Who takes a step forward in the Atlantic Division?

The 2021-22 season saw a massive divide between the playoff teams and non-playoff teams in the Atlantic Division. The Boston Bruins held down the fourth spot with 107 points, and the next best team in the Atlantic was the Buffalo Sabres with just 75 points, with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators not too far behind with 74 and 73 points, respectively.

Those three teams will be looking to close that gap this season, as the Senators and Red Wings made some big additions in the offseason, and the Sabres have a youthful core that looks to take another step this season.

Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Colby Cohen joined Frank Seravalli to talk about those three teams and where they end up ranking among each other this season.

Colby Cohen: “I like Ottawa to finish first of those three teams. I really like what they did this offseason. Obviously, Alex DeBrincat is a perennial goal scorer. You pair him with a guy like Claude Giroux, who can pass the puck, and I think Giroux is going to be really motivated. I think he took a lot of heat in Philadelphia. Things didn’t pan all that well for him Florida at the end of last season. So when you add those factors together, you think about Giroux dishing the puck to DeBrincat on the power play, I think they’re going to be wildly successful this season. You add a little bit of sandpaper with a guy like Tyler Motte, who can play up and down your lineup. He was good for the Rangers in the playoffs last season on their run.

And ultimately I think their goaltending situation will be a little bit calmer with Cam Talbot. I know he’s injured right now, but ultimately I think he’s a guy that can win you a lot of hockey games, so I like them to finish above those three. I still don’t necessarily think they’re a playoff team, but I ultimately think Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit is how those three teams are going to shake up.”

Frank Seravalli: “Yeah, it’s a lot of ground for any one of those three teams to make up to get into the playoffs considering how far behind they finished to the Boston Bruins last year, who were in fourth place. It’s 30-plus points to make up from last year. I don’t necessarily see that happening, and I would tend to agree with you that Ottawa would be the front-runner of this group, but the Cam Talbot injury gives me some question marks, at least to start the season, likely out at least for the first month. And then you look at their defense corps, and I think it gets thin in a hurry. They need Jake Sanderson to have a big season, lots of expectations there. Perhaps they can add to their group as the year goes on, but when I look at Ottawa, their forwards are certainly more top end than what the Detroit Red Wings have at the moment, at least in my opinion.

But I look at Detroit, and I say, “Man, they have some really smart players.” Andrew Copp was a huge addition for that team, and when you look at David Perron and how underrated he’s been the last few seasons in St. Louis, that’s a key addition. On the back end, they get a little stingier and tougher to play against with someone like Ben Chiarot, and I just like Detroit’s goaltending way better than the Ottawa Senators at this point. Ville Husso is a key addition from St. Louis and Alex Nedeljkovic. Since you said Ottawa was going to be ahead in the group, how far is the gap between Ottawa and the playoffs?”

Cohen: “I’m not sure it’s going to be that far, because I think Boston’s a little bit of an unknown this season. They’ve got a lot of injuries that they’re dealing with early on; they got a new coach. And I would say the same about Detroit. You got a new head coach in there, who’s obviously come from this winning culture in Tampa Bay. There’s familiarity between him and Steve Yzerman, but I just think that Detroit’s got some work to do; I really do. I agree with you on the goaltending.

But I think Boston is a team that can be a little susceptible to being caught by Ottawa, and Frank, I saw your article on 32 thoughts and 32 bold predictions, and I think Jakob Chychrun could end up in Ottawa. I think he’s a target for them. I think they’re working on signing DeBrincat long term, and they’re showing other players around the league that these guys are here for a while, and so ultimately I just like Ottawa right now in that group.”

You can watch the full episode here…