Barring any further moves, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ offseason has been more defined by what was lost than what was gained. The departure of reigning leading scorer Mitch Marner leaves a massive hole in the lineup, one that none of the incoming forwards like Matias Maccelli, Nicolas Roy or Dakota Joshua can be expected to fill on their own.
Sure, the Maple Leafs may be more balanced and flexible in terms of their organizational structure and salary cap, but it’s difficult to argue that the current roster is an improvement on the one that we last saw fall to the Florida Panthers in the second round of the postseason.
While Toronto was figuring out how to move on from their 102-point superstar forward, the remaining seven teams in the Atlantic Division were all working to address their own rosters. Even if the Maple Leafs managed to at least maintain roughly a similar talent level to last season’s division-winning club, they will have to contend with a group of improved rivals who will be hungry to wrestle the Atlantic away from them this season.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Maple Leafs’ rivals were up to over the summer and how they are looking heading into 2025-26, as Toronto seeks to defend its division title:
Boston Bruins
Key Arrivals: Tanner Jeannot, Viktor Arvidsson, head coach Marco Sturm
Key Departures: Jakub Lauko, Parker Wotherspoon
The first steps towards a rebuild for the Boston Bruins came at last year’s trade deadline, as Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau all found new homes as part of a stunning sell-off by the organization. In that sense, most of the legwork was already done by general manager (GM) Don Sweeney ahead of the summer.
Nevertheless, Sweeney and the Bruins weren’t idle this offseason. They looked to remain tough to play against by signing hard-nosed forward Tanner Jeannot to a five-year contract and also adding Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers. Perhaps most important to their long-term growth, they drafted Boston College standout James Hagens with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 Draft.
Despite the presence of holdovers like David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, this looks like it could still be a development-focused season in Boston with a young roster and rookie…
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