Metropolitan Division Predictions

(Photo Credit: Sergei Belski - USA Today)

The Metropolitan Division may be the toughest to predict as not much separates a handful of teams - but one thing that is for sure, and that is that there won't be a shortage of divisional headlines to follow.

Will this be the final season for Alexander Ovechkin?

Is it possible that Sidney Crosby gets traded?

How does first overall draft pick, Matthew Schaefer, perform in his rookie season?

Could one of these teams be in line for the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes?

And these are just to name a few.

So with all that said, let's dive into it and break down the Metropolitan Division from 10,000 feet.

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Pittsburgh Penguins - 8th Place, 75 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Ville Koivunen - Evgeni Malkin - Anthony Mantha

Blake Lizotte - Tommy Novak - Noel Acciari

Connor Dewar - Philip Tomasino - Justin Brazeau

Defensemen

Ryan Shea - Erik Karlsson

Kris Letang - Connor Clifton

Owen Pickering - Matt Dumba

Goalies

Tristan Jarry - Arturs Silovs

Synopsis

The Pittsburgh Penguins seem destined for a rebuild.

Sidney Crosby (38), Evgeni Malkin (39), Kris Letang (38), Erik Karlsson (35), Bryan Rust (33), and Rickard Rakell (32) are the Penguins top players and are all in their 30's.

Even their secondary support players like Kevin Hayes (33), Connor Clifton (30), Noel Acciari (33), Anthony Mantha (31), and Matt Dumba (31) are all in their 30's.

Crosby defies logic, and has continued his elite play into his late career.

Rakell, and Rust are still performing as well as they have.

But Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson - respectfully - art far from their past dominant selves.

And the rest are all middling support players.

Beyond the names mentioned above, Pittsburgh doesn't really have any young impact players.

When a team relies solely on aging veterans to succeed it's playing with fire because injuries are far more likely to pile up and that's what could well happen to the Penguins.

Pittsburg may well end up being sellers at the deadline and teams will coming knocking hard for Crosby, and Malkin in particular, possibly even Letang.

If those players see the writing on the Penguins' wall of a rebuild and have a chance to go chase a cup in their final season or two, don't be surprised if one or more of them does so.

Pittsburgh, in doing so, would be doing what's best long-term and effectively tanking for their best odds at drafting a generational talent in Gavin McKenna.

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Philadelphia Flyers - 7th Place, 81 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny

Owen Tippett - Trevor Zegras - Matvei Michkov

Nikita Grebenkin - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink

Nicolas Deslauriers - Christian Dvorak - Garnett Hathaway

Defensemen

Cam York - Travis Sanheim

Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale

Egor Zamula - Noah Juulsen

Goalies

Samuel Ersson - Dan Vladar

Synopsis

Look for the Flyers to take a step forward this season despite finishing with the worst record in the Eastern Conference last season.

New head coach, Rick Tocchet, is a hire that should help implement structure and work ethic.

Up front, the Flyers have solid youth and skill between Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster, and Owen Tippett that is complimented well by veteran producers in Sean Couturier, and Travis Konecny.

Noah Cates, Bobby Brink, Christian Dvorak, and hopefully Nikita Grebenkin will offer a wave of secondary scoring, while Nicolas Deslauriers, and Garnett Hathaway will keep opponents honest.

Philly's back end has potential, for sure.

Sanheim is probably their best all around defenseman at the moment, but there's still ceilings to reach for Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale in particular.

Forever it has seemed like the Flyers have lacked goaltending and yet who exactly do they have right now?

Samuel Ersson (career .888 save percentage), and Dan Vladar (career .895 save percentage).

It's truly amazing how goaltending is a position that their organization just can't seem to stabilize.

So that's another major question for Philly.

All in all, this is a big year for the Flyers to show management, and fans that the trajectory is upward.

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New York Rangers - 6th Place, 84 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Will Cuylle - J.T. Miller - Mika Zibanejad

Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere

Gabriel Perrault - Juuso Parssinen - Taylor Raddysh

Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe

Defensemen

Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Fox

Carson Soucy - Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider

Goalies

Igor Sheshsterkin - Jonathan Quick

Synopsis

There's been a lot of change on Broadway for the Rangers over the last calendar year.

Gone are Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil, Chris Kreider, K'Andre Miller and Peter Laviolette.

In are newly named captain, J.T Miller (acquired mid-season), and head coach Mike Sullivan.

Last season was full of drama, and underperformances - a year to forget and move on from.

Still, such change leaves the Rangers with uncertainty heading into the new season.

If the Rangers can get the best out of Miller, Adam Fox, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere then they have a far better shot at making the playoffs.

But bounce back performances from Zibanejad, and Lafreniere aren't guarantees.

Will Cuylle is a young power forward on the rise that should continue to be a bright spot - and Gabriel Perreault should be a fun young player to keep an eye on.

The Rangers blue line leaves something to be desired.

Adam Fox, at his best, with Vladislav Gavrikov should make for a real solid top pair, but beyond that?

It's rather thin and one of the reasons I have them finishing behind the next team on this list.

However, if Igor Sheshsterkin can once again be one of the top goalies in the league - and key players perform to their standards - then the Rangers could well finish better in divisional standings.

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New York Islanders - 6th Place, 87 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Jonathan Drouin - Bo Horvat - Maxim Shabanov

Anders Lee - Matt Barzal - Kyle Palmieri

Anthony Duclair - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Simon Holmstrom

Kyle Maclean - Casey Cizikas - Maxim Tsyplakov

Defensemen

Alexander Romanov - Tony Deangelo

Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock

Matthew Schaefer - Scott Mayfield

Goalies

Ilya Sorokin - Semyon Varlamov

Synopsis

The Islanders entered the draft lottery with the 10th best odds of selecting first overall, and they ended up taking Matthew Schaefer with that exact pick.

Schaefer will be an incredible addition to an Islanders blue line that is real solid but previously void of a true No. 1 franchise defenseman.

Even if Noah Dobson was believed to have been that prior to being traded away to Montreal - Schaefer may well end up being one of the premier defensemen in the NHL for years to come.

We'll see if Schaefer is a top pair player right away or if it will take a little more time, but either way he'll join Romanov, Pelech, Pulock, Mayfield, and Deangelo as part of a pretty impressive defense core.

Add Ilya Sorokin as their netminder and it's pretty easy to identify the Islanders blueprint for success - defense, and goaltending.

The forward group is a bit underwhelming, but will be led by hopefully a healthy Matt Barzal, Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Jonathan Drouin, and Kyle Palmieri.

Maxim Shabanov is a wild card in the Isles top six forward group - the 24 year old forward has tremendous skill and spent his last four seasons in the KHL.

Shabanov is on the smaller side however, and his ability to make plays and produce at the NHL will be a question until he proves so.

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New Jersey Devils - 4th Place, 90 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Evgenii Dadonov - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt

Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer

Ondrej Palat - Cody Glass - Connor Brown

Paul Cotter - Juho Lammikko - Arseny Gritsyuk

Defensemen

Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton

Luke Hughes - Brett Pesce

Brenden Dillon - Simon Nemec

Goalies

Jacob Markstrom - Jake Allen

Synopsis

New Jersey's roster has a lot to like about it - Jack Huges, Jesper Bratt, and Jacob Markstrom are all legit, high-end caliber players at their respective positions.

Nico Hischier is an elite No. 2 center, and Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, Ondrej Palat, and Stefan Noesen (out with a groin injury) can all provide secondary scoring.

Their defense is a combination of players in or on the back side of their prime in Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, and Brenden Dillion, and players on the rise headlined by Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec.

Can they stay healthy, and will their bottom six be able to provide enough scoring depth?

These are two questions for the Devils that could prevent them from finishing higher than last year.

Jack Hughes' health in particular is always a question.

He's proven to be injury prone throughout his young career missing an average of nearly 20 games a season over his last four.

Huges is the straw that stirs the drink for the Devils, and if he yet again misses significant time - it could be the difference in New Jersey being a playoff team or not.

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Columbus Blue Jackets - 3rd Place, 94 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Dmitri Voronkov - Sean Monahan - Kirill Marchenko

Boone Jenner - Adam Fantilli - Kent Johnson

Cole Sillinger - Charlie Coyle - Mathieu Olivier

Yegor Chinakhov - Isac Lundestrom - Miles Wood

Defensemen

Zach Werenski - Dante Fabbro

Ivan Provorov - Damon Severson

Denton Mateychuk - Erik Gubranson

Goalies

Jet Greaves - Elvis Merzlikins

Synopsis

The Columbus Blue Jackets are a team that some may be sleeping on but may very well have as good of a chance to make the playoffs as nearly anyone in the Metropolitan Division.

Columbus finished last season with 89 points, and just missed qualifying for the postseason.

They're a team on the rise.

They're led on the backend by Norris Trophy runner up, Zach Werenski, who had 80 points in 82 games last season.

Behind him is a quality cast of contributors in Dante Fabbro coming off a career year, Ivan Provorov, and Damon Severson.

Denton Mateychuk, drafted 12th overall in 2022, is still coming into his own at just 21 years of age, and he'll likely be partnered with rugged veteran Erik Gubranson.

Offensively, the Blue Jackets are deep, but don't have any elite scorers just yet.

Sean Monahan was the teams only forward who averaged a point per game or better last year scoring 57 points in 54 games played.

However Kirill Marchenko, Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Dmitri Voronkov, and Cole Sillinger still have higher production levels they can climb too.

Boone Jenner, Charlie Coyle, and Mathieu Olivier all provide veteran leadership and production capabilities as well.

We'll see who emerges in goal between Merzlikins, and Greaves - but Columbus should be able to contend for a playoff spot in a division that is mainly wide open.

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Carolina Hurricanes - 2nd Place, 98 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Nikolaj Ehlers - Sebastian Aho - Seth Jarvis

Andrei Svechnikov - Logan Stankoven - Jackson Blake

Joran Martinook - Joran Staal - William Carrier

Taylor Hall - Jesperi Kotkaniemi - Eric Robinson

Defensemen

Jaccob Slavin - Sean Walker

K'Andre Miller - Jalen Chatfield

Alexander Nikishin - Shayne Gostisbehere

Goalies

Frederik Anderson - Pyotr Kochetkov

Synopsis

Carolina doesn't have any superstars, but they're deep, seasoned, and are currently riding a postseason qualification streak of seven consecutive seasons.

This season should mark an eighth.

Nikolaj Ehlers is their prized free agent acquisition whose speed, and skill will be a welcomed addition to the Hurricanes top six forward group.

Leading the way up front along Ehlers, will be Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, and Logan Stankoven.

Jordan Staal, Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and William Carrier also fill out a well rounded forward group.

Again, the Hurricanes don't have any individual superstar forwards, and never really have - but they've still managed to be a top ten scoring team in the league in 4 of the last 5 seasons because they play as a unit under head coach, Rod Brind'Amour.

The back end is led by Jaccob Slavin, who after flying under the radar much of his career, is now widely recognized as perhaps the best shut down defensemen in the NHL.

Slavin can also chip in offensively averaging 30 points per season over ten campaigns.

He'll namely be joined by offseason acquisition K'Andre Miller, and highly touted rookie, Alexander Nikishin.

Goaltending isn't a major strength, nor is it an achilles heel.

Frederik Anderson, and Pyotr Kochetkov had .898, and .899 save percentages respectively.

Carolina would like them both to be above .900 - but they're good enough to get the job done most nights behind a pesky defensive team.

Carolina is a top three team in the Metropolitan Division until proven otherwise.

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Washington Capitals - 1st Place, 105 Points

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Anthony Beauvillier

Aliaksei Protus - Pierre Luc-Dubois - Ryan Leonard

Ivan Miroshnichenko - Connor McMichael - Tom Wilson

Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Justin Sourdif

Defensemen

Martin Fehervary - John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin - Matt Roy

Jakob Chychrun - Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Goalies

Logan Thompson - Charlie Lindgren

Synopsis

Washington came out of nowhere last season finishing first place in the Eastern Conference.

Alexander Ovechkin chasing down, and surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time goal leader was an amazing spectacle to follow.

Unfortunately for the Capitals, their regular season success didn't translate into postseason success with their second round elimination at the hands of the aforementioned Hurricanes.

Still, the Capitals have a great blend of youth (Ryan Leonard, Aliaksei Protus, Connor McMichael), veterans (Ovechkin, John Carlsson, Tom Wilson), and players in their prime (Dylan Strome, Pierre Luc-Dubois, Jakob Chychrun) - and heading into the season and are as good of a bet as any to finish first, yet again, in what may the leagues weakest division.

Especially if Washington gets a repeat performance out of goaltender, Logan Thompson.

Something else to keep a close eye on is if this will be Ovechkin's final season.

The 40 year old is in the final year of his contract and while it would ordinarily seem fair to assume one would retire at his age, he's still producing at over a point per game clip in the best league in the world.

Any time someone stands alone as a league record holder in something as significant as goal scoring, you know that individual is built and thinks different.

But if there's any possibility of this being his final year, it's safe to assume the team will be extra motivated to succeed for The Great 8.