State of the Metro Division with NHL free agency wrapping up
State of the Metro Division with NHL free agency wrapping up originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Twenty days into the official 2023-24 NHL league year, the Metropolitan Division has a host of new stars tasked with propelling their teams deep into the playoffs. Four teams from the Metro made it in last year and at least three more hope to unseat them as the division continues to look through every gap of the competitive window for postseason contenders.
A mild increase in the salary cap for the fourth straight year left many teams in tight financial situations, but that didn’t prevent front offices from handing out over 150 NHL contracts when free agency opened on July 1. The Capitals were no exception, signing veteran LW Max Pacioretty to an incentive-laded one-year deal and trading for gritty Canadiens D Joel Edmundson.
While the proverbial dust of the NHL offseason hasn’t yet settled — a few top free agents remain unsigned and the trade market could begin to churn at any time — most of the teams in the Metro look pretty close to the rosters that will be announced opening night. Here’s where the eight teams in the division currently stand, sorted by where they finished last season:
Carolina Hurricanes (113 points in 2022-23) – Swept by FLA in conference finals
Notable Additions: D Dmitry Orlov (2 years, $15.5M), LW Michael Bunting (3 years, $13.5M)
Notable Subtractions: C Paul Stastny (UFA)
Key Extensions: G Frederik Andersen (2 years, $6.8M), G Antti Raanta (1 year, $1.5M)
The Hurricanes reaffirmed that they were the top team in the Metro last year, first by taking the division title and then by knocking out both the Islanders and Devils in the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, their season came to a crashing halt at the hands of the Panthers, whose dynamic playmakers outpaced and outpunched Carolina’s Andrei Svechnikov-less top six.
All 12 players who scored at least 30 points for the Hurricanes last season — a total that ranked second in the NHL behind only the Kraken (13) — will be back, with Bunting (49 points) and Orlov (36) added to the mix.
The longtime Capital Orlov was the top blue liner on the market, a two-way defenseman who will form a dynamic pairing opposite a fellow scoring option in Brent Burns. Bunting, who’s coming off consecutive 20-goal seasons, should be able to pick up some of the scoring load the Hurricanes will miss while Svechnikov continues to work his way back from his torn ACL.
Given that Carolina allowed the second-fewest goals at even strength in the league last season, their inexpensive deals to retain goaltenders Andersen and Raanta look like bargains. The Hurricanes will once again be the team to beat at the top of the division. Yet with a slew of stars such as C Sebastian Aho and RW Martin Necas entering the final year of their contracts, there is perhaps no team in the Metro with more urgency to win now.
New Jersey Devils (112) – Lost 4-1 to CAR in second round
Notable Additions: C/RW Tyler Toffoli (trade w/ Flames), D Colin Miller (trade w/ Stars), C/LW Tomas Nosek (1 year, $1M)
Notable Subtractions: D Ryan Graves (UFA), LW Tomas Tatar (UFA), LW Miles Wood (UFA), G MacKenzie Blackwood (trade w/ Sharks), D Damon Severson (trade w/ Blue Jackets), C Jesper Boqvist (UFA)
Key Extensions: RW Timo Meier (8 years, $70.4M), LW Jesper Bratt (8 years, $63M)
This offseason for the Devils was all about keeping the party going. New Jersey enjoyed a breakout season in 2022-23, posting their highest point total in franchise history as C Jack Hughes and C Nico Hischier set all kinds of new career highs. The Devils then ensured two key pieces to that core were sticking around with long-term deals for Meier and Bratt.
Given that all four of those players are under the age of 27 and many other of the important pieces around them are firmly in their primes, the Devils don’t appear to be going away anytime soon. They toppled a much more experienced Rangers team in the first round to give their season a little extra juice and appear primed to make even deeper runs in the next few years.
To help them reach those lofty heights, the Devils brought in Toffoli in a trade with Calgary after he set a few of his own career highs with 34 goals and 39 assists for the Flames last season. They also made a move for Miller, who doesn’t totally offset the loss of Graves but gives their blue line a valuable depth piece with a cap hit of only $1.85 million.
After playing free of expectations a season ago, the Devils are now faced with following up their most successful regular season in franchise history. Just how their young core responds to that pressure will go a long way toward determining their success in 2023-24.
New York Rangers (107) – Lost 4-3 to NJD in first round
Notable Additions: RW Blake Wheeler (1 year, $800k), D Erik Gustafsson (1 year, $825k), G Jonathan Quick (1 year, $825k)
Notable Subtractions: RW Patrick Kane (UFA), RW Vladimir Tarasenko (UFA), G Jaroslav Halak (UFA), D Niko Mikkola (UFA)
Key Extensions: D K’Andre Miller (2 years, $7.74M)
After going all in at the trade deadline with the moves for Kane and Tarasenko, the Rangers flopped in the playoffs losing in seven games to the Devils in the first round. They then opted to make a change at head coach, hiring Peter Laviolette to replace Gerard Gallant after the former parted ways with Washington.
Kane and Tarasenko remain unsigned and either could return to New York, but the Rangers got down to business without them by signing 10 players on Day 1 of free agency. Aside from their extension for restricted free agent Miller, the Rangers didn’t hand out any contracts for over $1 million. Instead, they chose to pad their depth and leave a little cap space to work with later.
Wheeler was perhaps the biggest addition, joining New York on the heels of a buyout with the Jets that made his price tag more affordable. The 36-year-old has tallied 40 or more points in 14 of his 15 NHL seasons and should have an opportunity to skate in New York’s top six.
The Rangers have plenty of potential with former Vezina trophy winner Igor Shesterkin in net, Norris contender Adam Fox skating in front of him and a pair of 90-point scorers in Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin doing damage on the other end. Last season’s finish left a bad taste. Was it a fluke or was the real mirage their 2022 Eastern Conference Finals run?
New York Islanders (93) – Lost 4-2 to CAR in first round
Notable Additions: RW Julien Gauthier (2 years, $1.575M), C Karson Kuhlman (1 year, $775k)
Notable Subtractions: C Josh Bailey (trade w/ Blackhawks), LW Zach Parise (UFA)
Key Extensions: G Ilya Sorokin (8 years, $66M), LW Pierre Engvall (7 years, $21M), D Scott Mayfield (7 years, $24.5M), G Semyon Varlamov (4 years, $11M)
The Islanders got a jump on their offseason six days after the trade deadline, when they signed midseason acquisition Bo Horvat to an eight-year, $68 million extension. That set the stage for a fairly quiet July 1 for New York, whose “notable additions” listed above really test the limits of the definition for the word “notable.”
Instead, the Islanders poured their resources into locking up four of their own. Vezina runner-up Sorokin got his new contract, ensuring that the 2014 third-round pick would spend the prime of his career in Belmont Park. They also provided some security for his backup Varlamov and agreed to seven-year deals with Engvall, another deadline add, and the defensive-minded Mayfield.
All of which is to say: New York is running it back with a team that just snuck into the playoffs, hoping that full seasons with Horvat and Engvall propel them higher up the standings. There’s some merit to that thought, especially after they put up a .639 point percentage post-trade deadline compared to a figure of .547 prior to those acquisitions.
Whether that will be enough in the competitive Metro Division remains to be seen.
Pittsburgh Penguins (91) – Missed playoffs for first time since 2005-06
Notable Additions: RW Reilly Smith (trade w/ Golden Knights), D Ryan Graves (6 years, $27M) C Lars Eller (2 years, $4.9M), C Noel Acciari (3 years, $6M)
Notable Subtractions: LW Jason Zucker (UFA), D Brian Dumoulin (UFA)
Key Extensions: G Tristan Jarry (5 years, $26.875M)
After nearly two decades of sustained success, the Penguins finally started to see the effects of age on their roster in 2022-23. They missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years and cleaned house in the front office, parting ways with both president of hockey operations Brian Burke and GM Ron Hextall.
Replacing them is Kyle Dubas, who had been holding the GM position in Toronto before the team let him go in May. Dubas wasted no time trying to retool Pittsburgh’s roster, trading for the reliable Smith and signing Graves away from the Devils to shore up their blue line. He also bolstered their bottom six with penalty-killing specialist Eller and the versatile Acciari.
There’s no doubting that the Penguins plan to continue pushing for a playoff spot as long as C Sidney Crosby, C Evgeni Malkin and D Kris Letang are still around. It’s that fact that makes their extension for the injury-prone Jarry a bit puzzling. Rather than swing for the fences with a trade for a more reliable netminder like Connor Hellebuyck or John Gibson, they re-upped Jarry despite his up-and-down season.
Jarry is certainly capable of turning in some productive seasons — he’s earned down-ballot Vezina Trophy votes in two separate campaigns and just turned 28 — but health has been a significant factor and he’s battled his own inconsistencies. His backup, Casey DeSmith, is coming off the worst year of his career. Questions in net will linger in Pittsburgh until Jarry can quell them.
Washington Capitals (80) – Missed playoffs for first time since 2013-14
Notable Additions: LW Max Pacioretty (1-year deal), D Joel Edmundson (trade w/ Canadiens)
Notable Subtractions: LW Conor Sheary (UFA), RW Connor Brown (UFA)
Key Extensions: D Martin Fehervary (3 years, $8.025 million)
Washington, coming off just its second non-playoff campaign since 2007-08, will look to bounce back this year with new head coach Spencer Carbery guiding an experienced roster that expects to get full healthy seasons out of key players such as RW Tom Wilson and D John Carlson.
The Capitals are trying to thread a needle by remaining competitive while infusing some younger players into their ranks. Whereas Pittsburgh’s prospect cupboard has run mostly dry, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup this past spring and several key contributors will be in the mix for roster spots in training camp. They also signed 2022 first-round pick LW Ivan Miroshnichenko to his entry-level deal this offseason.
GM Brian MacLellan struck quickly on Day 1 of free agency with shrewd moves for Pacioretty, a six-time 30-goal scorer coming off a torn Achilles, and Edmundson, a physical player capable of winning puck battles and clogging up the slot. He may not be done, either. Capitals insider Mike Vogel reported that MacLellan still has offers out to other teams for trades that could shake up their top six. C Evgeny Kuznetsov requested a trade and could be moved.
Regardless of whether a trade materializes, the Capitals figure to benefit from the moves they made at last season’s deadline. They swung a trade for skilled blue liner Rasmus Sandin and added several draft picks, one of which was later swapped for Edmundson. With better health luck on their side, there’s no counting out a team captained by Alex Ovechkin.
Philadelphia Flyers (75) – Missed playoffs for third straight season
Notable Additions: RW Garnet Hathaway (2 years, $4.78M), C Ryan Poehling (1 year, $1.4M), Marc Staal (1 year, $1.1M)
Notable Subtractions: LW James van Riemsdyk (UFA), RW Kevin Hayes (trade w/ Blues), D Ivan Provorov (trade w/ Blue Jackets + Kings), D Tony DeAngelo (buyout)
Key Extensions: LW Noah Cates (2 years, $5.25M), D Cam York (2 years, $3.2M), D Ronnie Attard (2 years, $1.7M), D Victor Mete (1 year, $775k)
If there’s any team in the Metro that’s already looking past 2023-24, it’s the Flyers. Their biggest moves this offseason have all been subtractions. Philadelphia made the first major transaction of the offseason when it sent Provorov to Columbus before dumping Hayes to St. Louis for a sixth-round pick. Unable to find a trade partner for DeAngelo, it bought him out straight up.
The Flyers did bring in former Capitals energy-line stalwart Hathaway, whose playing style should fit perfectly with the identity head coach John Tortorella is trying to instill. Staal will provide some veteran leadership in the locker room. But the focus for Philadelphia will be bringing along young players such as C Travis Konecny, RW Owen Tippett and C Morgan Frost.
Columbus Blue Jackets (59) – Missed playoffs for third straight season
Notable Additions: C Adam Fantilli (No. 3 pick), D Ivan Provorov (trade w/ Flyers + Kings), D Damon Severson (trade w/ Devils)
Notable Subtractions: G Jordan Korpisalo (UFA), RW Gustav Nyquist (UFA)
Key Extensions: RW Mathieu Olivier (2 years, $2.2M)
Perhaps the biggest wild card in the Metro is Columbus. The Blue Jackets finished one point “behind” the Ducks for the worst record in the NHL last season, but there are reasons for optimism in 2023-24. Few teams dealt with as many injuries as the Blue Jackets did — most notably, star D Zach Werenski underwent season-ending shoulder surgery 13 games in.
The Blue Jackets washed their hands of last year’s campaign by replacing head coach Brad Larsen with veteran bench boss Mike Babcock, who won a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008 but has also faced accusations of deploying questionable motivation techniques. Even so, the hire is a clear win-now move for a team that acted aggressively this offseason.
Having already made a splashy free-agent signing last winter with the deal for LW Johnny Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets instead did most of their work in the trade market by swinging deals for capable defensemen Provorov and Severson — plucking each from other Metro teams, to boot. They also pulled off a heist selecting Michigan star Fantilli with the third overall pick in the draft, adding the best NCAA player on the continent to their up-and-coming young core.
A lot has to go right for all of those moves to translate into the 30+ point jump the Blue Jackets will need to make in order to reach the playoffs. If nothing else, Columbus will be an opponent Metro teams shouldn’t overlook when mapping out the road to the playoffs this season.
