The New York Islanders have a team capable of winning Stanley Cup, if they can make the playoffs in the Metropolitan Division.
That isn't a lock. The Metropolitan is the most competitive division top to bottom. When you do a comparison of the divisions what you see is the Metropolitan is the only division with only one team (Columbus Blue Jackets) that doesn't seem to have much of a chance to make the playoffs.
Every other division has at least two teams that aren't going to make a run at the postseason. The Atlantic Division has three.
The Metropolitan Division also seems to have the most accomplished collection of coaches and the deepest collection of first-rate defensemen. Every team has a noteworthy defenseman. Some have two.
The Central Division and Atlantic have comparable centers. The Atlantic might be stronger than the Metro at the top of their center group.
The top 10 rankings were derived from betting odds. Here is a comparison of the divisions:
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Metropolitan Division
Teams ranked in the top 10: Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins#
Coaches: 1. Mike Sullivan, Penguins; 2. Barry Trotz, Islanders; 3. Peter Laviolette, Capitals ; 4. Rod Brind’Amour, Hurricanes; 5. Gerard Gallant, Rangers; 6. Lindy Ruff, Devils; 7. Alain Vigneault, Flyers; 8. Brad Larsen, Blue Jackets
Goalies: 1. Semyon Varlamov, Islanders; 2. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers; 3. Carter Hart, Flyers; 4. Ilya Samsonov/Vitek Vanecek, Capitals; 5. Freddie Andersen, Hurricanes, 6. MacKenzie Blackwood, Devils; 7. Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets; 8. Tristan Jarry, Penguins
No. 1 center: 1. Sidney Crosby, Penguins; 2. Nicklas Backstrom, Capitals; 3. Mika Zibanejad, Rangers; 4. Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes; 5. Sean Couturier, Flyers; 6. Mathew Barzal, Islanders; 7. Jack Hughes, Devils; 8. Jack Roslovic/Cole Sillinger.
No. 1 defensemen; 1. Adam Fox, Rangers; 2. Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes; 3. John Carlson, Capitals; 4. Ivan Provorov, Flyers; 5.Kris Letang, Penguins; 6. Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets; 7. Dougie Hamilton, Devils; 8. Ryan Pulock, Islanders
Teams not in contention to make playoffs: Columbus Blue Jackets
Central Division
1. Colorado Avalanche; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Minnesota Wild; 4. Chicago Blackhawks; 5. St. Louis Blues; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Nashville Predators; 8. Arizona Coyotes Teams ranked in the top 10: Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild#
Coaches: 1. Paul Maurice, Jets; 2. Craig Berube, Blues; 3. Jared Bednar; 4. John Hynes, Predators; 5. Dean Evason, Wild; 6. Rick Bowness, Stars; 7. Jeremy Colliton, Blackhawks 8. Andre Tourigny, Coyotes.
Goalies: 1. Marc Andre Fleury, Blackhawks; 2. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets; 3. Jordan Binnington, Blues; 4. Darcy Kuemper, Avalanche; 5. Cam Talbot, Minnesota Wild; 6. Juuse Saros, Predators; 7. Jake Oettinger, Stars; 8. Carter Hutton, Coyotes Centers: 1, Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche; 2. Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks; 3. Mark Scheifele, Jets; 4. Ryan O’Reilly; 5. Tyler Seguin, Stars; ; 6. Joel Eriksson Ek, Wild; 7. Nick Schmaltz, Coyotes; 8. Ryan Johansen, Predators No. 1 defensemen: 1. Roman Josi, Predators; 2. Cale Makar, Avalanche; 3. Seth Jones, Blackhawks; 4. Miro Heiskanen, Stars; 5. Jared Spurgeon, Wild; 6. Jakob Chychrun, Coyotes; 7. Josh Morressey, Jets; 8. Justin Faulk, Blues
Teams not in contention to make playoffs: Nashville Predators, Arizona Coyotes
Atlantic Division
1.Florida Panthers; 2. Tampa Bay Lightning; 3. Boston Bruins; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Montreal Canadiens; 6. Detroit Red Wings; 7. Ottawa Senators; 8. Buffalo Sabres.
Teams Ranked in Top 10: Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers Coaches: 1. Jon Cooper, Lightning; 2. Joel Quenneville, Panthers; 3. Bruce Cassidy, Bruins; 4. Sheldon Keefe, Maple Leafs; 5. Dominique Ducharme, Canadiens; 6. Jeff Blashil, Red Wings; 7. Don Granato, Sabres; 8. D.J Smith
Goalies: 1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning; 2. Carey Price; 3. Spencer Knight/Sergei Bobrovskiy; 4. Jack Campbell/Petr Mrazek; 5. Linus Ullmark/Swayman, Bruins; 6. Matt Murray, Senators; 7. Thomas Greiss/Alex Nedeljkovic; 8. Craig Anderson/Aaron Dell, Sabres;
No. 1 defensemen: 1. Victor Hedman, Lightning; 2. Jaccob Slavin, Hurricanes; 3. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins; 4. Aaron Ekblad, Panthers; 5. Thomas Chabot, Senators; 6. Jeff Petry, Canadiens; 7. Nick Leddy, Red Wings; 8. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres. No. 1 centers: 1.Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs; 2.Aleksander Barkov, Panthers; 3. Patrice Bergeron, Bruins; 4. Brayden Point, Lightning; 5. Nick Suzuki, Canadiens; 6. Dylan Larkin, Red Wings; 7. Josh Norris, Senators; 8. Casey Mittelstadt, Sabres Teams not in contention to make playoffs: Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres
Pacific Division
1.Vegas Golden Knights; 2. Edmonton Oilers; 3. Vancouver Canucks; 4. Los Angeles Kings; 5. Calgary Flames; 6. Seattle Kraken; 7. Anaheim Ducks; 8 San Jose Sharks Teams ranked in the top 10: Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers
Coaches: 1. Darryl Sutter, Flames: 2. Pete DeBoer, Golden Knights; 3. Todd McLellan, Kings; 4. Dave Tippett, Oilers; 5. Travis Green, Canucks; 6. Dallas Eakins, Ducks: 7. Dave Hakstol, Kraken; 8. Bob Boughner, Sharks
Goalies: 1. John Gibson, Ducks; 2. Phillip Grubauer, Kraken; 3. Robin Lehner, Sharks; 4. Mike Smith, Oilers; 5. Thatcher Demko, Canucks; 6. Cal Petersen, Kings; 7. Jacob Markstrom, Flames; 8. James Reimer/Aiden Hill, Sharks.
No. 1 centers: 1. Connor McDavid, Oilers; 2. Anze Kopitar, Kings; 3.Elias Pettersson, Canucks. 4. Elias Lindholm, Flames; 5. Logan Couture, Sharks; 6. Trevor Zegras, Ducks; 7. Jared McCann, Kraken; 8. Chandler Stephenson, Golden Knights.
No. 1 defensemen: 1. Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights; 2. Quinn Hughes, Canucks; 3. Darnell Nurse, Oilers; 4. Drew Doughty, Kings; 5. Brent Burns, Sharks; 6. Mark Giordano, Kraken; 7. Cam Fowler, Ducks; 8. Noah Hanifin, Flames.
Teams not in contention to make playoffs: Anaheim Ducks
#Wild and Penguins tied for 10th.