2026-2027 Atlantic Predictions from the Thunderstruck Team

Once again, the Atlantic Division is shaping up as possibly the best division in the National Hockey League. It's a division that always seems to be full of surprises. No one was predicting the Buffalo Sabres to finish first last season. Will we be more accurate this year, or will this be another year of the unexpected?

Here's how our staffers see it:

Patrick Williams– writer:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning– Why: I'm still not betting against Tampa's core.

2. Montreal Canadiens– Why: Elite young talent, depth, and players entering their prime.

3. Florida Panthers– Why: Barkov returns, adding Brady Tkachuk to the lineup. Redemption from last year missing the playoffs.

4. Buffalo Sabres– Why: Loss of Alex Tuch, but still some top talent and some young depth.

5. Boston Bruins– Why: Boston is always a gritty team with Pastranak, McAvoy and other young talent.

6. Ottawa Senators– Why: Loss of Brady Tkachuk is a massive blow and could make a big impact on the teams’ offensive performance, but the Defense remains strong.

7. Toronto Maple Leafs– Why: Made a lot of moves in the offseason, and picked up number one pick, Gavin McKenna. Not confident the chemistry will be there right off the bat.

8. Detroit Red Wings– Why: Young team and lacks depth. Might be a decent team, but stuck in a tough division.

Ernie Norquist– Writer:

I have never understood why anyone would ask hockey writers to predict what is going to happen over the next seven months, considering most of us cannot accurately predict what is going to happen in the next seven minutes. But apparently this is a tradition, so here are my Atlantic predictions.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning– because I write for a Lightning site and would prefer not to be fired.

2. Montreal Canadiens– because the kids are no longer just coming, they have arrived.

3. Florida Panthers– because adding Brady Tkachuk to that collection of lunatics seems both terrifying and somehow completely appropriate.

4. Buffalo Sabres– the Sabres get a wild card because after finally breaking the drought last season, sending them immediately back into hockey purgatory seems unnecessarily cruel.

5. Boston Bruins– because Boston always hangs around.

6. Ottawa Senators– Ottawa takes a step backward after losing Tkachuk.

7. Detroit Red Wings– Detroit continues searching for whatever the Yzerplan was supposed to become.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs– Toronto finishes last because sometimes you just have to choose violence.

   --- I fully expect to revisit this in April and deny ever writing it.

Dan Herrejon– Editor and Senior Writer:

1. Montreal Canadiens – Building on last season, team acquired Chris Kreider to go along with potential offense. Marty St. Louis early favorite for Jack Adams

2. Tampa Bay Lightning – John Carlson replaces Darren Raddysh and most consistent team in division should push Habs

3.  Buffalo Sabres– Last season’s division winner will know how it feels to be a target this season. 

4. Toronto Maple Leafs – Definitely improved from last season but turned over almost half the team. Fans need to be patient to allow team to get acclimated with each other. 

5. Florida Panthers – Back to back Cup appearances caught up with team last season. They added some b pieces but lots of miles on this team to be serious contender.

6. Ottawa Senators – Senators are the best of the bottom three primarily because they’re young. 

7. Boston Bruins – A rebuild is afoot. Even new captain, David Pastrnak can’t change the course of the season. 

8. Detroit Red Wings – Organization is imploding on and off the ice. Team will be making tee times for April by Thanksgiving. 

Michelle Gordon – Senior Writer:

1. Montreal Canadiens – They seem like the real deal now. They showed flashes this year, and they are poised and ready.

2. Florida Panthers – Please, let me be wrong on this one! Hockey gods, please do not allow Markstrom to be yet another who joins the stinkin’ Panthers and completely rejuvenates his career.

3. Tampa Bay Lightning – I love feeling like there’s a viable option (Dennis Hildeby)to step in for Vasilevskiy as needed. Third might feel low for them, but I feel like a lot of their post-season successes have come when they’ve finished third in the division.

4.  Toronto Maple Leafs – Stacked offensive lineup. I guess a lot depends on the potential rebound of a 38-year-old goaltender that the Panthers just gave up on.

5. Buffalo Sabres – This team has talent, but they were playing way above their heads last half of last season. Law of averages will catch up with them.

6. Ottawa Senators – I believed in them last season, but they could never quite get it going. Then, they lost Brady.

7. Boston Bruins – How this team managed 100 points last season is beyond me. Swayman. Swayman is good, but reality will have to catch up to this crew. 

8. Detroit Red Wings – Things just are not looking good. This team seems to start strong and falter down this stretch. I’m anticipating the “faltering” part to start earlier this season and last longer. 

Mike Smith - Managing Editor and Senior Writer

Expect the Atlantic to be a season-long street fight. Tampa Bay and Florida still have veteran, star-powered cores; Montreal and Buffalo are pushing hard to change the division’s hierarchy, and the remaining clubs (Toronto, Ottawa, Boston and Detroit) have realistic postseason ambitions. The difference between a top-three finish and watching the playoffs from home could come down to a handful of divisional games. The Atlantic Division is the most challenging division to play in, and the Lightning will have their hands full.

Atlantic Predictions Top Three: Tampa Bay, Montreal, Buffalo.

Stay tuned to Thunderstruck all season for insightful analyses, and of course, to see how accurate any of our predictions shape up to be!

Write to Thunderstruck Sports