Biggest unanswered pre-season question for each team in Atlantic Division

Every team carries two things into a new NHL season: Hope and questions.

Of course, there’s a tiered dynamic to hope. A lot of clubs are aiming for a playoff berth, while others in a different class of teams merely want to see tangible signs of progress. At the top, a few squads can look in the mirror and sincerely say this could be the year.

Questions, too, come in an assortment of shapes and sizes. Some squads are wondering about a young guy or two who might step up, others are still not sure who the No. 1 goalie is.

The answers, in many cases, won’t come for a long time yet. But with NHL camps officially kicking off, it’s time to pose a query — big or small — for all 32 outfits. To do so, we’ll break it into bite-size chunks and go division by division.

After covering the Pacific, Metropolitan and Central, we’re finally ready to dive into the Atlantic.

Boston Bruins: How precipitous will the drop be? 

This would be a fair question even if the B’s weren’t losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. You simply don’t record a record-setting 135-point year then come back and ask, “How much better can we get?” 

I, personally, would pump the breaks on expecting the Bruins to topple out of contention. Remember, the team started last season without Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy — though both returned sooner than expected — and still shot out of the gate like a rocket. 

Pavel Zacha is unlikely to emerge as a No. 1 C, but he had a very solid 57-point showing last season during his first year in Boston and is about to get a serious winger upgrade.  

Additionally, the B’s still boast the best goalie tandem in the league.  

The infrastructure is here to stay competitive and should one of the UFA-to-be centres like Elias Lindholm or Mark Scheifele become available, won’t Boston be making one of the first calls? 

Buffalo Sabres: Can a goalie deliver? 

The Sabres are loaded at forward and while the defence corps may not yet be fully formed, building around Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power is a fantastic start. 

All that’s left for an emerging playoff contender is to figure out what they’ve got between the pipes. 

Devon Levi is a great prospect, but he’s got just seven NHL games to his credit. Eric Comrie is 28 years old and only has about 35 more career starts than Levi, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has also yet to find his footing at the NHL level. 

Can one of them provide the Sabres with average goaltending? If so, the playoffs are within reach. 

Detroit Red Wings: Are they still the second-worst team in the Atlantic? 

For the second consecutive off-season, the Wings brought in veteran players with the intention of improving right now. And, to be fair, there’s little doubt Detroit is moving in the right direction. 

However, the tough dynamic in the Motor City is it doesn’t feel like the team is yet ready to overtake any of the established playoff squads in the Atlantic, while the two teams just slightly ahead of them in the standings — Buffalo and Ottawa — appear more likely to make a leap forward based on an abundance of high-end talent. 

It’s entirely plausible the Wings will be a tough out this year; it’s just not clear how much ground — if any — they’ll actually gain in a tough division. 

Florida Panthers: Can they overcome losing two key D-men for a long stretch? 

Fresh off a run to the Stanley Cup Final, the Panthers are now bracing for life without Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour on the blue line until mid-December. 

That’s not great news for a team that surely wanted to avoid a repeat of last season when it had to scrap until Game 82 to squeak into the playoffs. 

Newcomers Oliver-Ekman Larsson and Niko Mikkola will ease the burden somewhat, but losing arguably their top two defenceman for a huge portion of the season is a lot to ask any squad to overcome.

Montreal Canadiens: Is Alex Newhook the new Kirby Dach? 

One of the success stories last year in Montreal’s largely miserable year was the emergence of Kirby Dach — the 2019 third overall pick — after the Canadiens acquired him from Chicago. 

The squad made a move from the same playbook when it acquired Alex Newhook — a first-round talent who’s yet to hit his stride in the NHL — at the 2023 draft from Colorado.  

Can Newhook flourish, as Dach did, in a new environment that’s still prioritizing player development over results? It would be a huge boon for Montreal if Newhook winds up being a top-six find.  

Ottawa Senators: Can they make the playoffs? 

New owner Michael Andlauer is officially in place and the young core is locked in. It’s time to see what this team can do. 

A lot of that will come down to how key off-season acquisition Joonas Korpisalo performs. The Finn had a .914 save percentage last year, the best mark he’s posted since being a 21-year-old rookie in 2015-16. 

If Korpisalo can play to that level again and Anton Forsberg — after, shockingly, tearing the MCL in both his knees last year — plays the way he has the past couple of years in Ottawa, the crease should be in decent shape. 

If that is the case, there’s no obvious roadblock to this team making its first playoff appearance since coming within one win of a Stanley Cup Final berth in 2017. 

Tampa Bay Lighting: Are we witnessing the beginning of the end? 

Full disclosure, I was ready to put a positive spin on Tampa’s situation, asking if a four-month break — after appearing in three straight Cup finals — was exactly what this team needed to recharge. 

And, by no means, do I expect Tampa to fall off a cliff.  

But captain Steven Stamkos saying he was disappointed to report there’s been no talk of a contract extension yet served as a hard reminder there is a clock ticking on this squad as we’ve known it.  

Nobody is going to write the Bolts off — especially with the benefit of some extended time in the cold tub — but we’ve clearly entered a new phase of their arc.

Toronto Maple Leafs: How will the forward group mesh? 

When you factor in rookie Matthew Knies, the Leafs are essentially incorporating one new winger per line with the addition of Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves.  

William Nylander — a big question in his own right with his pending-UFA status — is also shifting to the middle, so the four lines in Toronto are certainly going to have a different complexion than last year.  

From sandpaper, to snot to piss and vinegar, we’ve heard any number of apt (and kind of gross?) descriptions of what Toronto is after. 

Let’s see if new GM Brad Treliving found the missing ingredients.