The Atlantic Division is the most diverse branch in the NHL, as it contains teams that have a very realistic shot of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup in June and nightclubs that will likely only be competing for the No. 1 overall choice from the 2019 NHL Draft.
For the very first time in recent memory, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the +160 favorites to win the Atlantic in BetOnline, followed by the Tampa Bay Lightning (+165), Boston Bruins (+260), Florida Panthers (+1200), Buffalo Sabres (+3500), Montreal Canadiens (+4000), Detroit Red Wings (+5000) and Ottawa Senators (+6600).
The time is now for the Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs also have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup along with being division favorites. The Leafs set franchise records for points and wins last season and have been a period away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs before enduring another first-round exit to the Bruins. However, Toronto created the biggest splash of the summer by registering hometown boy John Tavares, giving them a three-headed monster down the middle with Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri.
Toronto ranked fourth in the league in goals for while boasting the second-best power play 2017-18, therefore adding Tavares to the combination is utterly terrifying for the rest of the NHL. The defense remains a work-in-progress and is clearly the group’s weakest link, and goaltender Frederik Andersen has shown inconsistency at times but stays a very good starter. The Leafs will not be going anywhere for a longlong time, and an Atlantic Division banner is a very realistic possibility of Mike Babcock’s crew.
Bruins offering worth, lightning The Lightning have made three trips into the Eastern Conference final in the past four decades, yet they have nothing to show for it. On paper, Tampa Bay owns what’s arguably the best team in the NHL, as Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, J.T. Miller, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson make up an extremely talented top-six forward group. Beginning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy appeared like the Vezina Trophy preferred for its first half of the 2017-18 campaign before falling off since the playoffs approached but will be fresh for the season opener.
The Bruins were not anticipated to be this good this quickly, but Boston’s young group arrived ahead of schedule this past year along with the Bruins finished with 50 wins and 112 points as a outcome. The B’s, who ranked sixth in goals for and fourth in goals against, also had the fourth-best power play and third-best penalty kill in the NHL. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak include the very best line in the league, while the remainder of the roster is filled with both depth and potential.
Apart from the Maple Leafs, Bruins and Lightning, only the Panthers look like a potential playoff team in my eyes. The Sabres, Canadiens, Red Wings and notably the Senators all boast their fair share of problems and shouldn’t be even considered as a potential futures bet.
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