Each Atlantic Division team’s chances of winning a Cup in the next 3 years

The NHL is famous for its parity come playoff time.

Over the last four years, we've seen a team win back-to-back championships, an expansion team make the final, and a pair of clubs win the first titles in franchise history. All bets are off in the springtime, but that doesn't mean some teams aren't better built for success than others.

Looking at four key factors for all 32 organizations (yes, Seattle was included in this exercise), we've ranked each team's chances of winning a Stanley Cup over the next three seasons. In this edition, we focus on the Atlantic Division.

Note: The 32 teams in the exercise were given combined Stanley Cup odds that total 300 percent - 100 percent per year.

Ottawa Senators: 0.8 percent

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The Senators will be hard-pressed to get out of the NHL's basement in 2019-20. There's reason for optimism in the future, though, as the team's prospect pipeline is brimming with talent, and Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk are young high-end players already on the roster. However, the likelihood of Ottawa making the postseason over the next three years is low, let alone winning a Stanley Cup.

Detroit Red Wings: 1 percent

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The Red Wings are further ahead in their rebuild than the Senators, but in a stacked division, they'll find it very difficult to earn a postseason berth. The future is bright with Steve Yzerman calling the shots as general manager, but there's still lots of roster turnover that needs to occur before the Wings can even be considered a playoff contender.

Montreal Canadiens: 3 percent

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Montreal has collected plenty of nice young players both on the roster and coming through the team's system. But the club's two cornerstone players - Carey Price and Shea Weber - aren't getting any younger at 31 and 33 years old, respectively. Time is running out for the Habs to make a serious championship run with that duo leading the way. If Montreal makes the playoffs and Price gets hot, anything could happen, but that's not likely.

Buffalo Sabres: 3 percent

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So much is unknown for the Sabres. The club projects to hold over $38 million in cap space next season, but that's only with eight players signed, and luring free agents to western New York is never easy. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who's just 20 years old, is perhaps the best goalie prospect in the world, and there's plenty of upside for Buffalo defensively. But the club faces far too many holes up front. Casey Mittelstadt is the franchise's biggest X-factor. If he can be the player many expect, the Sabres could turn some heads sooner than later.

Florida Panthers: 15 percent

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The Panthers arguably improved more than any other team during the offseason, signing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to fill their biggest need, while also adding defenseman Anton Stralman, and high-energy forward Noel Acciari. On paper, this team is good enough to compete for a Stanley Cup, but the Panthers will need 2014 No. 1 pick Aaron Ekblad to take a stride forward in his development.

Toronto Maple Leafs: 20 percent

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Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly might be the NHL's most enviable five-player core. If Marner, a restricted free agent, is re-signed, that quintet will be locked in for the duration of this three-year window, giving the Leafs a legitimate shot at their first Stanley Cup since 1967. The team's defense will improve after the addition of Tyson Barrie, but with Rielly as the only blue-liner signed beyond next season, there's a lot of uncertainty on the back end.

Boston Bruins: 20 percent

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Patrice Bergeron (34), David Krejci (33), Brad Marchand (31), and Tuukka Rask (32) are all aging, but with David Pastrnak (23) and Charlie McAvoy (21) leading the next wave, the Bruins will remain a legitimate threat until the team's core starts to decline. Bergeron, Krejci, and Marchand are all coming off career years, so they don't appear to be slowing anytime soon.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 25 percent

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If the Lightning can get Brayden Point signed without drastically altering the roster, they'll likely begin next season as Cup favorites. Things won't get easier next summer, though, as Anthony Cirelli, Mathieu Joseph, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak will all be due for significant raises. That's a lot to handle for new GM Julien BriseBois, but he already managed to get star goalie Andre Vasilevskiy signed with an eight-year extension. If the front office can keep the main core together while continuing to draft and develop at a high level, the Bolts will be perennial contenders.

Others in this series:

  • Central Division (July 30)
  • Pacific Division (July 31)
  • Metropolitan Division (Aug. 1)

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Lightning lock up Vasilevskiy with 8-year extension reportedly worth $76M

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to an eight-year contract extension, his agent, Dan Milstein, announced Monday.

The deal will carry an average annual value of $9.5 million with $46 million to be paid in bonuses, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

The contract will make Vasilevksiy the third-highest-paid goaltender in the league behind Carey Price ($10.5M) and Sergei Bobrovsky ($10M). Unlike Price and Bobrovsky, who signed their long-term deals at 29 and 30, respectively, Vasilevksiy just turned 25. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent next summer.

Vasilevskiy claimed the first Vezina Trophy of his career as the league's top goaltender in 2018-19. He went 39-10-4 with a 2.40 goals-against average, a .925 save percentage, and six shutouts.

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Maple Leafs’ Hyman didn’t know he tore ACL during playoffs

Zach Hyman didn't realize he'd torn his ACL until after the Boston Bruins eliminated his Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this past spring.

The Leafs forward sustained the injury late in Game 4 when he tried to lay a hit on Bruins star Brad Marchand. The team confirmed his injury following the conclusion of the seven-game series, but Hyman said he played through the ailment for the final three-plus contests because it didn't seem as severe as it was ultimately determined to be.

"I didn't know I tore my ACL, nobody knew," Hyman told Sportsnet 590 The FAN on Friday. " ... I thought I hyperextended it. (In Game 4), I tried without a brace and it was fine, but we ended up putting a brace on for (Games) 5, 6, and 7 and it was just pain tolerance ... and I thought I could manage the pain and I thought I could skate pretty well."

The 27-year-old added that he'd planned to undergo an MRI, but didn't want to do so until after the series due to the whirlwind postseason schedule and because he "felt fine" at the time.

Given a recovery timetable of at least six months following his April diagnosis, Hyman is projected to return in late October if his rehab progresses as planned. But he wasn't tipping his hand on how it's been going so far.

"I don't want to give anybody a date and then (have) it not be that date, but I have a date in mind," he said. "It's got to be approved by the medical team first, but it's always good to have a goal to strive for and it motivates you more and whether that's attainable or not we'll see."

Hyman established career highs with 21 goals and 41 points while playing 71 regular-season contests this past season. He tallied one playoff goal on a first-period deflection in Game 4.

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Scheifele calls rumors of Jets’ dressing-room issues ‘a bunch of baloney’

Mark Scheifele insists his Winnipeg Jets don't have chemistry problems.

"People can claim whatever, but I know we have a tight-knit team," the 26-year-old center told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger on Thursday. "We have great guys in our room. And there's no question in my mind about the character we have in our room, the unity that we have."

Reports of discord within the Jets' dressing room have led to speculation about the team's state of affairs, but Scheifele made it clear he's not going to get caught up in what's being said outside that room.

"That other stuff, that's the stuff as a team you block out," he said. "You know what's going on in your room. Anything extra is a bunch of baloney."

No Jets players or coaches have confirmed issues inside the dressing room, but head coach Paul Maurice hinted at it after Winnipeg was ousted from the first round of the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.

"We’ve got a few ruffled feathers in there that we're going to have to flatten out before we get going," the bench boss told the Winnipeg Free Press' Mike McIntyre at the time.

McIntyre also wrote in April that he and colleague Jason Bell had heard from multiple sources that "things are anything but rosy with this group."

The Jets fell out of first place in the Central Division down the stretch, winning three of their final nine regular-season contests before losing to the Blues in six games.

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Shaw: Returning to Blackhawks is ‘something you wish for’

Andrew Shaw became one of the Chicago Blackhawks' many cap causalities during their dynasty when he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens three years ago.

He's now back in Chicago, but his heart never left the Windy City.

"Guys always joked in the dressing room about cutting the cord, but it was obviously tough," he told the Chicago Tribune's Jimmy Greenfield. "Five successful years in Chicago. It was a team that took a chance on me in the draft and gave me an opportunity my first year in pro, then winning two Stanley Cups.

"Becoming friends with all those guys in the locker room, it was really tough to let go. I never really did. I had to move on, but (Chicago) was a part of me. I was never going to forget it and move on completely."

Shaw, a restricted free agent at the time, was traded to Montreal in 2016 for a pair of second-round picks - one of which was used to select Alex DeBrincat. Three days later, Shaw signed a six-year deal with the Canadiens carrying a $3.9-million cap hit, a price too steep for the Blackhawks.

Now only six players remain in Chicago from Shaw's last season there: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Erik Gustafsson, and Corey Crawford.

The 27-year-old says he enjoyed his time playing for the Canadiens' storied franchise, but Shaw was excited upon learning he was being traded back to the Blackhawks on June 30.

"It's something you wish for," he said. "You don't actually think it's going to come true. It did and I'm excited, I'm happy. (I'm) a lot different from when I left three years ago. I have a wife, a kid and I've matured a little bit. Chicago's still going to get the same hockey player but maybe a little bit of a different person."

Shaw has been regarded as one of the NHL's best pests during his seven-year career, but he's also taken strides offensively. Last season with the Canadiens, he tallied a career-high 47 points while only playing 63 games.

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Report: Rangers, Kreider haven’t discussed extension

It appears increasingly likely that the 2019-20 season will be a contract year for New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider.

Kreider's agent Matt Keator and Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton have yet to discuss what it would take to get the 28-year-old signed to a long-term contract, according to the New York Post's Larry Brooks.

"Not a number has been exchanged," Brooks added.

Kreider is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season, and his name has been floated around in trade speculation because of the Rangers' rebuild and cap crunch. His deal comes with a $4.625 million cap hit for 2019-20 and an 11-team no-trade list.

New York is already over $4 million above the salary cap with 23 players signed and two remaining restricted free agents to ink (Brendan Lemieux and Tony DeAngelo), according to CapFriendly.

After re-signing RFA Pavel Buchnevich on Friday, the Ranges will now receive a 48-hour buyout window beginning on Monday and concluding at 5 p.m ET Wednesday. The club could start to clear its logjam of blue-liners by buying out Kevin Shattenkirk, Marc Staal, or Brendan Smith. There are two years left on the deals for all three players.

If Gorton doesn't use the buyout window to clear cap space, he may be forced to pursue trades. Kreider, a speedy power forward coming off a 28-goal season, is the club's most appealing trade asset who could realistically be moved.

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