Point totals for the 2025-26 NHL season are now available on DraftKings. After adding some role players and shoring up the goaltending, where does Steve Yzerman's offseason moves have the Detroit Red Wings stacked up?
The answer? Not near the top. In fact, Detroit is tied for the second-lowest point total in the Atlantic Division. The team they are tied with? The Buffalo Sabres. That is a bit surprising, given the trajectory of Buffalo's peculiar offseason, as well as Detroit's steady improvement in recent years.
Trading away JJ Peterka was a gift to the Red Wings
In one of the more interesting moves of the NHL offseason, the Sabres traded JJ Peterka to the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan. Peterka is a budding star who totaled 68 points on 27 goals and 41 assists in 77 games this past season.
He is still just 23 years old, and has the potential to build on his strong 2024-25 campaign on a Utah team that is full of talented, young forwards such as Clayton Keller, Dylan Guenther, and Logan Cooley.
Buffalo brought back role players Ryan McLeod and Tyson Kozak, and acquired Conor Timmins and Isaac Belliveau from Pittsburgh in exchange for Connor Clifton and a 2025 second-round pick. Furthermore, they signed Justin Danforth to a two-year, $3.6 million contract on July 1.
The return on the Peterka trade can be seen as underwhelming, and while Danforth and McLeod will provide depth to Buffalo's forward group, they aren't going to massively shift the Sabres' outlook for 2025-26. Red Wings fans may not be over the moon about Steve Yzerman's low-key signings, but at least he didn't navigate the offseason like Buffalo did.
The Sabres haven't made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season, which is the longest playoff drought in NHL history. Since then, Buffalo has averaged just 74 points per season, not including the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season and covid-shortened 2020-21 season.
They reached 91 points a few seasons ago in 2022-23, but have regressed in each of the last two seasons with 84 points in 2023-24 and 79 points last season.
Full list of 2025-26 point totals for Atlantic Division teams (DraftKings)
The Red Wings could have their hands full in divisional matchups this season. The Atlantic Division features the back-to-back champion Panthers, a battle-tested Lightning team, a veteran Maple Leafs team, an upstart Canadiens team that has made some big moves this offseason, and a pesky Senators team.
It's not surprising to see the Panthers with the highest point total in the Atlantic Division. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions have a listed point total of 106.5, which is not only the highest in the Atlantic, but the highest in the league.
The rest of the Atlantic Division point totals are as follows:
Florida Panthers: 106.5
Tampa Bay Lightning: 101.5
Toronto Maple Leafs: 98.5
Ottawa Senators: 95.5
Montreal Canadiens: 90.5
Buffalo Sabres: 84.5
Detroit Red Wings: 84.5
Boston Bruins: 80.5
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Odds update periodically and are subject to change