Power Ranking the Atlantic Division: Where do the Buffalo Sabres stand at midsummer?

The Buffalo Sabres may have a better team in 2024-25, but the real question at midsummer is, at least given the way they look on paper, if those improvements will translate into them stacking up better against their Atlantic Division rivals. 

Here’s the short answer: Better team, no doubt, and with a better coach in place. But, and I feel like I’ve been on repeat for a while, until they get a proven top-six scorer, they’ll stick around in a familiar spot in these power rankings. No, they’re not the worst team in the division, but they’re also far from the best.  

8 - Montreal Canadiens

There may not be a more intriguing young team in the Atlantic in 2024-25, but the Montreal Canadiens have proven nothing. There’s a chance they will get younger throughout the season if they struggle early and trade off more older talent, but they’ll also give the youngest players in their system, especially at the blue line, time to mesh and gain valuable NHL experience. 

7 - Ottawa Senators

This is the one team that wouldn’t surprise me if they snuck up on all of us with the addition of Linus Ullmark at goaltender. Sure, Ullmark is just “one player,” but he’s a former Vezina winner with an underrated dynamic duo in front of him in Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle. That said, it would be a mistake to count out the Senators, even if they don’t look as strong of a team on paper compared to most of their Atlantic Division rivals. 

6 - Buffalo Sabres

Yeah, I’d like to put the Sabres further ahead, and I’ll tell you right now that if Kevyn Adams just found a way to acquire that elusive top-six forward, I’d put them in fourth place. Until then, they’re an incomplete team that doesn’t appear to be as strong as the top five listed in these rankings. 

5 - Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings accomplished a lot last season, and with many key forwards returning, they should once again enjoy a strong year when they have the puck. The blue line is worrying, but with better goaltending in place, there’s a good chance they won’t give up so many goals this season if their defensive rotation even remotely pitches in. 

4 - Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost a leader in Steven Stamkos, but they compensated with Jake Guentzel. Imagine what will happen when Guentzel and Nikita Kucherov build chemistry, and that doesn’t include other valuable players like Victor Hedman, Brandon Hagel, and Anthony Cirelli. Tampa may not be the team they were, but they’re not sinking too far just yet. 

3 - Toronto Maple Leafs

If I had to make a prediction right now for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s that they’ll see the same result we’ve all been accustomed to seeing. Good enough in the regular season to snag a top-three spot in the playoffs, then exit in most likely the first round. They basically swapped out players on the blue line, and neither Matt Murray nor Anthony Stolarz is exactly what you would call elite goaltenders, even if they could make a solid tandem. 

2 - Boston Bruins

Adding Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov was huge, and if Jeremy Swayman can continue to be the effective goaltender he is as the clear-cut No. 1, the Bruins won’t be residing in second place for long. This team has been so close so many times, and they may have finally figured it out. 

1 - Florida Panthers

Until someone knocks them off their pedestal, the Florida Panthers will be No. 1 in these rankings until further notice. Even if they ended up fighting their way toward a win in last season’s Stanley Cup Final, they clearly demonstrated they’re not just the best team in the Atlantic, but in the Eastern Conference.