From the Press Box: Atlantic Division Preview

We begin our preparations for the upcoming fantasy hockey season with a look at players who have moved onto new teams or others who will play more prominent roles. We begin with first of four columns exploring the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division.

Boston - The Bruins were forced to make a couple offseason transactions that might signal a bit of a regression this year. First, they moved Milan Lucic to Los Angeles and then young defenseman Dougie Hamilton to Calgary. Both moves were necessitated by a salary cap crunch and in anticipation of free-agent frenzy, which began July 1. The retooling netted the B's some high draft picks and a new backup goalie in Martin Jones. In another deal, they acquired winger Jimmy Hayes, to add some imposing size (though not the physicality of the departed Lucic). Their other big acquisition was the signing of Matt Beleskey to a five-year deal. Although this team looks less imposing, it looks forward to having a healthy tandem of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to anchor the top two lines. The Bruins got an infusion of offensive talent in Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak. The key will be whether they can get another strong year out of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. Power-play specialist Torey Krug needs to provide more scoring on an otherwise thin blueline. Goalie Tuukka Rask will face a big challenge to remain among the top-rated goalies this season.

Buffalo - The Sabres' makeover is on. They began their offseason with a pair of trades that netted veteran forwards Ryan O'Reilly, Jamie McGinn and David Legwand, along with goalie Robin Lehner, who will get the chance to establish himself as the new No. 1 goalie. The big news came at the draft when they used the second overall pick to select Jack Eichel, a consensus choice as a sure-fire future NHL star. The long-term view is strength at center with Eichel, O'Reilly and recent high draft-picks Sam Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons vying for the top three pivot slots. One, likely of the latter two, could easily be expected to move to the wing. Evander Kane, formerly a highly regarded winger in Winnipeg, has a great chance to reinvent himself in a front-line role. Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis should continue to provide solid offensive production as the forward complement takes shape. The defense is thin in terms of offensive talent with only Rasmus Ristolainen ranking as an offensive threat. Veterans Josh Gorges and Zach Bogosian will log tons of ice time, with their defensive strengths being counted on to protect the tandem of Lehner and Chad Johnson in goal.

Detroit - It has been a curious summer in Detroit, which began with Mike Babcock vacating the head coach position. Their minor league affiliate's head coach, Jeff Blashill, moved up to take over the reins for the upcoming campaign in what is expected to be a seamless transition. The Wings moved swiftly on July 1 to sign veteran center Brad Richards and defenseman Mike Green. Beyond those external moves, Wings brain trust will look inward in hopes of long-time leader Henrik Zetterberg leading a pack of young forwards to continued growth. Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Tatar and Justin Abdelkader make up the new offensive core group. The Wings may give prospects Teemu Pulkkinen and Dylan Larkin a shot at regular roles after grooming them in Grand Rapids of the AHL last year. They will be without the venerable skills of Pavel Datsyuk to start the season, and that could be a huge blow. Green will join Niklas Kronwall as the lynchpins of this defense corps. Danny DeKeyser could be a future star on the blueline and might break out this year. We may see a changing of the guard in goal as Petr Mrazek took some playing time away from Jimmy Howard, who was impacted by injury issues the last two seasons.

Florida - The Panthers made only one significant deal in a quiet offseason that saw GM Dale Tallon acquire winger Reilly Smith, who should move into a top-six wing position, and the LTIR contract of Marc Savard, which helped them to get their committed salary stricture above the cap floor. The Panthers have more than $15M in cap space and are expected to go bargain hunting to fill three remaining roster spots in the coming weeks. They can look ahead with the hope that youngsters like Calder Trophy winner Aaron Ekblad can continue to develop as a top-ranking all-around defenseman in support of a big and talented group of forwards, which includes Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. They also resigned Jaromir Jagr, who provides a ton of leadership and a professional example that the young guns have rallied around. Veteran Brian Campbell, a still potent offensive force, and Dmitry Kulikov top the defensive depth chart behind Ekblad. Roberto Luongo will again be counted on to shoulder the load in goal after appearing in 61 games, with a sparkling .925 save percentage and 2.34 GAA. He's happy now and has six years remaining on a contract that he hopes to play out until his early 40s.

Montreal - The Canadiens added the enigmatic Alex Semin after his contract was bought out in Carolina. They offer him a comfortable situation where they can insulate him from too many defensive concerns and responsibilities, only asking that he maximize his offensive talents to help with a team-wide lack of firepower. They also acquired Zack Kassian, who will be given a chance to realize the potential of his power forward skillset to take on a key offensive role. Max Pacioretty suffered a knee injury, which may impact his ability to start the season on time. He is their undisputed top scoring option, so this situation bears close scrutiny. That said, the fortunes of this team rest squarely on the shoulders of league MVP Carey Price, who will be hard-pressed to duplicate a special 2014-15 campaign. Young forwards Brendan Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk should be poised to take the next steps in their respective development to solidify top-six roles. David Desharnais is an underrated setup man for Pacioretty, with insiders hoping that Lars Eller might rebound from a subpar campaign to realize his potential. Tomas Plekanec is perfectly cast as a second-line center with strong defensive skills, the kind of player every contending team craves. Perennial All-Star P.K. Subban is the on-ice leader with his dynamic offensive flair, a constant threat and focal point for the club. Jeff Petry inked a long-term deal and is expected to line up behind Subban as a key puckmover on a second pairing. Veteran Andrei Markov still has offensive skills but has lost some serious foot speed and may be a defensive liability despite his considerable leadership skills.

Ottawa - Beyond the trading of Lehner to untangle a crowded goalie depth chart, the Senators have not make much noise this summer. They bucked a league-wide trend to sign noted tough guy, Zack Stortini, perhaps concerned that the long-time "cop on the beat," Chris Neil, may be nearing the end of the line. The goalie tandem will feature a sharing of duties between long-time vet Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond, who enjoyed a spectacular debut as a 26-year-old rookie last year. Their dynamic captain Erik Karlsson can once again be penciled in among the projected top scoring defensemen in the entire league. Only Cody Ceci and Patrick Wiercioch likely will emerge as other credible offensively skilled blueliners. They may be worth a look if they join Karlsson on a regular shift or the power play. Up front, Mark Stone established himself among the league's top young power forwards after a potent rookie campaign. He will work with setup-man Kyle Turris and veteran Clarke MacArthur on a solid top line. The tandem of Mika Zibanejad and Milan Michalek will have sniper Bobby Ryan riding shotgun, to round out a second scoring unit. Canada's 2015 World Juniors captain Curtis Lazar and 27-goal scorer Mike Hoffman should push for top-line responsibilities this season.

Tampa - The Stanley Cup Finalists took one more giant step in last year's playoffs and it was all about the young guns, who will lead the way again this season. Tyler Johnson enjoyed a breakout campaign, surrounded by wingers Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov on a line that became the most used and important combination during the Bolts' dramatic postseason run. They still relied heavily on captain Steven Stamkos, their most prominent offensive piece, to have another great year where he remained among the top goal-scorer in the league. He will be extra motivated this season, as he plays out the final year of his current contract. Ryan Callahan and Valtteri Filppula are top-six players who are a key part of the leadership, as well. The only notable offseason addition was the signing of Erik Condra, who likely will join big center Brian Boyle on a strong checking line that will chip in offensively. The dynamic Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, who form one of the top pairings in the NHL, will lead a deep defense. Jason Garrison returns as one of the hardest shots from he point. Ben Bishop built a strong case for himself to be in the discussion of high-end goalies after outdueling three of the best on his way to the Cup Finals last year.

Toronto - An honest to goodness rebuild plan (have you heard this one before) looks to be under away in Toronto. Apart from the front office all-star team that is now in place (president Brendan Shanahan, head coach Mike Babcock and GM Lou Lamoriello) there is much work to do to make over this roster. The big on ice impact move of the Leafs' summer was the deal that sent Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh. It netted Toronto a few high-end future assets that fit the long-range plan. In addition, the Leafs targeted mid-range veterans to fill out roster spots. Defenseman Matt Hunwick, forwards P.A. Parenteau, Nick Spaling, Shawn Matthias and Daniel Winnik (again) will be given a prominent stage on short-term cap friendly deals to strut their stuff and possibly get flipped for future assets at the trade deadline. Center Nazem Kadri and goalie Jonathan Bernier re-signed deals that come a challenge to really establish their long-range credentials. The club has some nice pieces in Morgan Rielly and James van Riemsdyk and appears ready to present other veterans like Dion Phaneuf, Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul with a clean slate to re-establish their value after forgettable 2014-15.