LOS ANGELES – The Metropolitan division is the home of the last three Stanley Cup Champions. The Washington Capitals won last year; the Pittsburgh Penguins were champs the previous two years. The Capitals and the Penguins both have stacked lineups and very few question marks. Every other Metro team has questions and most of them are in goal.
The Penguins (1) are rested and angry. They want the Cup back. The Penguins have two of the three best centers in the world. Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not done competing for championships. The Penguins have ten legitimate top six forwards. Scoring goals, especially on the power play is not going to be a problem. The Penguins problem will be if they rely on outscoring opponents. The Penguins as a team need to commit to team defense. The Penguins defense is an underrated. They excel at moving the puck quickly to Pittsburgh’s skilled forwards. The Penguins top four blueliners all have at least two rings. Kris Letang is not underrated. He needs to bounce back from an abysmal 2017-18. Goaltender Matt Murray also needs to bounce back after an underwhelming 17-18. He wasn’t horrible but needs to be better if the Penguins want to regain the Stanley Cup.
If any team in the history of the NHL deserves a Stanley Cup hangover it’s the Washington Capitals (2). Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates waited forever to party with the Cup and they made the most of it. All of the key components of the Cup team have returned. Washington centers Nic Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov are elite talents. Wingers TJ Oshie and Tom Wilson bring a rugged edge to their top six. The Capitals defense is led by the best defenseman in the Metro, John Carlson. Christian Djoos and Michal Kempny add youth and energy to Washington’s aging back end. Goaltender Braden Holtby is the best in the NHL. The only key piece missing from last year’s team is Head Coach Barry Trotz. New coach Todd Reirden won’t be tested until the playoffs. A test the Capitals finally aced last season.
The rest of the Metro are all fighting for third place. The New Jersey Devils (3) are led by reigning league MVP Taylor Hall. Number one overall pick Nico Hischier had a successful rookie season under the radar. The Devils have the best group of young wingers in the Metro. Mile Wood, Pavel Zacha, Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen have size, speed and hands. Sami Vatanen acquired from the Ducks last season gave the Devils a true number one defenseman. The rest of the defensemen won’t wow you but they won’t kill. Goaltender Cory Schneider is a top goaltender who gives the Devils a chance every night.
The Philadelphia Flyers (4) made the biggest move of the offseason in the Metro by acquiring left winger James van Riemsdyk. JVR was added to an already talented crew of scoring forwards. Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Jakob Voracek. Power forward Wayne Simmonds hopes to return to form after an injury riddled and disappointing 2017-18. The Flyers top forwards are as impressive as any teams in the NHL but they have no depth/ secondary scoring. Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere are a credible top pair defensive unit. The rest of the Flyers defense core is brutal. Radko Gudas is George the Animal Steele of the NHL. Gudas is a 30-game suspension waiting to happen. Philadelphia’s generational dysfunction in goal continues this season. The Flyers will either be criminally inexperienced or criminally mediocre in net.
The Columbus Blue Jackets (5) are the trendy pick to make big waves in the Metro. Big waves threaten to capsize an already shaky ship. Columbus’s Head Coach John Tortorella was given a two-year extension. He has accomplished nothing but aggravate top talent. Superstar Artemi Panarin wants to leave. He is the Blue Jackets only true goal scorer. Torts’ scoring by committee has never given the Blue Jackets playoff success. Centers Pierre Luc Dubois and Alexander Wennberg are undermined by underachieving wingers. Columbus has two absolute beasts on the blue line. Seth Jones and Zach Werenski could each win a Norris Trophy. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky won the Vezina Trophy because it doesn’t include the post season.
The New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes will battle to stay out of the basement of the Metro. The Islanders have the best roster of the remaining teams. Former face of the Islanders franchise John Tavares left for Toronto. New number one center Matt Barzal was Rookie of the Year. New Head Coach Barry Trotz won the Cup in June with the Capitals. New GM Lou Lamoriello is a legend. The Islanders problem is they have Robin Lehner in net. The New York Rangers (6) have Henrik Lundqvist. An old and unreliable Hank is better than Lehner and Carolina’s tag team Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek. Carolina’s tag team has at least shown glimpses in different cities. A few Septembers ago Boston dumped Johnny Boychuck to the Islanders. This September Boston dumped Adam McQuaid to the Rangers. McQuaid gives the Rangers toughness on the blueline. Kevin Shattenkirk and Brady Skjei give the Rangers offense from the blueline. Veterans Mats Zuccarello and Chris Kreider and youngsters Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich will score enough to keep the Garden faithful excited.
Barzal, Anders Lee, Jordan Eberle and Anthony Beauvillier will keep where ever the New York Islanders (7) are calling home excited. Fan favorite Matt Martin returns to add real punch to the lineup. The Islanders defense will not excite anyone in Brooklyn or on Long Island. The Islanders defense is always better on paper than on the ice.
The Carolina Hurricanes (8) defense is outstanding on paper and on the ice. They exchanged All Star Noah Hanifin for chronic underachiever Dougie Hamilton. Upfront the Hurricanes anemic offense lost their best player Jeff Skinner. Carolina always pretends to be contenders. Hurricanes’ rookie Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour has his work cut out for him.
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