From year to year, there’s been a regular discussion on which NHL division is strongest. A straightforward look at how many points each of the NHL’s four divisions generated last season goes a long way toward illustrating the most competitive divisions. It’s no surprise that the Atlantic Division had the most standings points (737) of any division. The Central Division (735) was second, followed by the Metropolitan (713) and the Pacific (710). Within divisions, tiers separate the best each division has to offer from the least competitive squads. In the Atlantic, there are three distinct tiers. TIER 1 The first tier consists of the top three teams in the Atlantic standings last season – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and the back-to-back Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers. Although there are never complete guarantees, all three of the Maple Leafs [http://thn.com/toronto], Lightning [http://thn.com/tampabay] and Panthers [http://thn.com/florida] are virtual locks to get back into the post-season in 2025-26. Toronto has made significant changes [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-26-toronto-maple-leafs] to what was already a strong lineup. Although they lost Mitch Marner, they added more depth and toughness to the forward group, and they re-signed John Tavares and Matthew Knies for some high production. While finishing first in the division could be tougher without Marner, they're still in a good position. Tampa Bay largely retained its roster [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-25-tampa-bay-lightning], with some depth pieces coming and going. They still have one of the best forward groups in the NHL, starring Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel. Victor Hedman leads the way on defense [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning/latest-news/lightning-s-projected-defense-is-looking-good], and Andrei Vasilevskiy remains a top-level netminder. Florida might even have the best forward group in the league [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/top-five-nhl-forward-groups-entering-2025-26] after managing to re-sign Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand. Losing Matthew Tkachuk for at least the start of the season will hurt, but the Panthers still have Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and four solid forward lines, with Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling leading a strong defense corps and Sergei Bobrovsky standing tall in net when it matters most. It would be a major shock if any of the three teams falls far down the Atlantic standings next year and fails to qualify for the playoffs, because on paper, the Panthers, Lightning and Leafs have more than enough talent and depth to outlast their other Atlantic rivals. Top Five NHL Forward Groups Entering 2025-26 [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/4f325acb-2994-446f-a2cf-417979edead4.webp] Top Five NHL Forward Groups Entering 2025-26 The NHL’s off-season continues to unfold, and by mid-July, most teams made their key roster moves. That brings us to the question of what teams are best at each position – forward, defense and goal. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/top-five-nhl-forward-groups-entering-2025-26] TIER 2 The mid-tier of the Atlantic features the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. The Senators [http://thn.com/ottawa] and Canadiens [http://thn.com/montreal] had breakthrough seasons in 2024-25, and both have realistic aspirations to return to the playoffs next season. Ottawa became more consistent by the end of last season, and after strengthening its defense group and re-signing Claude Giroux on offense, the expectation is to keep moving upward. The Canadiens, meanwhile, arguably improved the most this off-season [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-1-montreal-canadiens] by acquiring Noah Dobson and Zack Bolduc, while Ivan Demidov gears up for his first full NHL season. It will be difficult for Ottawa and Montreal to leapfrog over the Panthers, Bolts and Leafs to secure home-ice advantage in the post-season, but their youngsters may be able to get the job done and outshine teams that finished ahead of them in 2024-25. In other words, the Habs and Sens could move into the top tier and push one of the Maple Leafs, Lightning or Panthers into the mid-tier. NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 1, Montreal Canadiens [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/eb793c9c-a488-4689-a1fe-9cc70fa670fb.webp] NHL Summer Splash Rankings: No. 1, Montreal Canadiens The Hockey News’ summer splash rankings – which rank the off-seasons of every NHL team – have been posted for the past 31 days. And today, we’ve arrived at the team that was No. 1 in our list – the Montreal Canadiens. [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-1-montreal-canadiens] TIER 3 Finally, the third tier in the Atlantic is comprised of the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. These teams will be in a ferocious fight to claw their way out of the division’s basement and surprise cynics by earning a wild-card berth. The Sabres [http://thn.com/buffalo] and Red Wings [http://thn.com/detroit] will be in dire straits if they fail to make the playoffs next season. In fact, Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams and Detroit counterpart Steve Yzerman may lose their jobs if they don’t make notable strides next year. So, this third tier may have the most pressure on it to do something of positive consequence next season. The Bruins [http://thn.com/boston] are more or less in a class of their own right now. Boston has enough veteran know-how to make a push into the lower end of the playoff picture, but they also could wind up stuck in the bottom tier as they figure out a new course to take with their mix of young talent and experienced hands. Boston GM Don Sweeney began the process of retooling by dealing away veterans Marchand, Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle last season, and he may have little choice but to do more of that [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-17-boston-bruins] if the Bruins can’t climb higher in the Atlantic. Who knows, perhaps Boston stays at the very bottom of the Atlantic for the second straight time next year – something its fans are certainly not accustomed to. But the Bruins are currently a dog’s breakfast of young and old talent, and given how competitive the rest of the Atlantic promises to be next season, a last-place finish for the Bruins certainly isn’t out of the question. It may not be the end of the world if Boston finishes near the bottom of the league this upcoming season, either, especially considering it would mean a better chance of drafting Gavin McKenna to develop an incredible future with him and 2025 draft pick James Hagens. In any case, the Atlantic will be a tough division to play in next season. No Atlantic teams are pushovers, and that’s almost assuredly going to result in a highly competitive playoff race. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
