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Metropolitan Division Preview

October 7, 2016, 1:15 PM ET [136 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Over the course of the next week or so I am going to release divisional previews. I will be starting in the West and work my way East and finish with the Metropolitan Division. These previews will provide the order that I believe each time will finish in and some general thoughts about what the 2016-17 season has in store for each team.

Today is the final day of the series and will focus on the Metropolitan Division.

Pittsburgh

The defending champs are returning almost the same exact roster that led them to the Stanley Cup. Not all champions have that luxury. There is no reason to not make them the favorite for the division, the conference, and a back to back title (albeit not probable).

Biggest question: Which kids will earn a spot? Ray Shero took a lot of heat towards the end of his tenure for his lack of forward depth in the prospect ranks. A few years later some of his draft picks are starting to push for NHL jobs. This grouping of players includes Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, Scott Wilson, and Jake Guentzel. There aren’t a ton of spots open and the competition for these spots should be high. Injuries will probably dictate who gets in to some extent. The biggest riser among the group is Jake Guentzel. He’s currently playing wing working his way into the NHL conversation, but he is a center and if the negotiations with Nick Bonino don’t go as well they may not have to dive in to the free agent market to replace him.

As always it will be a treat to watch players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang go about their business. Mike Sullivan will once again play to the team’s strengths and push the pace. If healthy this team will win a bunch.

Washington

The Capitals are as good as anybody in the league. The Metropolitan Division might be the only one I wouldn’t have them favored in. They have a strong group of forwards and one of the best goaltenders in the league.

Biggest question: Can they acquire more help for the blue line? Their defense corp. is far from bad but they could stand to find another skill guy. They may be stuck with the Brooks Orpik contract but that doesn’t mean they have to give him big minutes. Another solid puck mover might make them the favorite to win it all.

Alex Ovechkin might be the best goal scorer of all time and he’s still young enough to keep entertaining the masses. Watching him operate on the power play is one of the most exciting things in the sport. The Washington power play in general is must see tv. Their ability to move the puck around and find their 2 on 1’ is second to none.

New York Islanders


Garth Snow isn’t a perfect GM (who is?), but he’s built up a decent roster that competes for the playoffs every year. The 2016-17 season should be no different. They are deep at the forward position and have one of the best players in the league with John Tavares.

Andrew Ladd will help an already good forward group even if the term on the contract is undesirable. They have some good depth with players like Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Ryan Strome, Shane Prince, and PA Paranteau

Biggest question: Can Johnny Boychuk bound back? Last year wasn’t the best for Boychuk. The end of summer trades two years ago to acquire both Boychuk and Leddy is what catapulted the Islanders as a playoff favorite. Boychuk had a very good first year with the team but saw his shot differentials take a big hit in 2015-16. If he can get back to his previous level of play it really solidifies their defense corp.

The Islanders have one of the better and most cost effective goalie duos in the league. Both Jaro Halak and Thomas Greiss have great save percentage based numbers year after year. Halak has had issues staying healthy, but when he plays he is very good (look at the World Cup). When he isn’t healthy Greiss showed last year he is more than capable of taking the reins

New York Rangers

The Rangers will always be in the playoff hunt as long as they have King Henrik in net. The team has done a nice job of filling out its forward depth. They have the ability to roll out four scoring lines if coach AlainVigneault decides to do so. They have added the likes of Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, and Michael Grabner to an already decent forward unit. The Zibanejad trade was especially shrewd. They will get similar production to what they got with Brassard while getting younger. The forwards are definitely a strength for this team.

Biggest question: Who is going to defend? As good as the forwards are the defense corp. is the polar opposite. Ryan McDonagh is very good but past that is nothing to write home about. How many more years are they going to give Dan Girardi big minutes? Marc Staal isn’t the player they think he is, but they have no other choice but to play him a ton. It’s a good thing that they have the best goaltender of this generation and a solid bunch of forwards because this is one of the worst batch of defensemen in the league.

Ultimately the strength of Henrik Lundqvist is too much for me to ignore the Rangers as a playoff team. It is such a luxury to know 100% that you are going to get above average goaltending every single year and in most years elite level goaltending.

Philadelphia

The Flyers made a surprise appearance in the playoffs last year and they will continue to build off of that success. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are one of the most formidable duos in the league. Shayne Gostisbehere came into the league shot out of a cannon and is one of the best young puck moving defenseman.

Biggest question: Can the secondary scoring keep it up? The Philadelphia Flyers had some nice scoring depth last season. It wasn’t Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek who led the way at even-strength. It was Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, and Scott Laughton. Voracek had what I consider a down year on the offensive front and I expect him to bounce back. If the secondary scoring stays the same and the Flyers get more from Voracek they could easily make the playoffs again in 2016-17.

To the surprise of many Steve Mason has been one of the best goaltenders in the league the past few years. After bombing out in Columbus he has resurrected his career and has become anstrength for the Flyers. His level of play is a big reason why the team is playoff caliber.

Carolina

This team is on the right path, but they just aren’t ready for prime time yet. The team is building a nice young foundation and has committed to the analytics movement by hiring one of the best analytical writers Eric Tulsky. The Eric Staal era is over and it will take a little bit of time transitioning, but you can see evidence of a team heading in the right direction. Leveraging the Blackhawks cap issues against them to acquire Teuvo Teravainen was a great move. Signing the unappreciated Lee Stempniak is a great move. Signing Viktor Stallberg isn’t a huge move by any stretch but he is a competent player who comes in at a cheap rate of pay. These kinds of things will add up over the years.

Biggest question: Will they receive competent goaltending? A big reason why I don’t believe this team will take the next step is because they are still giving a lot of minutes to Cam Ward. He has been a below average goaltender for as many years as he’s been average. For this team to make a real playoff push they will need to get great play from the goaltender position. I just don’t see it happening.

One of the most exciting parts of the Hurricanes roster is their defense corp. Justin Faulk is a great centerpiece to a unit that has the likes of Hadyn Fleury and Noah Hanafin coming up through the ranks. They will be a great compliment for what I believe will be possession driven forwards. One more year finishing lower in the standings probably isn’t a terrible thing for this team.

New Jersey

A year and a half ago this team had the worst situation in the league. They were nowhere. Not good enough for the playoffs but too competitive to earn a prized lottery pick. Since that time Ray Shero has done a decent job of trying to build the franchise back up. Shero dusted off one of his go to moves (winning a big trade) when he fleeced the Edmonton Oilers for Taylor Hall. It was a huge addition for the Devils who were lacking a fun and interesting player on the offensive side of the puck.

Biggest question: How many points will Cory Schneider steal in the standings? Even if Team USA doesn’t think so Cory Schneider is a top five goaltender on the planet. The problem here is that he is too good for where New Jersey is in their rebuild. He is going to steal them points and reduce their chances of a better draft pick. I realize that NJ was higher in the standings than many predicted last year, but I still feel as though they should be stockpiling draft picks and being patient with their timing of competing again.

Ray Shero seems to have the team back on track and what once looked very glum now has the appearance of a team that is heading back towards respectability.

Columbus

A few years ago I saw this team as having potential to compete yearly in the Metropolitan Division. Their six game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was exciting for the fan base and had a lot of people thinking that was just the beginning of what was to come. That didn’t happen. Columbus overreacted to bad goaltending and made the worst possible coaching change possible. Not only did they hire a bad coach but they actually spent a draft pick to acquire him. Since that hire they have gone all in with the grit and compete narrative. Shocking to nobody other than the people who run the Blue Jackets it didn’t work?

Biggest question: Will John Tortorella be fired? The longer this plays out the worse it is for the franchise. He is a dated coach who is not the right guy for the job. If the Blue Jackets want to get things back to how they looked in 2013-14 this move has to be made.

The general manager shouldn’t be let off the hook either. The Blue Jackets are littered with bad mid-tier contracts with lots of term. Nick Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky aren’t bad players but those contracts aren’t ideal and bring great value. Scott Hartnell also has a high contract but that is the lesser of two evils (RJ Umberger). Seth Jones and Ryan Murray are a nice starting point for the defense corp. and Zach Werenski has a lot of promise . Sergei Bobrovsky is a really good goaltender and as long as he’s healthy they should have no worries about that position.

Somebody has to be in last place. I believe Columbus is that team.

Thanks for reading!
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