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NHL season-preview capsules: Metropolitan Division

A C Gazette
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NHL: Preseason-New York Islanders at New York RangersSep 24, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers right wing Reilly Smith (91) skates in his home debut against the New York Islanders during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
CAROLINA HURRICANES

Head coach: Rod Brind’Amour (seventh season)

Last season: 52-23-7, 111 points, second place in Metropolitan Division

This season: A perennial top-tier club, the Hurricanes swung for the fences last season and were bounced from the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round for the third time in four seasons. Carolina had some turnover but should make a push again. Even so, that championship window appears to be closing.

What’s new: Forwards William Carrier and Jack Roslovic and defensemen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere were brought in to fill big holes with the departures of forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen and defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei.

Players to watch: Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov has claimed the No. 1 spot and must be a rock while the new-look Hurricanes come together with the new faces and players in increased roles.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

Head coach: Dean Evason (first season)

Last season: 27-43-12, 66 points, eighth place in Metropolitan Division

This season: The death of star forward Johnny Gaudreau along with his brother Matthew on the eve of training camp will be an overriding black cloud over the club. The season was going to be challenging even with the talented Gaudreau. It pales in the big scheme of life, but a playoff berth will be an even bigger challenge.

What’s new: It’s yet another new beginning in Columbus with a new coach. On the ice, the club signed free agent Sean Monahan in the hopes he could re-ignite his career alongside Gaudreau. Now Monahan will be counted on to guide the team’s young players. The Blue Jackets also signed James van Riemsdyk and acquired defenseman Jordan Harris in the deal that sent Patrik Laine to Montreal.

Players to watch: With an eye on the future, much of this season will be about the development of young forwards such as Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Yegor Chinakhov and defenseman David Jiricek.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Head coach: Sheldon Keefe (first season)

Last season: 38-39-5, 81 points, seventh place in Metropolitan Division

This season: Last season was a disaster, beset by key injuries and sub-standard goaltending. The Devils should not only be back in the playoff picture, but they should be a force — if all things come together.

What’s new: The big quest was goaltending, and the Devils made a huge move by acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. The key moves did not end there. Forwards Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter and Tomas Tatar were added, as were defensemen Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon.

Players to watch: The defense will be without Luke Hughes (shoulder) to start the season, but Dougie Hamilton will return after missing most of last season due to injury, which will provide another jolt for the Devils.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Head coach: Patrick Roy (second season)

Last season: 39-27-16, 94 points, third place in Metropolitan Division

This season: The Islanders likely will be in a similar spot as last year, in the playoff mix but never really a top-echelon squad. New York has plenty of excellent players, including an especially underrated defense corps, but will need to scratch and claw to make the playoffs. It will surprise nobody if the Islanders make it.

What’s new: In an attempt to add much-needed speed, the Islanders signed Anthony Duclair in the offseason and drew Maxim Tsyplakov to the NHL from Europe.

Players to watch: The Islanders’ biggest issue is goal-scoring. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are capable of point-per-game seasons, and Duclair will have a golden chance to click with them. At issue is the scoring depth, with the likes of Brock Nelson, Kyle Palmieri and Anders Lee counted on to add.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Head coach: Peter Laviolette (second season)

Last season: 55-23-4, 114 points, first place in Metropolitan Division

This season: A team that lost to the Cup-champion Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals and won the regular-season title with a franchise-record 55 wins, the Rangers should again be a Cup contender with a team loaded with stars in all positions.

What’s new: Not much. There was understandably very little turnover in the summer beyond adding forwards Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick. Maybe a bigger surprise was the fact neither veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba nor young forward Filip Chytil was traded. Then again, the Rangers likely will be loading up at the deadline, and they may be willing to deal away Chytil or Kaapo Kakko if they want to cash out a big chip.

Players to watch: Goaltender Igor Shesterkin, in the equation as the league’s best, is in the final season of his contract and due to be an unrestricted free agent. Odds are he will re-sign, but it is an overriding storyline.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Head coach: John Tortorella (third season)

Last season: 38-33-11, 87 points, sixth place in Metropolitan Division

This season: The Flyers missed the playoffs by only four points, but wisely they have resisted the urge to go for a quick fix in their rebuild. If everything goes right, they may just make the playoffs. If everything goes wrong, it could mean a step back.

What’s new: It was a quiet offseason, but not without big intrigue. Matvei Michkov, the uber-talented 2023 first-round draft pick, is making the jump to the NHL sooner than many expected (one reason he fell to seventh in the draft). The 19-year-old Russian forward is a front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.

Players to watch: Whether the Flyers play Michkov on a line with Sean Couturier or Morgan Frost will be worth following. Philadelphia has a thin roster beyond those players, Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett, and there are a slew of question marks on defense and in goal.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Head coach: Mike Sullivan (10th season)

Last season: 38-32-12, 88 points, fifth place in Metropolitan Division

This season: After missing the playoffs for consecutive seasons, the Penguins are holding out hope veteran stars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson have one more playoff push in them. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t.

What’s new: After a trade-deadline sell-off, the Penguins managed to fill holes with the likes of forwards Kevin Hayes, Blake Lizotte, Anthony Beauvillier, Cody Glass and Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. McGroarty was a highly touted prospect who was acquired after he refused to sign with the Winnipeg Jets, giving the Penguins at least one new, young player for the future.

Player to watch: Karlsson was awful last season in his first campaign for Pittsburgh after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks. Not only did he fail to provide the dynamic offense expected, but the Penguins surprisingly had the league’s third-worst power play.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Head coach: Spencer Carbery (second season)

Last season: 40-31-11, 91 points, fourth place in Metropolitan Division

This season: After a surprising trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Capitals keep trying to remain relevant as Alex Ovechkin shoots to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record of 894. Ovechkin sits at 853.

What’s new: Doing some aggressive work to remain a playoff team, the Capitals added Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois — a pair of veteran forwards needing to reignite their careers — as well as defenseman Jakob Chychrun and goaltender Logan Thompson.

Players to watch: Beyond Ovechkin’s quest for the record books? Really, there are not many beyond seeing how Dubois rebounds from a dreadful season with the Los Angeles Kings and whether No. 1 goaltender Charlie Lindgren can build on a fantastic campaign in which he backstopped the Capitals to the postseason.

–Field Level Media

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