Atlantic Division update: Sens could trade for a top end RFA in Minnesota and a former 40-goal scorer in Vegas
The Atlantic Division was a pretty top-heavy division in 2021-22, with the Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins leading the way. That said, the bottom half of the division is also showing signs of life, with Detroit, Buffalo and Ottawa all possessing some quality prospect pools and should be on the up-swing very soon. As for Montreal, they just won the draft lottery and will have their pick of the litter in what is expected to be a very deep draft on July 7th with the number one pick and Shane Wright, Logan Cooley and Juraj Slafkovsky all ripe for the picking.
As far as the Red Wings go, they're likely going to be the first team to rise up out of the basement, with the Ottawa Senators not too far behind. If Bruce Garrioch has his finger on the pulse, the Sens' rise could actually be even quicker than anticipated.
Per Garrioch, the Senators could make multiple splashes this summer, and could have interest in both Vegas Golden Knights center and former 40-goal scorer William Karlsson and Minnesota Wild winger and 30-goal scorer Kevin Fiala.
Fiala is a pending RFA who is coming off of a 1-year, $5.1M deal, during which he enjoyed a career year, scoring 85 points in 82 games with the Wild. As for Karlsson, he is signed another 5 seasons at $5.9M per season and could benefit from a change of scenery after a rough 2020-21 and 2021-22 that saw him fail to break the 40-point in either season.
With upwards of $24M in available cap space this summer, the Sens are certainly in a position to begin their transition from bottom-feeder to up-and-comer. Adding a couple of skilled veterans up front to bolster the top 6 could be an important step for the Sens and may help create more competition in the Atlantic.
