The NHL season is set to start in just about a month so let’s take a look at how the teams in the Metropolitan Division will stack up.
By Ernie DeFalco
And it just might.
For 2015-16 there might be five teams who have a legitimate shot to make it out of the Met this year. This includes the Presidents’ Trophy winning New York Rangers and the ultra surprising New York Islanders from a season ago.
So lets see how those teams stack up against each other for Metropolitan Division dominance.
7-8. Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils
- 2014-15 Finish: Canes 8th, Devs 7th
The tale of these two cities would be written “it was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.”
The Carolina Hurricanes will show a little improvement, but only enough to be better than the Devils. Both teams have a lot of question marks, with not a lot of answers.
The Hurricanes have the Staal brothers (Eric and Jordan). You know, the ones with the rings. They also possess the oft-concussed Jeff Skinner, and about 15 goaltenders on their current roster. Other than that nobody else jumps off the page. Maybe Justin Faulk emerges as that true number one defenseman he is predicted to be. As players battle to make the roster, their team scrimmages may actually be better than their regular season games. Expect Eddy Lack to with the job over mainstay Cam Ward.
As far as the New Jersey Devils are concerned, well their glory days are long over. It is starting to look like the early 1980s all over again. They have a roster full of aging veterans and young defenseman. It is a recipe for disaster. Their best player maybe Adam Henrique, but even he is coming off of a poor season. Stefan Matteau should have a legitimate chance to make the team out of camp this year too. As the son of Ranger hero, Stephane Matteau, it probably brings mixed feelings to both Rangers and Devils fans.
Things are bad in Devils-land. Bryce Salvador took a look at the roster and determined retirement was a better fate. Lou Lamoriello saw no future and took his genius to Toronto. The biggest excitement that may come from either team this season is the discussion of possible relocation.
It does not really matter where either team will finish, mainly because nobody will be watching them. That is, except when the Rangers come to town of course.
6. Washington Capitals
- 2014-15 Finish: 2nd Place
This is the big drop off, right here. Last season the Washington Capitals, lead by dynamic goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, turned in quite the impressive season. Oveechkin did not do it alone, as the Capitals really bought into head coach Barry Trotz’s team first mentality. Then there was Braden Holtby. The Capitals finally gave Holtby the job and he did not disappoint. He had an amazing second half, one which carried into the playoffs.
The Caps are very system oriented, and play a grind it out style. Their deficiencies really showed in their playoff rounds against the Islanders and Rangers. They advanced against the Islanders using smoke and mirrors, and some flat out dirty play. It was probably one of the worst officiated series of hockey the NHL has ever seen. The Islanders outplayed the Capitals in much of the series but the Capitals did just enough and the Islanders forgot to show up for a Game 7. Where the Islanders failed, the Rangers succeeded. The Capitals tried their best to run the Rangers over, but the Rangers were just a little faster and the Rangers defense moved the puck a little quicker than the Islanders. That was the difference.
The Capitals brought in TJ Oshie to add depth to the offense. The Capitals will also need youngsters Evgny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky to find production in a defense first system. That is often difficult for younger players. The defense is steady and works hard. The Captials have been anb inconsistent franchise of late. Ovechkin is happy, that is a plus. Expect the Caps to be in the mix, but eventually tumble a few spots in the Met.
5. Philadelphia Flyers
- 2014-15 Finish: 7th Place
Has there been a more disappointing team in the NHL the past few seasons than the Philadelphia Flyers the past few seasons?
Stuck in salary cap hell, the Flyers have had a difficult go of it the past three seasons missing the playoffs twice. During that time Flyers brass may have put too much stock in some of their young players who did not develop. There were also some questionable deals like Luke Schenn for James van Riemsdyk. Maybe it will still payoff but JVR is a top six forward the Flyers could use.
But that was then, this is now.
The Flyers do have two talented forwards in Claude Giroux and breakout start Jackub Voracek. The Flyers will also look once again for some of its younger players to develop this season and propel themselves into the playoff picture.
One thing is for certain, the Flyers, after years of searching have solved their goaltending issues. The acquisition of Steve Mason in Apirl of 2013 has proven to be one of the better moves made by any team. Acquiring a young number one goalie for virtually nothing (Michael Leighton and a third rounder) is the type of move than can pay dividends for a decade. Even against the cap ceiling, the Flyers were able to sign Michael Del Zotto last season for a song. With the Flyers Del Zotto enjoyed his best season since his rookie campaign, which prompted a nice two-year extension.
The Flyers are really a hard team to predict. They seem to have these slow starts every year that get them behind the eight ball. Then they pick things up and go on runs. A lot will have to do with how well their defense plays. This team could surprise and finish higher than expected, or could go the other way.
4. New York Islanders
- 2014-15 Finish: 3rd Place
Fourth? Really?
“YES…YES…YES!!!!!!”
But settle down New York Islanders fans. Fourth does not mean the Islanders will not make the playoffs. It just means they have not improved the roster much since last season.
They certainly improved in goal last season with the acquisition of Jaroslav Halak. Halak is a solid NHL goaltender, probably in the second level just below the best in the game. Certainly good enough.
The whole world knows about John Tavares. Tavares, arguably the best center in the game, is in serious contention to win his first overall scoring title this season. After Tavares, however, the Islanders are left with a lot of uncertainty.
The hope if that the younger players will be improved. The Isles will count on forwards Ryan Strome and Anders Lee to improve enough to make up for the lack of off-season additions. Strome seems to be the real deal and handled his ice time well last season. Then there is Andres Lee, who is extremely difficult to figure out. Is he just another John Tavares creation (see P.A. Parenteau and Matt Moulson), or is he a solid forward? It is just too early to tell. He doesn’t seem to be fleet of foot and gets lost a bit against the better competition of the playoffs.
Also in the mix, but not under contract, is RFA Brock Nelson. Nelson emerged early least season as a dependable scorer until disappearing late in the season eventually finding himself a healthy scratch in the playoffs. As of now his future is up in the air, although Dan Saraceni of lighthousehockey.com indicates Nelson will be back in the fold, eventually.
Defense will also continue to be a question mark next season. Veteran John Boychuk will be back, a lot richer and another year older. Nick Leddy is also back and is a solid number two or three defenseman, and at 24 still has some upside. Most importantly, Travis Hamonic will be back and healthy. That is big for the Islanders. Hamonic’s injury may have been the biggest reason the Islanders did not advance in the post-season last year. He is an extremely underrated hockey player.
As for the other three defenseman, they serve as a group of interchangeable parts. Scott Mayfield played two solid playoff games for the Islanders. That’s right. Two. Two games where he was asked to do the little things and keep his game simple. Not nearly enough of a sample to know if he can be a regular as a top-6 defenseman at the NHL level. But do not tell that to Islander fans, as they already have him in the hall of fame.
Same with Ryan Pulock and his 1,000 mph slap shot. With good size and good offensive ability, he has a legitimate chance to make the Islanders. If he comes as advertised he’ll surely help their power play. But can he play defense? Just a season ago Griffin Reinhart was the next great Islander and was untouchable. Now he plays in Edmonton. So how can we trust any other blue liner in their system right now?
The Islanders enjoyed a great season a year ago, but still had holes needed to be filled. The fact that hockey people are talking more about Snow and his great draft and less about how the Islanders improved the roster is troubling. The one thing this team does have is the ability to make a deal. The team is loaded with cap space and loaded with young talent. The Isles, maybe more than any other team in the Met, can improve the current roster quickly.
Imagine the unlikely situation that the Tampa Bay Lightning are struggling and pending UFA Steven Stamkos becomes available. The Islanders are one of the few teams in the league that possess the assets and the cap space to acquire a guy like Stamkos. Chew on that for a moment Islanders fans. “Woooooo!”
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
- 2014-15 Finish: 5th Place
It is very hard for hockey fans not to like this team. They play loose, with an edge, and are a lot of fun to watch. They are a throwback of sorts.
Moreover, this is the year they take a big step forward. A step from lovable losers to unlikable winners. Lead by best player in hockey that nobody knows about in Ryan Johansen, this team stands the chance to show the largest improvement in the Met. They have an interesting roster for sure, they have some skill players like captain Nick Foligno, mixed with a lot of grinding types such as Scott Hartnell, David Clarkson and Gregory Campbell. This team will be a pain to play against. The key acquisition of Brandon Saad maybe just the catalyst this team needed to add scoring depth.
Sergei Bobrovsky will continue to be a top goalie in the league and the defense in front of him will do just enough to make the Blue Jackets a serious contender in the Met and into the playoffs.
2. New York Rangers
- 2014-15 Finish: 1st Place
The New York Rangers are bringing back much of the same cast of characters that brought them within a game of the Stanley Cup FInal just a year ago. Martin St. Louis retired and backup goalie Cam Talbot was dealt off to Edmonton. The biggest hole was left when speedy forward Carl Hagelin became a cap casualty and was dealt to Anaheim for Emerson Etem.
The Rangers will look to Etem and Jesper Fast to fill the role vacated by Hagelin. It is safe to assume Rick Nash will be Rick Nash and Derrick Brassard will be Derrick Brassard. The Rangers really need Chris Kreider this year. Kreider has enormous ability, but struggles with consistency. Heading towards free agency this is an important season for him. He needs to prove he can be dominant scorer in the league. The Rangers also need J.T. Miller to keep improving. Miller really began to his stride late last season and is poised to be a difference maker this season. Center will continue to be the Rangers weakest position. Brassard has settled in nicely on the top line, and the underrated Derek Stepan makes a nice second center. After that things are not so certain. Does Oscar Lindberg finally make the team? Or what about free agent Jarret Stoll? Or maybe last year’s biggest surprise, Kevin Hayes, gets moved back to his natural position? One thing is for certain, if the lovable Dominic Moore sees time as the Rangers third center, things have gone bad.
The strength of this team still lies from the net out. Henrik Lundqvist will once again be counted on to be an elite goaltender. The men in front of him, lead by captain Ryan McDonagh, will continue to be one of the NHL’s top defensive units. The Rangers defense, while not overly physical, are built on speed and puck movement. The biggest question mark on the Rangers blue line is trade deadline acquisition Keith Yandle. When the Rangers acquired Yandle, fans thought the squad got themselves a dynamic two way defenseman who would see big minutes and lead the power play. None of that really happened. Yandle struggled to find his way defense in the Rangers system and it certainly distrubed his offense. The Rangers better hope that a full camp in a Rangers uniform will be just what he needed to straighten his game out.
Way too much was made of the Rangers off-season losses. But let’s be real. What did they really lose? A back-up goaltender, a 41 year old winger, and a third liner who kills penalties. The Rangers will survive those losses. The Rangers will continue their fine run and finish near the top of the division and once again be a force in the NHL playoffs.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
- 2014-15 Finish: 4th Place
Just like a good movie there is one enemy in the Metropolitan Division. An enemy so vile, Rangers, Islanders, and Flyers fans can find common ground in their disdain. That villain is Sindey Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins.
If you kick the nearest object (animate or inanimate) every time Crosby pirouettes through the air, or cringe every time you see Evegni Malkin’s ugly mug, then you understand the frustration watching your favorite team take on the boys from Pittsburgh. Well, as the added a huge piece to their dislike-able puzzle with the off-season acquisition of Phil Kessel. Kessel is a dynamic goal scorer, with great speed. The thought of he and Crosby on the ice together will make opposing defenseman a bit uncomfortable to say the least.
The Penguins did battle their share of injuries last season. Olli Maatta, Kris Letang, Pascual DuPuis, and Malkin all missed significant time. With a healthy group this team will score. Defense might be their biggest weakness, but they have some solid veterans mixed with improving youngsters. Expect the Penguins to pick up the pieces of yet another disappointing season, and get back to the top of the Metropolitan Division.