The NHL season is just around the corner on the North American waterfront. New Jersey and Buffalo started the season in Prague with the Global Series. Training camps and the preseason are almost over. This summer, there were changes across the board as some of the top stars found new homes.
NHL Rumors: Who Will Make the Biggest Splash in the Metro Division?
There is always hope at the beginning of a new season. The top teams are focused on winning the Stanley Cup. Those in the rebuilding phase look competitive as long as they can and show progress. Even though every team wants to win the Stanley Cup, there can only be one winner.
As NHLRumors.com has done for the past few seasons, we'll preview the Eastern and Western Conferences, ranking the teams in each of the four divisions. Let's welcome the new season with a first look at the Metro Division.
NHL Metro Division standings
1. New York Rangers (Last year finished 1st)
The New York Rangers won the NHL Metro Division last year in a record-breaking season. They also won the President's Trophy but lost to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals.
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Rangers manager Chris Drury hasn't done much as Jacob Trouba's contract has handcuffed the team. He traded Reilly Smith for Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. They hope Kaapo Kakko, who has signed a one-year contract, can do just that. Alexis Lafreniere lives with Artemi Panarin and Vicent Trocheck. However, the success of the Rangers is riding on Panarin and his life.
Ryan Lindgren, who signed a one-year deal, is also injured, but other than that, the Rangers have signed some deep guys. The biggest talk of the contract is that the Rangers will sign Igor Shesterkin to a long-term deal. Not to mention having the space next season to pay their key players.
However, the Rangers and Devils will battle for the top spot in the NHL Metro Division. We are not sure that Rangers have as many points as they did last season.
2. New Jersey Devils (Last year finished Seventh)
The New Jersey Devils started their season in Prague against the Buffalo Sabres. Devils president and GM Tom Fitzgerald knew his team had to be better than last year. As he said, maybe he was complacent. However, after a disappointing season, Fitzgerald went to work.
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After firing Lindy Ruff and replacing him with Travis Green, he decided to pick up Sheldon Keefe, who was released by the Toronto Maple Leafs. After that, he got his number from goalkeeper Jacob Markstrom, who looked good in the first game of the season.
From there, he revamped the Devils to have more playmaking power, adding size to Brett Pesce, Johnathan Kovacevic, Brenden Dillon, Stefan Noesen, and Tomas Tatar. He also traded for Paul Cotter. In addition, the Devils have a healthy Dougie Hamilton to go with Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and Seamus Casey.
Fitzgerald turned the tables on the last two seasons when the Devils were a tough team to play against. The Devils couldn't be pushed this season, and everyone expects them to be in the playoffs, with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier leading the way, even learning a new system.
3. Carolina Hurricanes (Last year finished 2nd)
The Carolina Hurricanes will take a small step back in the NHL Metro Division this season. They lost key pieces in defense including Pesce and Brady Skjei. They entered Sean Walker again Shayne Gostisbehere to replace those who walked the blue line.
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Expect the Hurricanes to play that side with Rod Brind'Amour behind the bench. If there's a team that plays for its coach, it's the Hurricanes. It will be interesting to see how they fit in Martin Necas now that he has signed that new deal. Jack Drury is expected to step up, and it sounds like this is Seth Jarvis' team, even though Sebastian Aho is still there.
They added Jack Roslovic to replace Jake Guentzel, who was traded to Tampa Bay before being released in free agency. The Canes won't be as explosive as they have been, but Andrei Svechnikov and others can still put pucks in the net. The question is, will Pyotr Kochetkov end up taking more games away from Frederik Andersen?
4. Washington Capitals (Last year finished 4th)
Some people scratch their heads when they see this, which is fine. However, the Washington Capitals could be the underdog in the NHL Metro Division this season. A lot of people don't expect to be around like they did last year. However, the moves they made this offseason say otherwise.
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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 the contract he signed with the Los Angeles Kings before being traded to Washington, the Capitals have found their replacement for Nicklas Backstrom.
Washington still has Sonny Milano, Dylan Strome, and Connor McMichael, as they begin to rebuild the plane ahead of their rival. They will have LTIR space with TJ Oshie, who is expected to miss the rest of the year. The Capitals could be a lot better than many 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 hard to predict. They are in their class. And every year when we talk about the Islanders, the thing that always comes up is 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 scored 30 goals. However, the Islanders are an old team, and Kyle Palmieri is running.
Now, the players will have a full season without Patrick Roy, and you can never underestimate Roy's coaching ability. Noah Dobson helps out at the back, along with two top scorers, Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
But this framework is difficult and they need to win over the prime ministers, who seem to have a number of them.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (Finished Fifth Last Year)
It's going to be a tough year for the Pittsburgh Penguins. They appear likely to miss the playoffs for the third season in a row. We know that Sidney Crosby will be 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 picked either Kris Letang or Evgeni Malkin, not both. However, ownership wants management to build around Letang, Crosby, and Malkin to get one more crack at the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Not with the additions they made
Kevin Hayes is a good player but he is past his prime. Rutger McGroarty has the potential to be Jake Guentzel 2.0. Anthony Beauvillier is a serviceable player. Matt Grzelcyk is who he is. It just doesn't stand out. And if Tristan Jarry can't stop the puck, the Penguins aren't going anywhere.
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 race until the very end. However, everyone knew they didn't.
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There is a lot of buzz surrounding the Flyers this season with Matvei Michkov on the roster. He came out of the KHL deal and immediately came to the Flyers. He is joined by Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, and Morgan Frost. The flyers have good little pieces, including two between the pipes of Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, who will go with Samuel Ersson.
Travis Konecny signed a new eight-year extension with Philadelphia this offseason. Let's see what head coach John Tortorella can get out of his team this season. With many teams improving like the Devils, it will be interesting to see where the teams land this season.
8. Columbus Blue Jackets (Last year finished eighth)
This is going to be hard to write, and let's be honest: The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to have a rough season this year. The painful passing of Johnny Gaudreau has put this team in a tailspin that is very difficult to recover from. We will never know what would have happened to Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. There was a lot of hope and energy. Unfortunately, one of them was taken too soon.
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The team on the ice is still young. Dean Evason is the new bench manager in Columbus. He expects his team to perform at a high level. Look, there are some good pieces: Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, Monahan, Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, David Jiricek, Zach Werenski, Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson.
The question is, can they find a stop for Elvis Merzlikins? There is some veteran help on the list, too. But it will be uphill. The only good thing is the outdoor game at Shoe on Ohio State's Campus against Detroit. This is going to be a tough year in Columbus.
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