I was thinking about in two or three seasons from now, what teams will be a top the Eastern Conference and here's my prediction. Obviously there's sooooo many x-factors that can occur in the next two or three years with trades and FA signings, but just based on team's current trajectory. I'm just going to the top five.

Starting the 25/26 Season
1) Devils
2) Sabres
3) Canes
4) Senators
5) Leafs

I was torn putting the Leafs at #5, but with Tavares coming off the books in two years, I fully expect the Leafs to be super aggressive to build out the team around Matthews, Marner and possibly Nylander if he's still there.

The teams I'm very unsure of:
CBJ - They have a good pipeline, but just not sure WHEN they will start to come up. Im thinking more like four or five years from now, but will be on the bubble in two years.

DET - I'm just not a believer, but it's hard to tell. They have a great prospect in Cossa and some solid d prospects, but their forward group is going to be an absolute mess in two years, so unless they can attract some top free agent forwards, I think they're going to be similar to how the Islanders right now. Cue the Wings fans yelling at me on how every one of their prospects will be top players in the NHL while ignoring basic probability.

NYR - Very hard to read on them. Young on the back-end with a top goalie, but they're going to have an issues at forward in two years. Hard to tell how Arty and Kreider will age in two years, but that will be a big part of it. If they've hit the wall, those contracts are going to be very hard on them. If not, then I see the Rangers still as a 3rd/4th team in the Metro.

FLA - Soooo hard to read. They're going to have a lot of room to add to their team, so it really depends on if they're able to add the right players. They definitely have a core to build around in Tkachuk and Barkov.

Philly and MTL are probably still rebuilding by then.

I expect the Bruins, Lightning, Pens and Caps to be floundering pretty hard by then, but maybe one or two of them steal a WC spot.

The Islanders are and will continue to be a complete mystery to me ,and I don't know how some of these crazy contract will age in two years.

To me it starts with "the spine" of the teams; Centers, Blueliners, Goalies.

Florida and Carolina are younger (at least their high-end talent is) than most people realize.

Canes-Devils over the next several years is going to be really fun; if Kochetkov and Schmid are legit then it could be a long window for both teams.
Sabres are right behind them, just a couple years in development behind so they need to get over the hump this year/next with Levi or UPL finally.

Panthers it's all about Spencer Knight and if he can return as a bluechip goalie prospect and they can somehow manage the Bobrovsky contract.
Lightning also have enough talent in the mid 20 age range to still be a "gatekeeper" team for the top 5 by then; depending upon Vasi's status then; especially if Perbix/Raddysh take another step.

Agreed on Red Wings they are not really deep in the high-end talent pool (especially "the spine") as the pundits make it seem; they have a few pieces but a lot of mid.

Canadiens would be my darkhorse for a return to contention in 3-4 years; I would rate them over the Red Wings for sure. They have a Phoenix in the ashes kinda vibe if we are looking that far ahead.

Some fair points there, especially on Tampa. I just don't see them being a top the conference, but I was making the point that they could still take a playoff spot.

FLA is just all about how they manage things. Kind of like Toronto, they're going to have a lot of wide open space to play with and they both have really good pieces to build around. It will come down to how they build it out.

I think MTL is still a good four years away. While they have some very nice pieces, there's still a lot of holes they will need to fill to make the next step.