During the 2021-22 NHL season, the Atlantic Division was defined by tremendous separation between the top four and bottom four clubs within the group.
President’s Trophy
The Florida Panthers finished with a league-best 122 points to take the President’s Trophy, while the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins each tallied more than 107 points in the NHL standings.
- Buffalo Sabres
- Detroit Red Wings
- Ottawa Senators
- Montreal Canadiens
All finished at or below 75 points on the campaign. Montreal’s 55 points made for a league-worst finish.
How will things shake out during the 2022-23 season? Let’s take a look as we assess the NHL Atlantic Division Odds as of August 31, 2022.
NHL Atlantic Division Odds
Florida Panthers
As the defending division champions, it’s no surprise to see the Panthers sporting the best NHL Atlantic Division odds ahead of the upcoming season.
Florida won its first playoff series since 1996, beating the Washington Capitals four games to two in the opening round before getting swept by their in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the second.
The Panthers made one of the biggest trades in recent NHL history to shake up the roster, sending leading scorer:
- Jonathan Huberdeau
- along with MacKenzie Weegar
- Cole Schwindt
Lottery-protected First-round Draft Pick
A lottery-protected first-round draft pick in 2025 to the Calgary Flames for Matthew Tkachuk. Moving on from Huberdeau will be tough after four consecutive seasons of point-per-game play.
Still, Tkachuk brings an element of toughness to the Panthers roster that lacked at times over the past few seasons while maintaining a high level of scoring effectiveness.
Moving Weegar also opens up a spot in the lineup for younger defensemen Lucas Carlsson and Calle Själin to boot.
Questions still loom over whether goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will live up to his $10 million/year contract, but the two-time Vezina Trophy winner has raised his game before. Can he do it again in 2023?
NHL Odds: +175
Toronto Maple Leafs
Tied with Florida in the odds, the Maple Leafs reworked their goaltending tandem, trading for Matt Murray from Ottawa and signing free agent Ilya Samsonov who spent last season with Washington.
Toronto’s 3.07 team GAA was the highest of any club to reach the postseason last year, and it’s fair to question whether or not Murray and Samsonov are an upgrade between the pipes.
By both traditional metrics and advanced analytics, Murray has been one of the worst goaltenders in the league over the past three seasons despite winning two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins to begin his career.
Samsonov finished last season with a 3.02 GAA and a .896 save percentage, neither number inspiring a ton of confidence.
Still, Toronto boasts the defending Richard Trophy winner in Auston Matthews, a power play unit that converted at a league-best 27.3% last year and the second-most goals (309) overall.
Maple Leafs Offense
The offense can carry most of the weight, but can the defense and goaltending play well enough to stay at the top of the heap?
If you think so, choosing to play a $100 bet on NHL picks and parlays with Matthews to win another Richard Trophy with a Maple Leafs division title would win $862.50.
NHL Odds: +175
Tampa Bay Lightning
With three Stanley Cup Finals appearances in the past three seasons (and two wins to their credit), the Lightning has firmly established themselves as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference and one of the best NHL teams overall.
Perhaps most notable is that in each of those three seasons, they didn’t with their division.
In keeping their championship window open, Tampa Bay Lightning needed to move defenseman Ryan McDonagh, sending him to the Nashville Predators for Philippe Myers and Grant Mismash.
Myers Projects
Myers projects as the seventh defenseman in the rotation, while Mismash will most likely play at the AHL level.
Forward Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Zach Bogosian will begin the season on injured reserve while recovering from off-season surgery.
Winning the division title may not be in the cards for the Bolts, but based on recent history, that may not matter.
NHL Odds: +250
Boston Bruins
The first considerable jump in the NHL Atlantic Division Odds goes to the Boston Bruins. The Bruins will face a steep hill to climb to win the Atlantic with several key injuries.
Winger Brad Marchand underwent surgery on both hips this offseason and is expected to be out until December.
Defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk both needed shoulder surgery and will miss the beginning of the year (Grzelcyk is projected to return first).
Mike Reilly may return from ankle surgery at the start of the season, but his status is unclear as of writing. The Bruins face center-depth questions as well.
Selke Trophy
While Patrice Bergeron is coming off the best defensive season of his career (resulting in a record-setting fifth Selke Trophy win as the league’s best defensive forward), the 37-year-old may be in for a decline.
David Krejci (who is 36) is back in Boston after a year in his native Czechia, but does he have enough left in the tank?
Will either Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman play consistently enough in the net to keep the B’s afloat during the injury period?
NHL Odds: +1000
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings dramatically improved their rosters this offseason, but it may not be enough for either to get within distance of an Atlantic Division title.
At a minimum, though, both should win more NHL games this season. Ottawa swung for the fences in the trade market and landed an elite scoring winger in Alex DeBrincat.
They also bolstered their goaltending situation in a deal for former Minnesota Wild goaltender Cam Talbot. Adding Claude Giroux to bring some veteran experience to the roster is a savvy move as well.
NHL Odds: +2500
Detroit Red Wings
Meanwhile, Detroit went the free agency route, acquiring a goaltender:
- Ville Husso
- David Perron
- Andrew Copp
- Dominik Kubalik
- Olli Maatta
- Mark Pysyk
To completely overhaul the roster. With young stars like Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond bursting at the seams with potential, this is a team that could make some noise and might be a value play among the NHL Atlantic Division odds.
NHL Odds: +2500
Buffalo Sabres
A better bet here may be taking Buffalo Sabres at +700 to make the playoffs, as it’s considerably more realistic those NHL odds will result in a payday.
The Sabres just signed center Tage Thompson to a seven-year, $50 million extension. After a 38-goal season, Thompson will need to be a driving force in the Buffalo offense.
With a league record 11-year playoff drought active, it’s safe to say the Sabres will be happy simply to qualify for the postseason.
Perhaps if youngsters like Peyton Krebs, Dylan Cozens, and JJ Peterka can up the scoring production while Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin ramp up the blue line play, playoff hockey will return to Buffalo.
NHL Odds: +6600
Montreal Canadiens
Don’t waste your time. The NHL Atlantic Division odds for the Montreal Canadiens are exceptionally generous.
Following the injury-necessitated retirements of Shea Weber and Carey Price and sending top defensive prospect Alexander Romanov to the Islanders to land Kirby Dach from the Blackhawks, the Habs are a team that frankly looks directionless.
First overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky will be an exciting player to watch this year, but beyond that, don’t expect much from Montreal.
NHL Odds: +10000
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