The New York Metro Division clubs failed to stay up with their New Jersey rivals, instead remaining unchanged from the previous season. The Philadelphia Flyers did largely the same thing, depending on the development of their young players and remaining committed to the rebuild strategy.
And the trades, or lack thereof, are the primary reason why the Pittsburgh Penguins will remain competitive in the Metro Division this season.
Kyle Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations and general manager, intends to keep his team competitive while also accumulating assets for the future. While our Penguins research indicates a squad that isn’t as good on paper as it was at the end of last season, the stagnation among their main adversaries is also a positive development.
*This is the final item in the Pittsburgh Hockey Now series that looks at the Metropolitan Division and the Penguins’ progress versus the teams against whom Dubas assesses his development.
While we have yet to match the Penguins against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Metro’s junior squad has progressed tremendously since last season’s debacle. They reunited playmaking center Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau at the top of the lineup, and top prospect Kent Johnson is either ready (or not) to play.
However, they do not appear to be a force in the playoff race.
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders are very much in the postseason picture. The Rangers won the division and the Presidents’ Trophy, but the Florida Panthers eliminated them in the Conference Finals. Since 1940, only one Stanley Cup has been awarded: in 1994.
The Islanders benefited the most from the Flyers’ late-season collapse and the Penguins’ failure to flip the switch and achieve their best form until late March. The Islanders qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the third-place team, although with only 94 points.
Generally, 95 points is the considered minimum for a wild-card spot, not third place. And none of the Metro teams, beginning with the Islanders and on down, reached that standard.
New York Rangers
The Rangers’ greatest offseason move was adding Reilly Smith, a former Penguins winger. They also added Chad Ruhwedel to a two-way contract, but lost Barclay Goodrow on waivers to the San Jose Sharks.
The deal was tricky, since many assumed that San Jose was on Goodrow’s no-trade list, but the Rangers were able to clear salary cap space despite the probable restriction.
But Smith was a significant change for the Rangers, and as Penguins fans will attest, Smith is not a game changer. His effect in Pittsburgh was minimal, with only 13 goals in primarily top-six minutes.
However, the Rangers remain the division favorites because their top nine, which includes Mika Zbanejad, Vincent Trocheck, and, most crucially, Artemi Panarin, is still rock strong.
Adam Fox, a former Norris Trophy winner, also commands the Blue Line. Oh, and Igor Shesterkin is on their radar.
“Though there was plenty of noise with the failed Jacob Trouba trade, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Rangers in terms of moves, the biggest being acquiring Smith from the Penguins, which didn’t move the needle much,” Jim Cerny of Forever Blueshirts explained to PHN. “So, the Rangers will run it back with most of the roster that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, which isn’t a bad thing, and look to make their next big move ahead of the 2025 trade deadline instead.”
The Rangers haven’t improved, but they remain a Stanley Cup contender.
New York Islanders
The Islanders, on the other hand, needed a boost this offseason but received little assistance. Islanders Grand Puba Lou Lamoriello signed a bevy of depth players to two-way contracts, but winger Anthony Duclair is the lone NHL player anticipated to make a difference.
Last season, Duclair split his 24 goals and 42 points between the San Jose Sharks and the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s a decent top-six winger, but will he improve the Islanders’ lineup?
That’s it for the Fish Sticks.
Philadelphia Flyers
The archrival Philadelphia Flyers made few exterior moves, but their internal alternatives are intriguing. Matvei Michkov was the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, but he slipped to that position because clubs didn’t feel they could get him out of Russia for several years, if at all.
Michkov smiled like a cat that ate the canary as he intimated, through an interpreter, that he may have mislead some teams in order to become a Flyer.
He’s little, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 147 pounds on selection day, but he’s explosive with the puck. He’ll likely gain weight as he provides an interesting threat to the Flyers’ lineup.
Other additions to the Flyers’ lineup include excellent fourth-liner Garnet Hathaway and a healthy Sean Couturier. Couturier struggled in the second half of his first season in a few years.
Couturier will probably not wear down in the same way. Jamie Drysdale, a potential star defenseman, missed the most of the season due to a core muscle ailment. After offseason surgery, he will also be healthy this season.
Goaltending could be the Flyers’ Achilles’ heel, with Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov in the net.
“Most people are naturally pleased about Matvei Michkov’s arrival this year. Aside from that, there are many uncertainties regarding keeping the roster mostly intact from last year and how far this current group of players will go. “Goaltending is by far the biggest question mark,” Philly Hockey Now’s Jon Baily stated.
“We still need to find out if Sam Ersson is truly a capable NHL starter and if Ivan Fedotov can replicate his KHL success by rapidly improving his ability to read the NHL game and becoming much lighter on his feet.” If not, the Flyers will be a bottom-10 team this season.
Projections: The Islanders are in trouble and will most likely be the same club as last season, while the Flyers should improve. If they can obtain decent goaltending, they will be a postseason contender again, albeit as a wild-card team.
The Rangers might win the Eastern Conference championship. Despite a slow summer, they have the defense, goaltending, and scoring ability to be successful. A few tweaks throughout the season might propel them to Stanley Cup contention.
