It’s a week and a half until the trade deadline and coming out of the Four Nations, things have been relatively quiet after some movement before the tournament. The Maple Leafs are one of the teams that has the best cases for going big but so far have been silent, other than apparently making their intention to find a centre fairly well known.

The Leafs sit atop the Atlantic,  generally considered to be the toughest division in hockey and despite not being their best point percentage season thus far, the status as the top team in the division is a unique one. Of course, the division isn’t without teams that could potentially make life difficult for them now or in the coming years, and because of that, we’ll take a look at some of the best and worst case scenarios for the Leafs’ Atlantic Division rivals at the 2025 trade deadline.

It’s a new situation for the Bruins and one that seems like it has been a long time coming. At present time they are on the outside looking in at the playoffs and while one good move is probably enough to get them into the post season, the better course of action for a market that tends to be “championship or bust” is to set themselves up for quickly retooling their roster and getting back into contention in the next couple of years.

Best case scenario: The Bruins take advantage of the rental market for players like Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau, both who could have premiums paid for them because they fit the playoff hockey archetype. The Bruins can get themselves back into the futures game and take advantage of the fact that they’ll have good young players that they can teach to play Bruins hockey.

If Don Sweeney is a bit more ambitious, he’ll see what he can land for middle of the road players like Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and Andrew Peeke, who there will definitely be a market for and will create a lot of additional cap space for the Bruins to be players in free agency over the summer as well.

Worst case scenario: The Bruins overcommit to turning things around and move on from Brad Marchand. As much as Leafs’ fans would probably be happy to see Marchand leave the division, from a Bruins perspective, having someone from their Stanley Cup leadership group around the orientate the incoming players to Bruins hockey and the importance of buying in probably has more value than a late first-round pick.

The Sabres are stuck in a permanent rebuild and it is hard to think of a team in a less enviable position than Buffalo is. They’ve got good young players but the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together. Putting Dylan Cozens and Bowen Byram out into the trade market is a commitment to rethinking their current roster but as they free up cap space and stockpile futures they are faced with the harsh truth that players with no trade clauses and top tier free agents aren’t coming to Buffalo when the team isn’t showing signs of being competitive. They also need to set some form of direction in which they intend to go instead of flailing around hoping they eventually get it right.

Best case scenario: Buffalo weaponizing their cap space and taking on players with term and salary might be their best play, even more so than maximizing their value for Cozens and Byram. Salary dumps are great way for this team to accumulate a veteran presence and they will still get some necessary futures as well. If they don’t go this route now, the summer still affords them the opportunity to try it, and given that Cozens has term and Byram is an RFA, the Sabres can wait until they get their price and don’t need to rush into a panic move at the deadline.

Worst case scenario: Jordan Greenway, James Reimer and Jason Zucker are still Sabres after the deadline. With no salary presently retained by the Sabres, failing to move their pending UFAs is unacceptable especially since Zuckers’ red hot season being accessible at a $2.5M seems like something there will be a huge market for.

Freeing up some cap space by moving Ville Husso was a nice start, and a signal that Steve Yzerman will definitely be a player at the trade deadline. The Wings are very much in the hunt for a Wild Card spot and Yzerman looks like he’s going to secure it.

Best case scenario: Yzerman has had a tendency to go off the radar with his moves and rarely has he attempted the straightforward acquisition, at least while serving as the GM of the Red Wings. Perhaps the best outcome is that Yzerman uses his creativity, cap space, and his willingness to deal players off his roster for upgrades to optimize his lineup down the stretch. Avoiding bidding wars seems like the best course of action when the team isn’t quite ready to contend but desperately wants to back into the playoffs.

Worst case scenario: Yzerman galaxy brains it. Instead of looking for exploring the full extent of who is available in the trade market, Yzerman hyper-fixates on who thinks are the perfect fit for the Red Wings with no Plan B for it doesn’t work out. The Wings going big on rentals also seems like a misuse of assets given they are still in the “happy to be here” situation for the playoffs.

Bill Zito is very good at his job and with high profile UFAs like Aaron Ekblad and Sam Bennett, along with a potential LTIR status for Matthew Tkachuk that could run until the playoffs, it seems reasonable to expect anything here. The Panthers are just a point back of the Leafs and their status as defending Stanley Cup Champions isn’t lost on anyone. The fact that the Panthers won’t sit idly by should be the call to arms for Brad Treliving and the Leafs, but for now, we’ll focus on the Panthers.

Best case scenario: Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad buy-in and renew their intention of living the good life of competitive hockey in Florida. At the same time, if Tkachuk is out long term, the Panthers weaponizing that cap space with upgraded depth is probably their best path forward. I mentioned earlier the idea of the Sabres moving Jason Zucker, the Panthers are a team that seems like a match made in heaven there, it’s just a matter of whether the lack of 2025 draft picks holds Florida back.

Worst case scenario: I’m not sure there really is a worst case scenario when you are a playoff lock and can at least point back to their 2024 success. If they make some small depth moves, that’s probably good enough and if they go big, they’ll be heralded as bold front runners. I guess the worst case scenario would be trying to trade their high profile pending UFAs instead of trying to get one last cup run out of them.

The Canadiens situation isn’t entirely different from the Sabres. They seem to be locked into a perpetual rebuild with players that are good but not necessarily good together. The Canadiens are showing a bit more progress and while getting futures back certainly isn’t what the team needs, it doesn’t hurt them.

Best case scenario: They re-sign Jake Evans instead of trading him. He’s a good player that would be a fit on most teams around the league. The second the Habs move him, he leaves an important hole that needs to be filled with another Jake Evans type of player. At a certain point you can’t deal away players that are a fit in your lineup even when you can get a decent return for them.

Beyond that, Armia’s age likely pushes him out the door and Christian Dvorak is someone that you hope someone will take off your hands. Someone will pay too much for David Savard and the Habs should take advantage of that as well.

The real energy should probably be spent on seeing if a taker can be found for Josh Anderson. If the Canadiens can set themselves up for starting the 2025-26 without a $5.5M AAV underperformer in their lineup, that’s a big win.

Worst case scenario: They stay too quiet. The bar is pretty low here, as long as they’ve picked up whatever capital they can out of Armia and Savard, they’ve done well. And if Evans isn’t planning on returning to Montreal, they cash out on him as well.

The Senators really need the playoffs and are in striking distance of it. The wildcard race looks like an absolute dogfight and anything but a guarantee, but if there is a team that should be motivated to put themselves as the front runner for it, Ottawa is it.

On the flipside of that, Claude Giroux as a pending UFA is something they could really cash in on. Adam Gaudette’s career year heading into free agency is another, and Anton Forsberg as pending UFA in a weak goaltending market could at least get a couple of teams interested if the Sens retained salary.

Best case scenario: As much as going for it seems like the most likely outcome, exercising caution along the way is probably the best approach. Giroux is a local product, Gaudette has only had success with the Sens, there is an easy argument for both returning. Making small upgrades makes sense but if they can land someone with term, going big makes a lot of sense for a team that is tired of the draft lottery.

Worst case scenario: They go big on rentals. If the Senators dealt their first, it would likely be treated as the best first round pick asset at the deadline based on where the Senators are likely to pick (either in the lottery or late teens). There would potentially be some pick protection conditions put on it, but anyway, the point is, the Senators potentially giving up a good asset for a brief playoff appearance and a player unlikely to re-sign in Ottawa would be a misstep.

The Lightning coming on strong of late raises the question of what exactly makes sense for them at the deadline. The blueline looks like it needs upgrading and the bottom six forward depth could use a boost, but the top of their lineup is still very promising.

Best case scenario: They find a low cap hit top four defenceman that works out well for them. The Lightning have been hit or miss with players looking like they are having a breakout season or a career year and I’d fully expect them to go with a hot hand that is due for a payday in the summer. The best case scenario is they also pick up a goaltender who allows them to rest Vasilevskiy a bit more down the stretch too.

Worst case scenario: They wind up in another Tanner Jeannot situation instead of a Nick Paul or Brandon Hagel one.

The Atlantic Division will be interesting to watch over the next week and a half, and while there is understandably a fixation on what the Maple Leafs do next, the impact upgraded competition for the playoffs and seeding can’t be ignored. Nor can the fact that many of the competitive teams in the Atlantic will face Montreal and Buffalo (the two most likely sellers) more frequently than the Leafs, who don’t see either team until the final week of the season and that can have an impact on the standings as well.