NHL Quarterly Report Cards: Atlantic Division

The National Hockey League will reach the quarter mark of the regular season at the end of this month, which is the line of demarcation when general managers begin to evaluate where their club is at and formulate a plan of action for the rest of the season.

Even though the league under the current salary cap does not allow teams the freedom to shake up their roster if their club was struggling, it is still possible for clubs to do something to course correct and improve their chance for success.

Here is a look at the eight clubs in the Atlantic Division and whether they are exceeding, meeting, or are below expectations.

Boston Bruins – (5th place – 9-6-0, 18 pts)

The Bruins stumbled out of the gate in October, losing all four road games, but have begun to right the ship this month with a 5-3-0 record. The Perfection line and top defenseman Charlie McAvoy have been bearing the brunt of the workload for the B’s, but free agents Linus Ullmark, Erik Haula, and Nick Foligno have underwhelmed or been injured.

Grade = Below Expectations

Buffalo Sabres – (6th place – 7-8-2, 16 points)

The Sabres were pegged to be at the bottom of the NHL standings where they have taken up nearly permanent residence the last decade, but GM Kevyn Adams was able to pull off and get a decent return for Jack Eichel and Don Granato has been able to get a roster low on talent to work hard.

Grade = Exceeding Expectations

Detroit Red Wings – (4th place – 8-9-3, 19 points)

The Wings have begun to infuse their lineup with young building blocks like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, and are getting good performances out of veterans Tyler Bertuzzi, Dylan Larkin and Vladislav Namestnikov, but defensively they have miles to go before they can challenge for a playoff spot.

Grade = Exceeding Expectations

Florida Panthers – (1st place – 13-2-3, 29 points)

Many experts predicted the Panthers to be one of the top three in the Atlantic after challenging Tampa in a hard fought first-round loss and adding Sam Reinhart to the core group of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and Aaron Ekblad, but Florida is atop the NHL standings with 29 points and seems to be unaffected by the resignation of head coach Joel Quenneville.

Grade = Exceeding Expectations

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Montreal Canadiens – (7th place – 5-13-2, 12 points)

Is it possible that the Canadiens used up all their mojo in their improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final? Even before the season started, team captain Shea Weber (injury), center Phillip Danault (free agency) and Carey Price (entering the NHL’s Player Assistance Program) were gone and those who remained seemed ill-equipped to pick up the slack. The Habs are a total mess and there may be nothing that GM Marc Bergevin can do to rectify the situation.

Grade = Below Expectations

Ottawa Senators – (8th place – 4-10-1, 9 points)

The Sens were hoping to build on a season that saw youngsters Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, Brady Tkachuk, and Tim Stutzle establish themselves, but offensive struggles, inconsistent goaltending and a COVID outbreak that saw eight players on the protocol list have Ottawa with the league’s worst record.

Grade = Below Expectations

Tampa Bay Lightning – (3rd place – 10-4-3, 23 points)

It would have been unrealistic to not see a drop-off from the two-time Stanley Cup Champions after losing four forwards (Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Johnson) to free agency or the expansion draft, but the Lightning’s pedigree has them in a playoff spot even with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point injured.

Grade = Meeting Expectations

Toronto Maple Leafs – (2nd place – 13-6-1, 27 points)

In spite of losing Frederik Andersen, Zach Hyman, Nick Foligno, Joe Thornton and Zach Bogosian in free agency, the Leafs retained the core group that won them the North Division last season. After slumping in October, Toronto has won 11 of their last 13 games playing a stringent defensive game and getting great goaltending from Jack Campbell, but their real test will not come until the postseason.

Grade = Meeting Expectations