Division Previews – Metropolitan

Over the next few weeks I will be doing a preview for each of the four divisions. In case you forgot the divisions are all switched around and instead of six divisions with five teams there are now four divisions. The Pacific, Central, Atlantic, and Metropolitan are the names of the divisions. Today I will be previewing the Metropolitan.

The Rangers, Islanders, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Devils, Flyers, Penguins, and Capitals will all be competing in the metropolitan division to finish in the top four and earn a birth into the newly formatted postseason. This can become a popsicle headache. Under the new rules the top four teams in each division will make the playoffs and compete against each other. There is a scenario in place where if the 5th place team in a certain division finished with more points than the fourth place team in another division the team with more points will make the postseason instead of the fourth place team. (Hopefully that wasn’t too confusing.)

This division next year will be the most competitive and there are six team who I can see making the postseason.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins: The Penguins, even after losing Jarome Iginla, are loaded with players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and James Neal. it’s the same old song and dance with the Penguins and when it comes to the regular season they are unstoppable and sometimes look like they could be an Olympic team. In my mind, the Penguins are the best team in the Metropolitan division and they will show that finishing at the top and being the favorites to make it to the conference finals.

2. New York Rangers: Just like the Penguins, the Rangers were bounced by the Bruins last year. The Rangers in many ways underachieved last year. The Rangers are still a terrific club even after firing John Tortorella. The anchor of this team is Henrik Lundqvist who is easily a top three goalie in the league. The Rangers have a terrific defense and are good on the penalty kill as well. The Rangers problem for the last 3-4 years have been their lack of ability to put the puck in the net. I think new coach Alain Vigneault will help them but not enough to see them overtake the Penguins. Overall I think the Rangers will be a solid team and will be reaching the postseason yet again.

3. Washington Capitals: Led by the reigning most valuable player Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals were the most puzzling team in the league last year. To start off the year the Caps were the laughing-stock of the league and so was Ovechkin. The team rebounded nicely and finished as the three seed eventually losing to the Rangers in the first round. Washington is a streaky team and when they are on they can compete with anyone but when they aren’t engaged they are a joke. Overall the Caps will have their ups and downs but when it’s all said and done they will be in the postseason.

4. Philadelphia Flyers: I am torn on this one between the Flyers, Blue Jackets, and Islanders. Any of the three teams wouldn’t surprise me. The Flyers adding Mark Streit and Vincent Lecavalier will help this team a lot. The Flyers aren’t going in the right direction but we aren’t talking about five years from now, we’re talking about right now. Led by Claude Giroux, the Flyers will be a tough team, and something tells me Steve Mason will have a good year too. All this contributes to seeing the Broad street bullies in the playoffs.

5. New York Islanders: The Isles stunned everyone last year by making the postseason as the eight seed and then competing with the Penguins in the first round taking them to overtime of game six. (On a side-note I’ve said all along if the Penguins stuck with Fleury all along the Isles would have won.) The Islanders have a good young team and are building towards the future. Led by John Tavares (Should have won MVP) the Islanders will be a good team this season and don’t be surprised of you see the Isles back into the playoffs. The Isles still need some work on the blue line and in between the pipes but overall they are a good club.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets: The reigning Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky and newly signed Nathan Horton will lead the upstart Blue Jackets this season. The Jackets shocked everyone last year throughout the year and especially on trade deadline day when they acquired Marian Gaborik. If Nathan Norton were to be healthy I would most likely pick them as the four seed but with him out 4-6 months and the uncertainty of their young players the Jackets are going to be watching the playoffs this year.

7. Carolina Hurricanes: The Canes have some good players like Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Jeff Skinner. Last season the Canes were a solid club when Cam Ward was healthy. Ward is a very good goalie and his absence showed his true worth as the Canes were awful without him. The Hurricanes aren’t terrible but in this division and their lack of depth on the blue line the Canes won’t be playing postseason hockey this year. If Ward is healthy all year they have a chance to be decent but I just don’t see the Canes making any noise this year.

8. New Jersey Devils: Last but not least, the Devils. Their best player, Ilya Kovalchuk, retired leaving the Devils with not much hope or promise. Last year when Ilya was hurt, remember how bad of a team the Devils were? Now they will be without him all season, that’s going to be a killer. Although the additions of Michael Ryder, and Ryan Clowe are good moves the Devils still lack goal scoring and offensive depth. Adding Corey Schneider isn’t a bad move but the Devils are going to be in for a rough year this year. You can make a case for most teams in this division and I would buy it, the team you can’t make a case for is the Devils. I really can’t see the team being anywhere close to postseason hockey this year.

The NHL opener isn’t for a few months away, so a lot of things can change and if they do I will review my standings but as of now this is the way I see the metropolitan division going. I’m sure many of you will disagree with me and that’s fine. Comment here or ask me on twitter @Brendan_McLean5 if you have any questions or a statement. Next up I will be previewing the Central Division.