Sabres face tough competition in Atlantic Division

The Buffalo Sabres snapped their 15-year postseason drought, winning the Atlantic Division and advancing to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, after an offseason that saw Bowen Byram and Alex Tuch dealt, the task of repeating as division champion or finishing in the top three of the Atlantic could be significantly more difficult.

This week, we focus on the Ottawa Senators, who were the polar opposite of the Detroit Red Wings after the Olympic break, posting a 16-5-4 record to secure one of the two Eastern Conference wildcard spots.

The Senators battled the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes but were swept in four games, scoring only five goals in the series. After the season, team captain Brady Tkachuk indicated he would not re-sign with Ottawa and was traded to the Florida Panthers for a significant return, including the 2026 ninth overall pick and a 2027 second-round pick.

With Tkachuk gone, the Senators made several additions, including William Eklund from San Jose, who is under contract for three more years at a $5.6 million AAV, and Philip Tomasino, who was signed to a one-year, $900,000 deal.

Ottawa's outlook features a young core group, including Tim Stutzle, Shane Pinto, and Dylan Cozens, all 25 or younger, alongside veterans like Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux. Defensively, while Ottawa has quality top four defenders in Jake Sanderson and Thomas Chabot, they do not match the level of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power from the Sabres.

As currently constructed, Ottawa and Buffalo are about even in goal, with Linus Ullmark returning to Vezina form and Samuel Ersson as the Sabres' option. However, with the loss of Tkachuk weighing heavily on the Senators, they may struggle to stay out of the bottom of the Atlantic Division next season, while the Sabres look to solidify their competitive edge in a challenging division.