaker ones, the Canadiens did very well.

GM Kent Hughes then set his sights on St. Louis, bringing in Quebec native Zack Bolduc. He’s coming off a 36-point campaign and combines skill with grit. At 22, Bolduc will improve as well. Montreal didn’t even lose a roster player in the deal, shipping AHL blueliner Logan Mailloux to the Blues.

The Habs also get to see what highly touted Russian Ivan Demidov can provide over a full schedule, and we’ll be watching for further growth from 21-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, while Cole Caufield and captain Nick Suzuki steer the ship.

It’s been years since the old guard of Toronto, Tampa, Florida, and to some degree, Boston took a backseat in the Atlantic.

And while we’re quite aware that things can change roster-wise during the next couple of months, and teams can adjust where needed, but there’s no discounting the ‘possibility’ that that old guard could be making way for the NHL’s two most eastern Canadian teams.

Now, pass the beach towel.

thegrossgame@yahoo.com

Photo: Courtesy Sportsnet