Offseason Progress Report: Northeast Division

Most of the best free agents are already picked over, and while there is still a few months before the start of the season, NHL rosters are starting to take shape. On Tuesday we look at the progress being made by teams in the Northeast Division.

By Adam Gretz

Jul 17, 2012 at 11:42 am ET • 5 min read

Bruins should still be the team to beat in the Northeast, even if Tim Thomas doesn't play. (Getty Images)

Most of the best free agents are already picked over, and while there is still a few months before the start of the season, NHL rosters are starting to take shape. We're going to take a quick division-by-division look to see each team's progress so far during the offseason. Tuesday's division: The Northeast

1. Boston Bruins

Key Additions: None
Key Losses: Tim Thomas (?), Brian Rolston, Joe Corvo, Greg Zanon

The biggest story to come out of Boston this offseason has been the future of goaltender Tim Thomas and whether he's going to play this upcoming season (it appears he's not). The Bruins already have his replacement in house with Tuukka Rask, and he has already been their 1B goalie for the past few seasons and would have been the unquestioned starter on most other teams around the league that didn't already have the best goalie in the league playing ahead of him. Other than that, the Bruins lost some depth on their blue line (Greg Zanon and Joe Corvo) but will still return their top four defensemen from last season.

The Bruins Are… It's hard to say at this point that they're not at least a little bit worse. Even though they still have Rask to occupy the crease, if they really go into the season without Thomas that's a big loss because he is a great goalie. While none of the other free-agent losses are crushing, or even all that significant, they haven't added anybody to the lineup either.

That said, this is still a really good team, will be the class of the division and will once again be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and the entire league.

2. Ottawa Senators

Key Additions: Marc Methot, Mike Lundin, Guillaume Latendresse
Key Losses: Nick Foligno, Filip Kuba, Zenon Konopka, Matt Carkner

Entering last season the only expectations for the Senators were for them to lose a lot of hockey games and be one of the worst teams in the league. They ended up proving nearly every preseason prediction wrong and made the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, pushing the top-seeded New York Rangers all the way to a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. The Senators made a big push for Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash this summer but he wasn't willing to waive his no-move clause for Ottawa. The two teams did eventually make a deal when the Senators sent Nick Foligno to Columbus for defenseman Marc Methot.

The Senators Are… About the same, with one possible situation that could throw everything out of whack: Daniel Alfredsson decides to not return. The long-time captain still hasn't made up his mind about playing next season, though the Senators do seem to be optimistic that he will return for at least one more year. He may be 40 years old, but he can still play.

3. Buffalo Sabres

Key Additions: John Scott, Steve Ott, Adam Pardy, Kevin Porter
Key Losses: Derek Roy, Brad Boyes

This offseason has been a lot quieter for Buffalo when compared to the spending spree that took place last summer. The biggest move was the trade that sent Derek Roy to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. Ott isn't the player that Roy is offensively, but he does bring some toughess, a bit of an edge, and some versatility (he can play center and wing) to the Buffalo lineup. How well that translates to additional wins on the ice remains to be seen.

The Sabres Are... About the same, though perhaps a little better if some top guys (looking at you, Tyler Myers) can bounce back from down years. Losing Roy hurts them offensively, but Ott brings a different type of dimension to the team with his forechecking and physical, two-way play.

4. Toronto Maple Leafs

Key Additions: James van Riemsdyk, Jay McClement
Key Losses: Luke Schenn, Colby Armstrong, Jonas Gustavsson, Joey Crabb

The Maple Leafs didn't land the No. 1 center they always seem to be looking for (Brian Burke said he was in on Jordan Staal before he was traded to Carolina) but they did make what I thought was one of the best pure hockey trades of the summer by landing James van Riemsdyk for Luke Schenn. Schenn, a former top-five pick by the Leafs, never became the player he was expected to be in Toronto and saw his play regress quite a bit this past season.

Van Riemsdyk had a similar season for the Flyers, but I still think his upside at this point is significantly higher than Schenn's, will provide more value, and gives the Leafs another potential top-scoring option to go with Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Mikhail Grabovski (one of the most underrated players in the NHL).

The Maple Leafs Are... Still the same, maybe a little better, but not enough to end what is now the longest playoff drought in the NHL.

Goaltending absolutely wrecked this team last season and as of now they're looking at a duo of James Reimer and Ben Scrivens starting the season. Though I suppose letting Jonas Gustavsson go (and actually getting a draft pick for his free-agent rights) is a form of addition by subtraction. Some really good forwards on this team, a couple of really interesting young defensemen (Carl Gunnarsson, Jake Gardiner) but some big question marks in net.

5. Montreal Canadiens

Key Additions: Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong, Francis Bouillon
Key Losses: Brad Staubitz

The NHL's Murphy's Law team this past season -- where everything that could possibly go wrong found a way to go wrong. This team was a complete circus more often than not and finished with its worst record since 2002-03. Their offseason had some good (giving Carey Price a long-term deal), some questionable (signing Brandon Prust to a rather large contract) and some potentially bad (bringing back Michel Therrien for a second stint behind the bench).

The Canadiens Are... I have to say worse, until I see just how much (if at all) Therrien has changed as a coach. The one common theme with all of his teams over the years, whether it be in Montreal or Pittsburgh, is that they all get significantly outshot, outchanced and lose the possession game more often than not. His best years as a coach came in Pittsburgh when he was working with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Jordan Staal and Sergei Gonchar. He's not going to have that sort of talent to work with this time around in Montreal. He's strict, he's a disciplinarian, and he seems to get his teams to play hard, I just question how well his style of play translates to winning in the NHL.

Still, I am looking forward to the press conferences...