Boston Bruins Additions: Joe Corvo Losses: Michael Ryder, Tomas Kaberle, Mark Recchi The defending Stanley Cup Champs lost some solid secondary scoring in Ryder and Recchi, but look to replace that with a big improvement from Tyler Seguin, who showed great promise in spurts in the playoffs. The Bruins should also benefit from a full season of Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly, who came over at the deadline, while Joe Corvo will essentially replace what Tomas Kaberle got them last season. Tim Thomas shouldn’t be expected to duplicate his record-setting (save percentage) season, but he will be aided by Tuukka Rask, who should be able to improve on a subpar second season. It appears the only thing standing in the way of a repeat Division title is health and Stanley Cup hangover. Last season: 1st in the division, 3rd in the East. Prediction: 1st in the division, 2nd in the East. Buffalo Sabres Additions: Christian Ehrhoff, Ville Leino, Robyn Regehr Losses: Jakub Voracek, Scottie Upshall, Nikita Filatov, Mathieu Garon While the name changes don’t have great quantity, there is a lot of quality there. Ville Leino, while overpaid in most circles, should be able to be a solid second-line player good for 20+ goals, while playing solid in all three zones. Last season, Buffalo’s achilles heel was their lack of depth on defense, as they could not overcome key injuries on the back end. But with new owner Terry Pegula in the fold, and the team given the green light to spend to the cap ceiling, they added both a stay-at-home (Regehr) and a power play/offensive specialist (Ehrhoff); the addition of these two should really help the burden placed upon youngster Tyler Myers, while stabilizing the area in front of Ryan Miller, who should improve on last season’s numbers. With the added defense, and solid all-around depth, Buffalo should be able to challenge for home-ice advantage in the playoffs while making the entire Conference more competitive. Last season: 3rd in the division, 7th in the East. Prediction: 2nd in the division, 4th in the East. Montreal Canadiens Additions: Erik Cole, Peter Budaj Losses: Roman Hamrlik, Jeff Halpern, Alex Auld Last season the Canadiens didn’t look like a playoff team on paper, but they managed to squeak in as a seventh seed. This season, the playoffs look less likely than a year ago. The only reason they made the playoffs was Carey Price, and how he stood on his head all season long. Erik Cole is a decent addition, but could very well struggle with the weighty expectations that his contract and playing in Montreal bring. Will Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges be healthy and effective all year? The losses of Hamrlik and Halpern, two very solid two-way players, will hurt on the ice and in the locker room. Will Scott Gomez show up? Will Mike Cammalleri stay healthy? With the improvements made by other Eastern Conference clubs, Montreal looks over-matched with their lack of depth. Last season: 2nd in the division, 6th in the East. Prediction: 4th in the division, 11th in the East. Ottawa Senators Additions: Nikita Filatov, Zenon Konopka, Alex Auld Losses: Ryan Shannon, Pascal Leclaire After the big free agent signing of Sergei Gonchar went to waste, Ottawa stayed very quiet in the offseason, making only minor moves. They made their big move last year by acquiring Craig Anderson from Colorado. While he will surely provide more than Brian Elliott or Pascal Leclaire did, it will still be a very long season in Canada’s capital. The defense, while promising for the future, will be very young and largely inexperienced, and could be starting up to three rookies. Up front there is little firepower beyond Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, both of whom struggled with injury last season, while Alfredsson will turn 39-years-old this December. Ottawa has assembled a number of quality young players and prospects, but quite frankly a year in the basement would be beneficial to the club because it needs to rebuild. Last season: 5th in the division, 13th in the East. Prediction: 5th in the division, 15th in the East. Toronto Maple Leafs Additions: Tim Connolly, Cody Franson, John-Michael Liles, Matthew Lombardi Losses: Brett Lebda, Jean-Sebastian Giguere, Tim Brent Is this the year? Could the Leafs’ post-lockout playoff drought over? On paper, it should be. GM Brian Burke had a very productive offseason, signing Tim Connolly to a short-term deal, plucking away the offensive Liles for a draft pick, and pillaging Nashville for the solid young defenseman Franson and Lombardi. If Connolly and Lombardi are healthy all year, all of a sudden Toronto is deep down the middle; they don’t have a bona fide #1 center, but Connolly, Mikhail Grabovski, Lombardi and Tyler Bozak are all solid contributors. Phil Kessel is a lock for 30 goals, but could net 40 with the addition of Connolly and a full season with Joffrey Lupul. A balanced attack in front of the deepest blueline in the league should help James Reimer, last year’s rookie sensation, succeed as the franchise’s #1 goalie. But if Optimus Reim takes a big step backwards, and Jonas Gustavsson doesn’t improve, Burke could be scrambling for a goalie mid-season. Last season: 4th in the division, 11th in the East. Predicition: 3rd in the division, 8th in the East. Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan