With no teams within a game of the .500 mark, the early-season parity of the Atlantic Division is beginning to separate. Unfortunately for the Red Wings, they’re on the wrong side of that division and sit four points behind the Lightning for fifth place and have an 8-10-2 record through 20 games.
That will almost surely dissuade general manager Steve Yzerman from making any rental acquisitions, but as Max Bultman of The Athletic opines, longer-term additions, such as their failed pursuit of Jacob Trouba over the summer, could make sense. With Detroit’s team defense struggling heavily, especially at 5-on-5, he named young Blue Jackets right-shot defender David Jiříček as an option, likely the most attainable given Detroit’s deep pool of prospects at seemingly every position to deal from and Columbus’ growing willingness to move on.
Ducks winger Trevor Zegras, Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram and Devils rookie blue liner Seamus Casey were other names Bultman identified as potential trade targets, but the feasibility of a deal seems progressively lower with each name. Zegras can likely still be had after a second straight underwhelming performance offensively (seven points in 19 games), but the Sabres, who have won seven out of their last 10 and are squarely in playoff position, dealing Byram to a divisional rival seems close to inconceivable at this stage.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- The Blue Jackets have held their own with a .500 record through 20 games, putting them on pace to smash the average 65.5-point over/under from their preseason odds. That’s due to a young offense that’s currently giving Columbus the most goal-scoring punch they’ve had in their 24-year history, as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic points out. The Jackets rank eighth in the league with 3.45 goals per game, giving them a solid cushion to clear the previous franchise record of 3.15 set in 2021-22. The team is only shooting 0.2% above the 10.5% league average, giving them a decent shot at keeping up that level of scoring. They’re also on pace to have three point-per-game players (Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Zach Werenski) for the first time in club history.
- Switching from offensive to defensive standouts, the Maple Leafs are allowing the fewest high-danger chances at 5-on-5 in the Eastern Conference, as identified by Jonas Siegel of The Athletic. That’s due in large part to the addition of Chris Tanev in free agency, who’s flourished on a shutdown pairing with Jake McCabe to put together some of the best defensive work in the league.
Zegras has been a near bust so far, How does Verbeek justify all the cash he handed out to Zegras? Especially with a very small sample size of success! That contract falls squarely on Verbeek’s shoulder’s.
The Atlantic Division is relatively tight. I would say IMO that the Panthers, Bolts, & Leafs will finish in the top 3 in the division in the end but in what order that will be is a complete guessing game as a lot of variables play into that.
I think with the Bruins & Sabres, one will make it on a wild card & the other will miss the postseason. I actually think Sabres will win out over the Bruins as it stands right now which would end the postseason drought of the Sabres.
But yeah, the Atlantic is tight right now but the cream of the crop will rise in the end.
The Wings still have prospects coming, but this season and next look rough. The FA signings of Vlad; Compher; Copp; Chariot; Gus have been terrible. Trading some draft picks would seem to be the best option to accelerating this team to contention. Need to unload some bodies as well.