In our first division roundup of the month, we looked at the Atlantic and how it may not change all that much this coming season. Today, we’ll finish the Eastern Conference by looking at the Metropolitan Division, which doesn’t look like the powerhouse division it used to be.
New York Rangers
2023-24 season: 55-23-4, 114 points, 1st in Metro (Presidents’ Trophy)
Notable offseason moves:
- Acquired Reilly Smith
- Signed Sam Carrick (3 years)
Key departures:
Alex Wennberg, Jack Roslovic, Barclay Goodrow, Erik Gustafsson, Blake Wheeler
The Rangers came close to winning the Eastern Conference for the second time in three years, ultimately falling short to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. One would have thought general manager Chris Drury would have had a busy offseason trying to build off that, but it appears the Rangers will mostly be running it back this season.
Their main addition this summer was acquiring Reilly Smith from the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had a down year, finishing with just 40 points in 76 games, but he seems like a good bounce-back candidate and should slide into the Rangers’ top six without much trouble. Other than that, there’s not much to say about the Rangers’ offseason.
Related: Atlantic Division Won’t Look Much Different in 2024-25
The good news is they’re running back an excellent team that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season. The bad news is there will probably be a bit of a regression from some of their players, most notably Vincent Trocheck, who had a career year. Still, this team should be contending for the top spot in the Metro again. Their over/under is set at 100.5, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils heading into 2024-25. Making the playoffs shouldn’t be a problem, even if they won’t be as dominant as a season ago.
Carolina Hurricanes
2023-24 season, 52-23-7, 111 points, 2nd in Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Shayne Gostisbehere (3 years)
- Signed Sean Walker (5 years)
- Signed Jack Roslovic (1 year)
- Signed William Carrier (6 years)
- Re-signed Martin Necas (2 years)
- Re-signed Jordan Martinook (3 years)
Key departures:
Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Stefan Noesen, Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen, Tony DeAngelo, Antti Raanta
There was quite a bit of turnover for the Hurricanes this summer, and some of it was addition by subtraction. Antti Raanta declined significantly this past season, while Tony DeAngelo fell out of favor on defense after struggling to produce. But there were also some notable losses to key players, namely Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, who all played high up the lineup.
New GM Eric Tulsky made up for some of the departures, specifically on the back end, by signing Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker to multi-year contracts. Tulsky also added a bit of bottom-six depth by bringing in Jack Roslovic and William Carrier, the latter of who seems like an ideal fit for the Hurricanes.
Still, this looks like a worse Hurricanes team on paper. Between their additions and subtractions, they lost a net of 0.9 wins from last season’s squad. They’ll likely still compete with the Rangers for a top-three spot in the division, but they might not be a 111-point team again. Losing Guentzel could be particularly damaging, as they again seem to lack a high-end top-six scorer.
New York Islanders
2023-24 season: 39-27-16, 94 points, 3rd in Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Anthony Duclair (4 years)
- Re-signed Mike Reilly (1 year)
Key departures:
Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin
It’s no surprise the Islanders had a quiet offseason again. That’s been GM Lou Lamoriello’s M.O. over the last few seasons. They did make one addition, signing Anthony Duclair to a four-year contract to boost their offense. When healthy, he’s capable of 25-30 goals, something the Islanders needed more of in their lineup.
Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin once helped the Islanders form one of the better fourth lines in the NHL, but their play has declined in recent years. Losing them shouldn’t be too consequential, especially if young players like Kyle MacLean and Simon Holmstrom stick in bottom-six roles.
While I would not call the Islanders anything close to Stanley Cup contenders, they should be good enough to compete for a playoff spot. Their O/U is 91.5, so it’ll most likely be tight for them again, but they should be in the running for a wild card berth.
Washington Capitals
2023-24 season: 40-31-11, 91 points, 4th in Metro (WC2)
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Matt Roy (6 years)
- Signed Brandon Duhaime (2 years)
- Acquired Jakob Chychrun
- Acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois
- Acquired Logan Thompson
- Acquired Andrew Mangiapane
Key departures:
Darcy Kuemper, Max Pacioretty, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Beck Malenstyn, Nick Jensen
If you thought the Capitals were planning on blowing it up, think again. They were one of the most active teams this offseason, and their moves suggest they’re making a push for the playoffs while helping Alex Ovechkin chase down Wayne Gretzky’s goals record.
Most of their work came on the trade market, and they made a couple of splashes. Pierre-Luc Dubois struggled in his one season with the Los Angeles Kings, but the Capitals are taking on his full contract and are betting he will bounce back. Andrew Mangiapane has one year left on his deal, but I don’t think that matters much for the Capitals. They’ll take it if he can add some middle-six scoring for one year.
On defense, Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy will improve a top four that needed it. And that should help Logan Thompson, who takes over in net for Darcy Kuemper after he went to Los Angeles in the trade that brought Dubois to Washington. The Capitals should have an above-average tandem between him and Charlie Lindgren.
The Capitals added a net of 5.3 wins this offseason. Will they be five wins better and a 100-point team in 2024-25? I wouldn’t bet on it, but their O/U is 89.5, meaning they will probably be in the chase for a wild-card spot. And when looking at the moves they made, on paper, they could be a bit better than an 89-90-point team.
Pittsburgh Penguins
2023-24 season: 38-32-12, 88 points, 5th in Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Matt Grzelcyk (1 year)
- Signed Anthony Beauvillier (1 year)
- Signed Blake Lizotte (2 years)
- Acquired Kevin Hayes
- Acquired Cody Glass
- Re-signed Alex Nedeljkovic
Key departures:
Reilly Smith, Jeff Carter, Pierre-Olivier Joseph
The Penguins were a bubble team last season, so one would have thought that GM Kyle Dubas would have been active and trying to reload while Sidney Crosby is still at the peak of his powers. While Dubas did make some moves, they were modest at best.
From the looks of it, most of the Penguins’ additions this summer were players who had tough 2023-24 seasons but could be potential bounce-back candidates in 2024-25. That applies to all of Matt Grzelcyk, Anthony Beauviller, Cody Glass and even Kevin Hayes. Hayes has two years left on his contract, but if Grzelcyk and Beauvillier rebound, they could be trade bait at the 2025 trade deadline.
I don’t think the Penguins got worse this offseason, but they didn’t get much better, either; they added a net of 0.2 wins based on last season’s results, so there you go. Their O/U for next season is 90.5, so they’ll likely be a bubble team again unless Crosby goes supernova and carries them into the playoffs.
Philadelphia Flyers
2023-24 season: 38-33-11, 87 points, 6th in Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Matvei Michkov to 3-year, entry-level contract
- Re-signed Erik Johnson
Key departures:
Cam Atkinson, Marc Staal
Another Metro team who had a quiet summer, the Philadelphia Flyers’ lone offseason move was signing Matvei Michkov to a three-year entry-level contract. That’s a big deal, as the young Russian winger is one of the best prospects in the world. He totaled 19 goals and 41 points in 47 games for HC Sochi in the KHL last season and could have an immediate impact for the Flyers.
But that’s where it starts and ends for the Flyers this offseason. Perhaps GM Danny Briere knows the team overachieved last season and that they may be prime for a setback in 2024-25, which could be why he didn’t make any notable additions.
The biggest question mark for the Flyers is in net. Their goaltending was among the worst in the NHL after Sam Ersson and Cal Petersen had to carry the load. If Ersson and Ivan Fedotov struggle, it could be a long season in Philly. Their O/U is 85.5, so they probably won’t be a playoff team. And it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re worse than a season ago.
New Jersey Devils
2023-24 season: 38-39-5, 81 points, 7th in Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Brett Pesce (6 years)
- Signed Brenden Dillon (3 years)
- Signed Stefan Noesen (3 years)
- Signed Tomáš Tatar (1 year)
- Acquired Jacob Markström
- Acquired Johnathan Kovacevic
- Acquired Paul Cotter
- Hired Sheldon Keefe as head coach
Key departures:
John Marino, Alexander Holtz, Kevin Bahl, Kaapo Kähkönen, Brendan Smith
The New Jersey Devils were one of the busiest teams in the NHL this offseason after being one of the biggest disappointments of the 2023-24 season. Injuries to Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Timo Meier contributed to the Devils’ downfall, but they had other problems.
Vitek Vaněček and Akira Schmid weren’t getting the job done in net, so here comes Jacob Markström to the rescue. He ranked in the top 10 in goals saved above expected and the 99th percentile in high-danger save percentage last season. The Devils should be playoff contenders if he gives them that kind of goaltending.
But there were also some big changes on defense. The Devils traded John Marino to Utah HC and signed Brett Pesce in free agency to replace him. Brenden Dillon also joins the back end on a three-year contract and should help in a bottom-four role.
Up front, the Devils signed Tomáš Tatar and Stefan Noesen and acquired Paul Cotter to strengthen their forward depth. They added a net of 5.4 wins this offseason, and improved health for Meier, Hamilton and Hughes should make them an even better team. Their O/U is 100.5, tied with the Rangers and Hurricanes, so they should be battling those two rivals for top-three positioning.
Columbus Blue Jackets
2023-24 season: 27-43-12, 66 points, 8th in the Metro
Notable offseason moves:
- Signed Sean Monahan (5 years)
- Jack Johnson (1 year)
Key departures:
Jake Bean, Alex Nylander, Alexandre Texier, Adam Boqvist
Should you be hopeful for the future if you’re a Blue Jackets fan? They have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL, so yes. But there’s likely more pain to come before they make a leap in the Metro and start competing for playoff spots.
It was a relatively quiet offseason for new Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell, whose lone move was signing Sean Monahan to a five-year contract. Monahan had quite the rebound season in 2023-24, finishing with 26 goals and 59 points in 83 games between the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets. He gives them a top-six center that they desperately need, even though health is always a concern with him.
The Blue Jackets’ O/U for 2024-25 is 69.5, so it’ll likely be another rough season. They might make some strides with some internal improvements from young players like Kent Johnson, David Jiricek, etc., but it’ll be a while before competing for a playoff spot.
Metropolitan Division Prediction
There are no sure things in the Metro other than the Rangers and Hurricanes. The Devils should be a sure thing, but as we saw last season, that’s not guaranteed. Still, I expect these three teams to lock down the top three spots in the division. Everything else after that is a crapshoot.
The Islanders, Capitals and Penguins look like bubble teams and could compete for wild-card berths, but none look like threats to vie for a top-three spot in the Metro. The division is weaker than it was a couple of years ago since the Capitals and Penguins have fallen off, and that’s opened the door for a team like the Devils to establish themselves with the Hurricanes and Rangers.
- Rangers, 108 points
- Devils, 107 points
- Hurricanes, 105 points
- Capitals, 94 points (WC2)
- Islanders, 91 points
- Penguins, 88 points
- Flyers, 77 points
- Blue Jackets, 71 points
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Advanced stats from Evolving Hockey
