LOS ANGELES – The Metropolitan Division hockey teams in many ways mirror the cities the teams play in. The Metro is filled with historical monuments and national treasures. Ok, not America’s but Canada’s and Russia’s. It’s filled with franchises trying to hold on to the past or return to their glory days. Old teams trying to rebuild and young teams trying to make their own history. The Metropolitan, like many of its cities, is in transition.
1. New York Rangers – The New York Rangers 2024-25 season was a disaster. 2025-26 will not be for many reasons. The Rangers fired head coach Peter Laviolette and hired 2 time Stanley Cup champion and US Olympic coach Mike Sullivan. Sullivan will motivate this underachieving team. Sullivan hasn’t worked with good goaltending in years. Now he has one of the best in the game (Igor Shesterkin) and a future Hall of Famer (Jonathan Quick). Sullivan has not coached defensemen who actually play defense in half a decade. New Yorks’s top pair includes newly acquired Vladislav Gavrikov Gavrikov is underrated. He is a stalwart on the backend and will help overrated Adam Fox. New York’s 2nd pair Carson Soucy and Will Borgen are defense first blue liners. The Rangers top 2 centers are the duo of Vincent Trocheck and JT Miller. Trocheck and Miller are Pittsburgh bred kids who play and e enforce Sullivan style hockey. Artemi Panarin, Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad will flourish in the Blueshirts new uptempo style.
2. New Jersey Devils – The New Jersey Devils are poised to have a huge season. They limped into the playoffs last season. Jack Hughes is healthy. Hughes’s scoring flash and Nico Hischier’s complete game give the Devils a lethal 1-2 combo down the middle. Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier are elite scoring wingers. Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer give the Devils ample secondary scoring. Dougie Hamilton is healthy. Hamilton is a big boost to the blueline. Brett Pesce , Jonas Siegenthaler and the rest of the defensive core is steady. Hamilton gives them an offensive dynamic. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen are one of the better goaltender batteries in the league. Markstrom being a top 10 goalie. Allen being a top notch backup.
3. Carolina Hurricanes – The Carolina Hurricanes will make the playoffs again this season. They might win a round but then ultimately lose to a more talented team. Rod Brind’ Amour’s teams play hard but are always a cut below. Number 1 center Sebastian Aho is a star but not a superstar. Most Carolina forwards are slotted 1 rung on the ladder higher than they should be. The Carolina blueline is anchored by All- World Jaccob Slavin. lavin’s partner Jalen Chatfield is a star in the making. The Canes hope a change in scenery can revive K’Andre Miller’s once promising career. Carolina’s goaltenders Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov never win a big game.
4. Columbus Blue Jackets – The Columbus Blue Jackets had a remarkably successful season last year. Johnny Gaudreau’s tragic death brought the team together and yielded positive effects. Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, Dmitri Voronkov and Kent Johnson lead an
impressive young core of forwards. Sean Monahan, Boone Jenner and Charlie Coyle will provide leadership upfront. Mathieu Olivier and Miles Wood provide the toughness. Norris Trophy finalist Zach Werenski leads an unheralded group of defensemen. Elvis Merzlikins and Jet Greaves make a nice goaltending tandem. Head coach Dean Eavson did a masterful job last season. Let’s see how he does with a team with expectations.
5. Washington Capitals – The Washington Capitals shocked the hockey world last by winning the Metropolitan Division. Spencer Carbery won the Jack Adams award as the NHL’s best coach. Alex Ovechkin broke Wayne Gretzky’s all time goals record. The Capitals ran out of steam at the end of last season. The Capitals seem destined to take a dip this year. Last season Ovi played like Ovi of 5 years ago. Will age and nothing to chase affect him this season. Tom Wilson did not play like Terrible Tommy of 5 years ago. Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael are coming into their own. They are both big and skilled. Can Dylan Strome play great 2 years in a row ? Pierre- Luc Dubois won’t . Jacob Chychrun is the leader of the blueline. He finally found a home and is playing up to the level that has always been expected of him. John Carlson is aging but still effective in less minutes. The rest of the defense is adequate. Goaltenders Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren were stellar last season. Can they both be on top of their games 2 seasons in a row.
6. New York Islanders – The New York Islanders are fading. Mathew Barzal has not become the superstar he was supposed to be. Bo Horvat has not been Vancouver Horvat. JG Pageau has not been Ottawa Pageau. Anders Lee, Jonathan Drouin and Kyle Palmieri are not showing their age but are old. The Fishermen traded their best defenseman Noah Dobson. They still have the well worn veteran pair of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock. Brilliant netminder Ilya Sororkin will keep Patrick Roy’s team in more games than they should be.
7. Pittsburgh Penguins – The Pittsburgh Penguins are slowly rebuilding. Dan Muse is the new head coach replacing Mike Sullivan. 3 time Stanley Cup champion and 1st ballot Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin remain. 2 time Cup winner Bryan Rust does too. If Rust and veteran winger Rickard Rackell don’t get traded the Penguins will have a potent offense. Young forwards Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen , Phillip Tomasino , and Tommy Novak will be vying for playing time with a host of other young promising prospects Avery Hayes Tristan Broz. Offense has historically never been the Penguins problem. Defense has been. Veterans Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang remain but their best defenseman is 20 year old Harrison Brunicke. He may not play this year in Pittsburgh. The franchise’s best goalie is 21 year old Sergei Murashov. He also might not play in Pittsburgh this season. The Penguins and their fans will have to endure another season of Tristen Jarry in net. The Penguins will not finish last in the Metro because Sidney Crosby will not let the Flyers finish ahead of the Penguins.
8. Philadelphia Flyers – The Philadelphia Flyers hired former Flyer legend Rick Tocchet to be their head coach in the hopes of returning the Flyers to the glory years. Tocchet is an excellent coach but he needs more to work with. Matvei Michkov and Travis Konecny are excellent forwards. Sean Couturier is no longer a number 1 center. Is Trevor Zegras a center ? Nicolas Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway ensure Philly will be Bullies just not winners. Travis Sandheim is an Olympian on the blueline. The rest of the D is mid. Dan Vladar was acquired in the summer to compete with Samuel Ersson for the goaltending job. The Flyers need him to win the job
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