The NHL Season is around the corner on the North American side of the water. New Jersey and Buffalo kicked the season off in Prague with the Global Series. Training camps and the preseason are almost done. This summer, there have been changes throughout the divisions as some top stars found new homes.
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There is always hope at the start of a new season. The top teams focus on winning the Stanley Cup. Those in the rebuilding phase look to be competitive as long as they can and show progress. Even if every team wants to win the Stanley Cup, there can only be one winner.
As NHLRumors.com has done over the past couple of seasons, we will preview the Eastern and Western Conferences, ranking teams in each of the four divisions. Let’s welcome the new season by looking at the Metro Division first.
NHL Metro Division Rankings
1. New York Rangers (Last year finished First)
The New York Rangers won the NHL Metro Division last year with a record-setting pacing season. They also won the President’s Trophy but lost to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final.
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Rangers GM Chris Drury did not do much in the offseason as the Jacob Trouba contract handcuffed the team. He traded for Reilly Smith to potentially fill in on the top line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. They hope Kaapo Kakko, who signed a one-year deal, can do that. Alexis Lafreniere stays with Artemi Panarin and Vicent Trocheck. However, the Ranger’s success rides on Panarin and his health.
Ryan Lindgren, who signed a one-year deal, is also out injured, but other than that, the Rangers signed guys that are depth players. The big contract talk is whether the Rangers will sign Igor Shesterkin to a long-term deal. Not to mention have the cap space for the following season to pay some of their core players.
However, the Rangers and Devils will battle for the top spot in the NHL Metro Division. We’re not to sure the Rangers have as many points as they did last season.
2. New Jersey Devils (Last year finished Seventh)
The New Jersey Devils have gotten their season underway in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres. Devils President and GM Tom Fitzgerald knew his team had to be better than a year ago. As he said, maybe he got too complacent. However, after a disappointing season result, Fitzgerald went to work.
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After firing Lindy Ruff and replacing him with Travis Green, he decided to go and get Sheldon Keefe, who was let go by the Toronto Maple Leafs. After that, he acquired his number on goalie Jacob Markstrom, who looked good in game one of the season.
From there, he revamped the Devils to be tougher to play against, adding size in Brett Pesce, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon, Stefan Noesen, and Tomas Tatar. He also traded for Paul Cotter. Plus, the Devils have a healthy Dougie Hamilton to go with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and Seamus Casey.
Fitzgerald turned back the clock to two seasons ago when the Devils were a tough team to play against. The Devils were not going to be pushed around this season, and everyone expects them to be in the playoffs, with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier leading the way, even with learning a new system.
3. Carolina Hurricanes (Last year finished Second)
The Carolina Hurricanes will take a small step back in the NHL Metro Division this season. They lost key pieces on defense including Pesce and Brady Skjei. They brought in Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere to replace those who departed on the blue line.
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Expect the Hurricanes to play with that same edge with Rod Brind’Amour behind the bench. If there is a team that plays to their coach’s identity, it is the Hurricanes. It will be interesting to see how they deploy Martin Necas now that he signed that new deal. Jack Drury is expected to step up, and it feels like this is Seth Jarvis‘s team, even though Sebastian Aho is still there.
They added Jack Roslovic to replace Jake Guentzel, who was traded to Tampa Bay before free agency. The Canes will not be as explosive as they were, but Andrei Svechnikov and others can still put pucks in the net. The question is, will Pyotr Kochetkov finally take more games away from Frederik Andersen?
4. Washington Capitals (Last year finished Fourth)
Some people scratch their heads when they see this, which is ok. However, the Washington Capitals could be a sleeper in the NHL Metro Division this season. Many people do not expect them to hang around like they did last year. However, the moves they made this offseason say differently.
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Washington added Logan Thompson to go with Charlie Lindgren. They traded Jakob Chychrun and lost Nick Jensen. Washington also added Andrew Mangiapane, Matt Roy, and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
And PLD could be the X-factor here. If he lives up to the potential of that contract he signed with the Los Angeles Kings before being traded to Washington, the Capitals found their replacement for Nicklas Backstrom.
Washington still has Sonny Milano, Dylan Strome, and Connor McMichael, as they started their retooling on the fly earlier than their rival. They will have LTIR cap space with T.J. Oshie, who is expected to miss the full year. The Capitals could be a lot better than most think.
5. New York Islanders (Last year finished Third)
The New York Islanders. What can we say about the Islanders? Look, this team is always so hard to predict. They are in a class of their own. And every year when we talk about the Islanders, the one thing that always comes up is goal scoring.
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Can this team score enough goals to win? And every year, the answer is no. This year is no different, even with the addition of Anthony Duclair. We know what Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal can do. Brock Nelson always consistently scores 30 goals. However, the Islanders are an older team, and Kyle Palmieri is streaky.
Now, the players will have a full off-season under Patrick Roy, and you can never underestimate Roy’s ability to coach. Noah Dobson helps on the backend, along with two elite goalies, Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
But this division is tough and they need to overcome the Capitals, who seem to have their number.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (Last year finished Fifth)
It is going to be a tough year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They seem likely to miss the playoffs for a third straight season. We know Sidney Crosby is coming back for at least two more seasons. However, the Penguins are the oldest team in the NHL.
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Their rebuild should have started years ago when they could have chosen Kris Letang or Evgeni Malkin, not both. However, ownership wants management to build around Letang, Crosby, and Malkin for one more crack at the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, that is not happening. Not with the additions they made
Kevin Hayes is a good player but past his prime. Rutger McGroarty has the potential to be Jake Guentzel 2.0. Anthony Beauvillier is a serviceable player. Matt Grzelcyk is what he is. There is just nothing that stands out. And if Tristan Jarry can’t stop the puck, the Penguins are going nowhere.
7. Philadelphia Flyers (Last year finished Sixth)
The Philadelphia Flyers were a surprise team in the NHL Metro Division last season. They were in the playoff mix right up until the end. However, everyone knew they were not making it.
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There is a lot of hype surrounding the Flyers this season with Matvei Michkov on the roster. He got out of the KHL deal and immediately came to the Flyers. He fits in with Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, and Morgan Frost. The Flyers have some nice young pieces, including two in between the pipes in Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, to go with Samuel Ersson.
Travis Konecny signed a new eight-year extension with Philadelphia this off-season. Let’s see what head coach John Tortorella can get out of his group this season. With so many teams improving like the Devils, it will be interesting to see where teams land in the standings this season.
8. Columbus Blues Jackets (Last year finished Eighth)
This will be hard to write, and let’s be honest: The Columbus Blue Jackets will have a difficult season this year. Johnny Gaudreau‘s tragic passing has sent this team into a tailspin that is so hard to recover from. We will never know what could have been with Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. There was a lot of hope and potential. Unfortunately, one of them was taken way too soon.
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The team on the ice is still young. Dean Evason is the new bench boss in Columbus. He expects his team to perform at a high level. Look, there are good pieces: Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, Monahan, Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, David Jiricek, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, and Damon Severson.
The question is, can they get a stop from Elvis Merzlikins? There is some veteran help on the roster, too. But it will be an uphill climb. The only good thing is the outdoor door game at the Shoe on Ohio State’s Campus against Detroit. This will be a tough year in Columbus.