NHL Rumors: Keep an Eye on the Top Atlantic Division Teams at the Deadline

Expect to be Some Movement Amongst Atlantic Division Teams at the Deadline

Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period joined Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play segment with Steve Kouleas and Carter Hutton and was asked about the type of movement we can expect amongst the top Atlantic Division teams in playoff contention at the deadline.

** NHLRumors.com transcriptions

Carter Hutton: “So for me like taking a step back now and I’m looking at that Atlantic Division, which seems like a two-dog race here with Boston and Florida. Is there any room for movement there?

You know, I know Toronto is talking about making a push. Tampa Bay is hanging on by a thread, but what do they add at depth. I know Florida, obviously with Bobrobsky and Stolarz, you know, you still have Spencer Knight in the minors. And where’s their movement here? Like are they adding pieces or is it steady as she goes for both these clubs here?”

Dave Pagnotta: I think that the Bruins want to add. I think they’ve been they’ve been trying to slow play this one, at least publicly, with limited cash space, but I think Don Sweeney is looking to make some type of addition here to this roster. And this is another team I mentioned with the interest in Henrique; this is another club that’s looking at upgrading up the middle. You got to be creative, certainly, because of the cap situation and the implications there. So it’s gonna be an interesting way of going about this, but I think they will do that.

And Bill Zito is always looking at his options. He hasn’t really fully engaged in contract negotiations yet with his top free agents. We have Reinhart. You’ve got Gustav Forsling, we kind of pumped the brakes a little bit on Brandon Montour’s conversations because he wants to look around and see what’s there. And there’s no panic across the board with any of those three guys I just mentioned. It’s understanding where you’re at and get to it when we get to it. We need to focus on the prize here. And I think that’s, that’s where they’re looking to do.

With like you just mentioned, the Leafs and Tampa Bay nipping at their heels for the top two, and both of those clubs are looking to make additions, but I think Tampa is looking at the D core; the Leafs are looking almost everywhere.

So with taking that in mind, I think both Florida and Boston are going to be creative in how they make additions to the roster. It wouldn’t shock me if they do anything overly impactful that could have resulted in rostered players leaving. So you’re looking at more of an impact type of move if it gets to that point.”