NHL offseason grades: Atlantic Division

Divisions: Central | Metropolitan | Pacific

With the 2024-25 NHL season approaching, we're handing out comprehensive offseason grades for all 32 teams. The four-part series concludes with an in-depth look at each Atlantic Division club.

Some contract figures are reported. Most players on two-way deals have been omitted.

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Boston Bruins

⭐ RFA G Jeremy Swayman remains unsigned

The Bruins addressed their biggest need this summer, signing Lindholm to be their top center. While the contract is awfully steep, the fit could be tremendous. A right-shooting center with a strong two-way game who can kill penalties and excel in the bumper role on the power play sounds awfully familiar, right? That's because of any available center, his game comes closest to resembling that of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

Boston added another former Calgary Flame and Vancouver Canuck in Zadorov, who makes the Bruins' blue line even more formidable. Zadorov is a 6-foot-6, 248-pound monster who can play a shutdown role and loves the spotlight. Boston's defense is the biggest, and one of the very best, in the entire league. The 6-foot-1, 209-pound Charlie McAvoy is the smallest among the projected starting six.

There's still a major elephant in the room, though. Boston needs to get Swayman signed, ASAP. It's hard to give the team a higher grade without a deal in place. The Bruins have $8.6 million in cap space, which should be plenty to get Swayman signed to a medium-term deal.

Ideally, there's enough money left over to add a top-six winger during the season, but there's an opening for 2021 first-rounder Fabian Lysell to try and take that role to begin the campaign.

Grade: B

Buffalo Sabres

⭐ Re-signed G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to 5-year deal with $4.75M AAV
⭐ Re-sign D Henri Jokiharju to 1-year, $3.1M deal

The Sabres will largely rely on internal growth to try and snap their NHL-worst 13-year postseason drought because the pieces they added are more bottom-of-the-lineup players than true difference-makers.

McLeod was the most notable acquisition of the bunch. The Sabres were criticized for giving up on Savoie's upside in the trade, but McLeod will immediately slot in as Buffalo's matchup third-line center. He's already strong defensively, and there's still room to grow offensively as he enters his age-25 campaign.

Zucker will replace the bought-out Skinner. While Zucker lacks Skinner's goal-scoring upside, his defensive game is much better. Lafferty and Malenstyn, meanwhile, will bring some speed, physicality, and defensive utility to the bottom six.

But none of these acquisitions will matter if Lindy Ruff, back for his second tour of duty as Buffalo's head coach, can't get the most out of the team's young players. It's fair to question whether GM Kevyn Adams did enough to support the core.

Grade: C

Detroit Red Wings

Editor's note: This article was originally published before the Red Wings re-signed Moritz Seider and edited after the deal.

⭐ Re-signed F Patrick Kane to 1-year deal worth $4M, plus $2.5M in bonuses
⭐ Re-signed F Lucas Raymond to 8-year deal with $8.075M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Moritz Seider to 7-year deal with $8.55M AAV

In a perfect world, the Red Wings would've signed Raymond and Seider to extensions last offseason. Raymond's price, specifically, would've been far lower. It's still a fair contract, but it remains to be seen if he'll be able to repeat his breakout 72-point season that was buoyed by a robust 19% shooting percentage.

Everything about Seider's profile screams star, No. 1 defenseman, but there are some underlying concerns. His minus-9.4 defensive goals above replacement was the worst among all NHL skaters in 2023-24, per Evolving-Hockey. He'll need to shore up his defensive game for this contract to be a win for Detroit.

However, the Gustafsson contract is very team-friendly, and Kane and Tarasenko should both provide veteran leadership and offensive punch. Kane, in particular, vastly exceeded expectations last season coming off hip surgery. All three players are old and liabilities defensively, though, which isn't ideal for a team that needs to improve at five-on-five. The 37-year-old Talbot doesn't solve the team's goaltending concerns, either.

Grade: C-

Florida Panthers

⭐ Re-signed F Sam Reinhart to 8-year deal with $8.625M AAV
⭐ Re-signed F Anton Lundell to 6-year deal with $5M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Dmitry Kulikov to 4-year deal with $1.15M AAV

The Panthers proved it's possible to have a successful offseason without big spending. Florida has given itself a chance at another deep playoff run despite not adding a player for $1 million or over.

Re-signing Reinhart was huge, and getting him back for below-market value was a major bonus. He likely could've received $9.5 million per season or higher on the open market, but he opted to stay in Florida where he keeps more of his earnings due to no state income tax, and he was able to get the extra year of term. Kulikov's deal is good value for a solid, third-pairing defender, too. Lundell's contract should age very well over time.

Greer, Jesper Boqvist, and Nosek are all perfectly fine fourth-liners. While none of them can replace Tarasenko, the Panthers are likely hoping 2021 first-rounder Mackie Samoskevich can make the leap.

There are big shoes to fill on the back end, but Schmidt, who's familiar with Paul Maurice from their days together in Winnipeg, is a steady veteran coming in at a bargain price. Adam Boqvist, the 2018 No. 8 pick, still boasts plenty of upside. At the very least, he can run the power play.

The Panthers have a track record of finding diamonds in the rough under general manager Bill Zito, and they may have done so again.

Grade: B+

Montreal Canadiens

⭐ Signed F Juraj Slafkovsky to 8-year extension with $7.6M AAV
⭐ Signed D Kaiden Guhle to 6-year extension with $5.55M AAV

In our Offseason Lookahead series, we had two keys for a successful summer for the Canadiens: weaponize cap space and extend Slafkovsky and Guhle. Consider it done, done, and done.

Both extensions were incredibly wise moves, getting deals done before potential breakouts in 2024-25. They could age extremely well as the players progress and the cap rises.

The Laine trade, in which the Canadiens netted a second-round pick for taking on the sniper's contract and trading away Harris, is a low-risk, high-reward move. Laine could easily return to his 40-goal form. At the very least, Montreal can probably retain half his salary and trade him at the 2026 deadline for a nice return.

The Canadiens aren't playoff contenders yet, but GM Kent Hughes continues to make the right moves to set up his team nicely for the future.

Grade: A

Ottawa Senators

⭐ Re-signed F Shane Pinto to 2-year deal with $3.75M AAV

Steve Staios' top priority in his first offseason as GM was to address the goaltending, and he did so with the addition of 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Ullmark. It came at a steep price, though - a first-round pick plus a $1-million retainment on Korpisalo.

There are questions as to whether Ullmark, whose career high in games is 49, can be a workhorse No. 1, and whether he can succeed behind an inferior defensive team.

Improving that defensive infrastructure will be the primary focus for new head coach Travis Green, who only has one playoff appearance and a sub-.500 points percentage in his six years as an NHL head coach. It's not the most inspiring hire. He's immediately under pressure to get the Sens back in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Ottawa's grade is lowered by a pair of questionable moves. Jensen is in decline and a major downgrade over Chychrun. Perron may struggle living up to his cap hit as he enters his age-36 campaign, too.

Grade: C+

Tampa Bay Lightning

⭐ Signed D Victor Hedman to 4-year extension with $8M AAV

One word to describe the Lightning's offseason: bold. Back-to-back years without a Cup Final appearance and GM Julien BriseBois was ready to make major changes.

That starts with the decision to sign the top free agent in Guentzel and let Stamkos walk. It's sensible from a pure hockey perspective since Guentzel is younger and better. But Stamkos meant so much to the team on and off the ice, as well as the Tampa Bay community. His presence will be missed.

BriseBois also overhauled the blue line, bringing back McDonagh and shipping out Sergachev in a deal that netted Moser and Geekie, the 2022 11th overall pick.

While it remains to be seen if these moves will make the Lightning any better, you've got to at least respect BriseBois' guts for shaking things up.

Grade: B

Toronto Maple Leafs

⭐ Re-signed F Max Domi to 4-year deal with $3.75M AAV
⭐ Re-signed D Timothy Liljegren to 2-year deal with $3M AAV
⭐ Signed G Joseph Woll to 3-year extension with $3.67M AAV

The Maple Leafs didn't shake up their core, as Mitch Marner remains on the team - much to the dismay of a large portion of the fan base. But they did make notable leadership changes, switching the captaincy from John Tavares to Auston Matthews and replacing Sheldon Keefe behind the bench with Stanley Cup champion Craig Berube.

While GM Brad Treliving didn't make any major adds to the forward group, top prospect Easton Cowan will push for a spot. Most of Treliving's work came on the back end, where Tanev will give Morgan Rielly the best partner he's ever had. The Leafs will likely be thrilled if Tanev, 34, can continue his elite defensive play for at least a couple of more seasons.

It's fair to be skeptical of the Ekman-Larsson addition, though, considering he's best suited for a third-pairing role at this point in his career but is being paid like a top-four defenseman. Hakanpaa could provide nice value on his contract if his health holds up. Toronto's blue line improved, but it's still far from perfect.

Stolarz is a nice bet to make in goal, though. The 6-foot-6, 243-pounder has been one of the league's best backups the last few seasons. The Stolarz-Woll tandem lacks experience but has great upside.

Grade: B-

(Cap source: PuckPedia)