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 look 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 Ottawa Senators were the polar opposite of the Detroit Red Wings after the Olympic break, going 16-5-4 to beat out the Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals, and NY Islanders for one of the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots. The Sens battled the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, but only scored five goals in a four-game sweep.
After the season, there was little hint that things between the club and team captain Brady Tkachuk had reached a crossroads, but behind the scenes he indicated that he would not be re-signing in Ottawa after the final two years of his contract, which led to him being traded to the Florida Panthers to join his brother Matthew.
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Additions
William Eklund – acquired from San Jose for the ninth overall pick in the 2026 Draft (Keaton Verhoeff), under contract for three more years at $5.6 million AAV
Philip Tomasino – signed to one-year, $900,000 deal
Samuel Ersson – acquired from Toronto for a 2027 fifth round pick
Andre Burakovsky – acquired from Chicago for a 2027 sixth-round pick
Subtractions
Brady Tkachuk – 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) in 60 games, dealt to Florida for the 2026 ninth overall pick, 2026 25th overall pick (Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen), a 2027 second-round pick in the 2027 draft and conditional 2029 first round pick.
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Outlook
The Sens core group (Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, Dylan Cozens, Eklund, Jake Sanderson) are all 25 or younger, and head coach Travis Green has veterans Drake Batherson, Artem Zub, Thomas Chabot, and Claude Giroux who are contributors. Ridly Greig provides sandpaper, Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence provide quality depth on the blueline, and Linus Ullmark has returned to Vezina form in stretches.
As currently constructed, Ottawa and Buffalo are about even in goal with Ullmark and Ersson against the Sabres trio. Defensively, Sanderson and Chabot are quality top four defenders, but they do not come up to the level of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, the departure of Byram has weakened the Sabres defensive depth, and Ottawa draws close to even with the second and third pairing blueliners. Where the Sabres have a clear advantage is up front, where the loss of Tkachuk is by far more impactful than the departure of Tuch.
The Senators have also taken a step back, to the point where they are likely battling to stay out of the bottom of the Atlantic Division next season instead of competing for a wildcard spot.
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