The Buffalo Sabres happen to play in the NHL's most competitive division, the Atlantic Division, Every one of the Atlantic's eight teams have designs on being a playoff team next season -- and as part of this continuing THN.com series, we're analyzing each of the Sabres' seven divisional rivals to see what chance Buffalo has against each of them.

We've moved alphabetically through the first four teams in the Atlantic, including Boston, Detroit, Florida and Montreal. And in this file, we're turning to the Ottawa Senators, the team that ended a seven-season playoff drought last year, when they finished with the Atlantic's fourth-best record (45-30-7). How did the Sabres fare against the Senators last season -- and what chance does Buffalo have at getting the best of Ottawa this coming year? Those are the questions you'll find answers to below.

BUFFALO SABRES VS. OTTAWA SENATORS

NEW SENATORS PLAYERS: Lars Eller, C; Arthur Kaliyev, LW; Jordan Spence, D

2024-25 SERIES: Sabres 4-0-0, Senators 0-4-0

2025-26 GAMES AGAINST EACH OTHER:  October 15 at Buffalo; December 23 at Ottawa; April 2 at Ottawa

CAN THE SABRES BEAT THIS TEAM?  The Sabres laid out the Senators last season, winning all four of their regular-season games. And with the Senators making few additions to their roster -- including greybeard Eller, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings castoff Kaliyev, and young defenseman Spence (a move we actually really like for Ottawa) -- the Sens could be prone to losing repeatedly to Buffalo again this season.

The teams only play on three occasions next year -- and two of them are essentially season-opening and season-closing bookmarks: the first game will be the Sabres' fourth game of the year, while the third game will be Buffalo's seventh-to-last game of the year. So it's rather likely the Sens team the Sabres see in October will be significantly different than the Sens team that greets them in April.

With that said, we like Buffalo's chances of being better than the Senators the way they were better than them last season. Ottawa was a mediocre defensive team last season, but their offense was worse, ranking 19th in the league at an average of 2.95 goals-for per game.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Will The New-Look Montreal Canadiens Edge Out Buffalo For A Playoff Spot?The Buffalo Sabres are desperate to be a playoff team next season -- but they're in the NHL's toughest division -- the Atlantic Division. And their games against Atlantic teams will be crucial to help decided whether or not they'll be a playoff team next year. As such, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each Atlantic team in a THN.com series; We started alphabetically with the Boston Bruins, then turned our attention to the Detroit Red Wings, followed by the defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers.

Let's return, then, to see what Ottawa did this summer: they brought in Eller, who won't move the needle offensively; they brought in Kaliyev, who couldn't produce enough offense to justify the Kings or Rangers hanging onto him. And they brought in Spence, who can contribute some offense, but who also isn't regarded for his defensive play. 

So it seems, then, that the Sabres can indeed take advantage of their structural advantages over the Senators. Buffalo's offense, even without the departed J.J. Peterka, should be able to poke holes in Ottawa's defense, The Sabres' defense corps, meanwhile, is deeper and more talented than the Sens' group of blueliners. And while Ottawa's netminding is better than Buffalo's, the Sabres still managed to outscore the Senators 17-5 last year. 

Having one fewer game against one another might temporarily dampen the natural rivalry between Ottawa and Buffalo. But don't kid yourself -- if the Metropolitan Division improves next season and four Metro teams make it into the playoffs, only four teams will be getting a playoff berth in the Atlantic. And that almost certainly means one, if not both the Senators and Sabres will miss out on playoff action next year.

Know Your Enemy, Sabres Edition: Does Buffalo Have Any Hope Of Beating The Defending Stanley Cup-Champion Panthers?The Buffalo Sabres are under massive pressure to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years. To do so, they're going to have to make the most of their games with their Atlantic Division rivals. And in this continuing THN.com series, we're analyzing Buffalo's chances against each of their seven Atlantic rivals.

You have to give the Sens their due -- they've got plenty to like, and reason for optimism next season and beyond. However, the sports world is littered with the husks of better-than-average teams that faltered under the weight of expectation.

We're not here to guarantee you that Ottawa is going to be one of those teams. However, if the Sabres are to end their 14-year playoff drought, they need to get a leg up on many, if not most Atlantic teams.

The Senators aren't yet regarded as a top-two-or-better team, and that may change soon enough. But Buffalo needs to do whatever it can to replicate the success they had against Ottawa last season. Because if they don't, and the Sabres miss out on the playoffs yet again, their losses at the hands of the Sens may be the reason why.

The Hockey News’ NHL summer splash rankings are in full swing, with the Tampa Bay Lightning coming in 25th place.

We’re focusing on each NHL team’s off-season, weighing in on the teams that improved, stayed the same and got worse this off-season. We’ll be breaking down all additions and departures, including hirings and firings.

This isn’t about who had the best or worst off-season, although there are some exceptions if a team did more or less than expected to support their core.

You can see the teams that finished beneath the Lightning at the bottom. Now, let’s focus on the state of the Bolts.

Additions

Pontus Holmberg (LW), Boris Katchouk (LW), Sam O’Reilly (C)

The Breakdown: The Lightning made their big moves during the season, re-acquiring veteran center Yanni Gourde as well as right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken for their playoff run this past spring. 

Tampa Bay GM Julien BriseBois signed Gourde to a six-year contract extension with an average annual value of $2.33 million – terrific value for a proven winner. 

In terms of NHL-level players added this summer, the Bolts only brought on former Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Holmberg. The 26-year-old Swede was mostly a bottom-six forward for the Maple Leafs last year, posting modest career highs in assists (12) and points (19) in 68 regular-season games.

Holmberg was a non-factor in the playoffs, generating just a single assist in 12 games. He’ll again be a third- or fourth-liner for Tampa Bay.

Katchouk, 27, was one of the Lightning’s additions signed to a two-way deal. He gets mentioned here because he’s played 176 career NHL games, but he spent all of this past season in the AHL, and his career high in the NHL is 16 points in 58 games in 2022-23.

O’Reilly, 19, is a prospect center acquired in the Isaac Howard trade with the Edmonton Oilers. He’s a smart player who could make the bottom six in the future, but he’s not expected to graduate to the NHL in 2025-26.

Departures

Nick Perbix (D), Cam Atkinson (RW), Luke Glendening (C), Isaac Howard (RW) 

The Breakdown: BriseBois spent most of his cap space to keep his team largely intact, but the Lightning did lose some experience on the free-agent market.

Veteran defenseman Perbix signed with the Nashville Predators. He was a third-pair blueliner for Tampa Bay, averaging only 14:41 of ice time in 74 games. But he got a significant raise from the Preds, going from $1.125 million this past season to $2.75 million on a two-year deal. That was too rich for BriseBois to accommodate, so the Lightning’s defense corps won’t be quite as deep next season.

Right winger Atkinson was mainly a fringe player this past year, with only four goals and nine points in 39 games. He was a frequent healthy scratch and was assigned to the AHL at times. 

Veteran center Glendening also appears to be moving on. The 36-year-old was a fourth-liner for Tampa Bay, averaging only 10:47 per game in 77 games. Neither Atkinson nor Glendening is irreplaceable, but their departure does affect the Lightning’s overall depth up front.

Ultimately, while things could’ve gone worse in the off-season for Brisebois and the Bolts, they did a decent-enough job keeping together a group that Lightning brass obviously still believes in. And the departures they did have aren’t going to hurt their bottom line. Speaking of bottom lines…

The Bottom Line

The Lightning were ousted in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs by the back-to-back defending Cup-champion Florida Panthers. But there’s still plenty to like about Tampa Bay – whether it’s superstar sniper Nikita Kucherov, elite forwards Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, accomplished defensemen in Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak and Ryan McDonagh, or superstar goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. You can’t credibly argue that’s not an impressive group.

Keeping Gourde was a priority for BriseBois to ensure there’s proven talent in the bottom six. Signing Hedman to a contract extension last July that kicks in this upcoming season was huge, and not having to trade core talent for cap space is a plus as well. 

Did Tampa Bay get better this summer? No. Did they stay the same? For the most part, yes – although there is, in our estimation, enough evidence to argue they got marginally worse for this upcoming season than their playoff roster in the grand scheme of things.

Because of those reasons and the tight margin between the clubs that stayed largely the same, they’re in the bottom quarter of the NHL summer splash rankings. 

We fully expect the Lightning to be a playoff team in the 2025-26 campaign. That said, we’re also not sure Tampa Bay will be able to get out of the first round in next spring’s playoffs. 

BriseBois has never been afraid to make big moves in-season, so that may be in the cards for the Bolts next year.

Summer Splash Rankings

25. Tampa Bay Lightning

26. Toronto Maple Leafs

27. Dallas Stars

28. Calgary Flames

29. Los Angeles Kings

30. Winnipeg Jets

31. Chicago Blackhawks

32. Buffalo Sabres

While the Chicago Blackhawks had a quieter off-season than they did last summer, they still brought in a few new players to their roster. Among their newcomers are forwards Andrei Burakovsky, Sam Lafferty, and Dominic Toninato.

Now, the Blackhawks have announced the numbers that their new additions will wear for the 2025-26 season.

Burakovsky wore No. 95 with both the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken, but that number is already taken by Blackhawks forward Ilya Mikheyev. As a result, Burakovsky will instead wear No. 28 with the Blackhawks. He will be the 19th player in Blackhawks history to sport No. 28, which was last worn by current Chicago forward Colton Dach. Dach will be switching to No. 34, which was also announced by the team.

Just like he did during his first stint with the Blackhawks, Lafferty will once again sport No. 24 with the Blackhawks. Since his time with the Blackhawks ended during the 2022-23 season, forward Anders Bjork and defenseman Jaycob Megna have worn No. 24 for Chicago. The Blackhawks have had 17 players in total sport No. 24 in their franchise history. 

As for Toninato, the Blackhawks have announced that he will wear No. 25 for them. This is a popular number in Blackhawks history, as he will now be the 22nd player to wear it for the Chicago. The last player to do so was defenseman Alec Martinez, who sported it during this past season.

new season, new numbers👏 pic.twitter.com/6zuXKMeZq2

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) July 24, 2025

Ex-Blackhawks Forward Among Veteran Free Agents LeftThe NHL free agent market is significantly smaller than it was when it opened on July 1. This is understandable, as teams often make their moves during the early part of the month when it comes to free agency.

Photo Credit:  © Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Editors note: This story contains mention of sexual assault. Readers discretion is advised.  

Cal Foote, who played for the Nashville Predators for 24 games during the 2022-23 season, was one of five former Canadian junior hockey players found not guilty on Thursday in a sexual assault case that occurred in 2018. 

Foote, alongside Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Dillon Dubé, were all accused of engaging in the sexual assault of a woman anonymously known as E.M. She claimed she had been sexually assaulted over several hours in a hotel room in London, Ontario, in June 2018. 

The players were in London to celebrate their Gold Medal victory at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, which was held earlier that year in Buffalo, New York. 

Ontario Supreme Court Justice Maria Carroccia said during the decision on Thursday that she did not find E.M.’s evidence “credible or reliable." 

More specific details to the case and the ruling can be found here:

All Five Former World Junior Players Found Not Guilty In Hockey Canada Sexual Assault TrialWarning: coverage of the Hockey Canada trial includes details of alleged sexual assault that may be disturbing to readers.

Foote was drafted 14th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017 and bounced between the NHL and AHL for six and a half seasons before he was traded midseason to Nashville. The Predators dealt forward Tanner Jeannot to Tampa for Foote and five future draft picks.

During his time with the Predators, he scored four points in 24 games. In the offseason, he signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils but spent the bulk of his time with the organization in Utica, playing for the AHL franchise. 

In January 2024, when the sexual assault allegations were made against Foote, the Devils granted Foote an "indefinite leave of absence from the team," but did not re-sign him. 

He has spent the last season with Liptovsky Mikulas HK in the Slovak Extraliga, the top professional hockey league in Slovakia. 

None of the accused players were active in the NHL last season. 

It seems like Pittsburgh Penguins' forwards Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust are the subject of Pittsburgh hockey news just about every other day at this point.

Most of the “news” - or think pieces - involve discourse on where either player could end up if traded, if both of them will be traded, and how the Penguins need to trade both of them in order to properly manage the rebuild that they’re attempting to execute.

But something that isn’t talked about nearly enough is the possibility of them staying.

What if one or both of them stick around? And would one or both of them sticking around thwart any successful attempt at a rebuild?

It’s certainly fair to conclude that one of the two should be dealt, along with veteran offensive blueliner Erik Karlsson. The Penguins are still in the business of collecting high-value assets, whether that means first-round picks or young NHL talent. And that doesn’t figure to change through the end of next season. 

But if one of them is kept, is it really going to set back the rebuild to any tangible degree?

Honestly? Probably not. 

It’s worth noting that the 2026 NHL draft class is, by all accounts, a pretty strong one. The obvious prize comes along with the lottery, as Gavin McKenna is waiting in the wings for one lucky - or unlucky, depending on how it’s looked at - team. As such, it stands to reason that first-round picks simply have higher value in the trade market right now than they have for the past several seasons - especially for fringe teams that may or may not want to take the next step and make the playoffs.

Because of this, it’s fair to wonder whether or not any of those “fringe” teams - such as the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, or Vancouver Canucks - would want to be in on someone like Rakell or Rust, both of whom Penguins’ GM and POHO Kyle Dubas is, likely, seeking a first-round pick for. 

NHL Insider Says Red Wings Leading Race to Land Penguins' RustInsider reports indicate the Red Wings being the top contender to land Penguins winger Bryan Rust.

And if a first-round pick is his demand, that is understandable, considering the seasons that Rakell and Rust had. Rakell, 32, put together the best season of his NHL career in 2024-25, amassing 35 goals and 70 points, while Rust, 33, did the same with 31 goals and 65 points. Any team looking to get over the hump, or any contending team looking to add one more reliable finisher in their top-six, would love to have either player for three more seasons at around $5 million.

If those fringe teams aren’t willing to give up that asset, it’s understandable that Dubas would wait around to see who is willing to pony up. And, that likely leaves the true contenders.

While Rakell or Rust going to a contending team certainly makes sense, it’s key to remember that the presumed first-round pick coming back would, more than likely, not be anywhere near the lottery. And is it worth it to surrender both Rakell and Rust for two late-first-round picks?

According to a recent article by Jacob Billington of The Hockey Writers, it’s clear to see the dropoff in talent after the top-10 selections in NHL drafts from 1963 to 2023. According to the data, for players drafted 10th overall, 75.4 percent play more than 100 NHL games.

Beyond that? Much of the remaining first round is a total crapshoot, especially in the teens. For reference, 45 percent of players drafted at 11th overall - which is where the Penguins selected Ben Kindel in 2025 - end up playing more than 500 NHL games. While that exceeds the 36 percent for the same number of games at 10th overall, only 65 percent play more than 100 NHL games. 

Then, beyond 20, both numbers steadily drop, with 56.3 percent making it past 100 games and 25.8 percent hitting 500 games.

The point here is that - despite the respective ages of Rakell and Rust - they do have three years left on their current deals, and they both can put the puck in the net alongside Sidney Crosby. The chances of the Penguins getting a late-round franchise player - or, even, a very good complementary player - for both of them in a trade is low enough that it may not be worth giving both of them up.

Besides, there has to be a reason Dubas is hesitant to deal both that goes beyond nostalgia. The easiest and most logical explanation is that he’s letting the market play up for both of them only to pounce at its highest-value moment, which makes sense. 

Report: Price For Penguins' Top Winger 'Especially High'With few intriguing forward pieces remaining on the free agent market, many teams are turning to the RFA market and the trade market to upgrade their top-six.

But it cannot be understated how much these players mean to the Penguins and how much they mean to the young players in the room that they’re trying very hard to develop, especially Rust. Dubas has also reiterated the desire to get the Penguins back to contention “as urgently as possible,” and it’s very plausible that he sees a potential overlap in the team’s window of contention before both contracts expire. 

Look at it this way: Yes, he can net higher-value draft picks for Rakell and Rust. But the Penguins don’t necessarily need more than one in return, considering the fact that they own all of their first-round picks for the coming drafts. The Washington Capitals, for example - who had a top-notch 2024-25 campaign and seem to have successfully executed a rebuild on-the-fly - have managed to hit on their scouting and draft picks while only drafting once in the top-10 over the past decade and not having more than one first-round pick since 2012, when they selected now-veterans Filip Forsberg (11th overall) and Tom Wilson (16th overall). 

Like Ovechkin's Capitals, Penguins Owe It To Crosby To Right The ShipOn Sunday, the hockey world got to witness Alexander Ovechkin - The Great “8” - surpass The Great “One” for the most goals in NHL history.

They were also successful in identifying veterans on their roster who were worth keeping around for their retool in Wilson, John Carlson, and Nic Dowd. Washington didn’t rid of every veteran with trade value on their roster for a reason - and that was because they understood that their value to the team’s ultimate goal of competing “as urgently as possible” exceeded the value they’d net in return.

So, say one of Rakell and Rust is traded. Dubas would, hypothetically, have two first-round picks next season - one of which may very well be a lottery selection - and he already has NHL-ready talent knocking at the door and vying for spots on the NHL roster.

If any of the Penguins’ three first-round picks from the 2025 draft crack the NHL roster within two years - Kindle, for example - plus that 2026 lottery pick, plus good complementary players like Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Owen Pickering, Harrison Brunicke, and Tristan Broz, doesn’t having one of either Rust or Rakell around in addition to that significantly increase their chances of contending sooner?

Penguins' Roster Breakdown: Which Young Players Have Realistic Hopes Of Cracking NHL Roster Next Season?The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading into the 2025-26 season with full intentions of having a youth movement on their NHL roster.

It’s better to have all of the aforementioned guys PLUS a Rust or a Rakell for another year or two, in addition to Crosby. All of a sudden, the lineup is guaranteed deeper in 2026-27 and 2027-28. The Penguins would still have a lot of high-value picks to build out their organization from the draft, and some of those players may - or may not - make a sooner-than-expected impact.

Simply put, there is an avenue to contention with one of those guys still on the roster, and not dealing one of them is not a colossal failure for that reason. Of course, if the Penguins get a good, young player in return for each of them - preferably some higher-ceiling help on the blue line - maybe the tune is different. And, if the Penguins are still bottom-feeders in 2026-27, they should still be able to net decent value in a later trade for whichever of the two they decide to stick with. 

But if this is mostly about first-round draft capital? It’s probably worth eating that potential asset and keeping one of them around through the final year or two of their current deal to help bridge the Penguins into a new window of contention. Successful rebuilds, realistically, don't hinge on one singular move - or lack of a move - to define that success.

Regardless of what happens with Rakell and Rust - if you’re putting all the pieces of the puzzle together - contention may not be as far off as many seem to think if Dubas and the Penguins can successfully execute this phase of the rebuild in nearly every other facet.

Dubas May Have Sought Quantity In This Year's Draft. But That Doesn't Mean He Missed On Quality.In the aftermath of every NHL Draft, the analysis always comes due.

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Feature Image Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images