September is coming to an end, which can only mean one thing: the NHL regular season is just around the corner. To get you ready for 2013-14, Sport Statricity will be giving you a full preview and predictions for each division. Next up: The Metropolitan. Enjoy!
Of all the divisions created in realignment, the Metropolitan is the only one that’s brand spanking new. There’s a lot of detractors when it comes to the name, but I think it’s decent enough for a division that features some of the largest population centers in the USA. It also features some great rivalries, and I can see this division becoming quite fierce in short order.
The Metro has all three New York area teams (the Rangers, Islanders and Devils) as well as both Pennsylvania teams (the Penguins and Flyers). Never one to miss out on a chance to pit Ovechkin and Crosby against each other, the NHL made sure to throw Washington into the division as well. Rounding out the teams is Carolina and new Eastern Conference member Columbus.
Let’s take a look at how I envision the Metro shaking down. Remember that these opinions are my own, and make sure to call me a fool on Twitter if you disagree.
8. Philadelphia Flyers. To say that the Flyers struggled last season would be a bit of an understatement. On paper, the 2013 edition of the Flyers didn’t seem so bad, but they only managed to finish 10th in the East with 49 points and that’s after winning six of their last seven to close the season. Their undoing was largely in part due to the mediocre play of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov. He never lived up to his hefty contract and was a constant distraction, so it’s no surprise he was bought out this summer. There were a few bright spots however, such as Claude Giroux’s 48 points and Jakub Voracek’s 22 goals. As usual, the team was active in free agency this offseason, bringing in former Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier, former Islanders captain Mark Streit and goaltender Ray Emery. However, the achillies heel for the Flyers will be in goal, where Emery joins Steve Mason in a platoon style system that seems unstable at best. As amazing as Emery was last year for Chicago, his previous go round in Philly was less than memorable. Mason also played well during his brief stint with the team last year after being moved at the deadline, but has been absolutely horrible since his Calder trophy winning 2009 season. Basically neither has had much success as a starting goaltender for the last four years, and the Flyers will need one of them to step up if they are to have any hope at a playoff spot this year. I’m thinking that they won’t. Prediction: 14th in the East.
7. New Jersey Devils. Last season was largely forgettable for Devils fans. First they were reeling from the loss of star forward Zach Parise through free agency, then they had to suffer through a ten game winless streak following the trade deadline that torpedoed all their playoff hopes. To make matters worse, they lost superstar Ilya Kovalchuk to “retirement” as well as heart and soul guy David Clarkson this summer. They did however make, in my opinion, the deal of the summer when they managed to snatch goaltender Cory Schneider out of Vancouver for a first round pick. Schneider is an excellent young netminder and makes the perfect heir for Martin Brodeur in goal after the latter retires. However, those two losses up front are crushing blows that the team won’t come back from so easily. They picked up the legendary Jaromir Jagr as well as Ryane Clowe and Michael Ryder in free agency this summer, but the team will still struggle mightily in the scoring department. The team finished 28th in goals scored last season and just lost two of their top three point producers, so it’s not hard to envision them struggling again. It’s possible (perhaps even likely) that the duo of Schneider and Brodeur will be excellent, but it won’t be enough to push the Devils into a playoff spot. Prediction: 12th in the East.
6. Columbus Blue Jackets. For the Blue Jackets, last season was a huge step forward to respectability as they very nearly made the playoffs for the second time in franchise history. Alas, even a Vezina trophy winning performance by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t enough and they came up just a single point short. A large part of that can be attributed to the fact that Columbus just isn’t very good offensively. They finished 25th in goals last season, a ranking not nearly good enough for a team with playoff dreams, though a full season from Marian Gaborik should certainly help. They snatched up former Bruin Nathan Horton in free agency this summer and he should instantly be one of the team’s best offensive players, however they’re going to need more from their other forwards. RJ Umberger had one of his worst seasons as a pro last year, and a rebound is expected of him. Additionally, the team is hoping that some of it’s youngsters such as Boone Jenner and Ryan Johansen will be able to make an impact as well. If they can’t, it’s going to be another season like the last and Bobrovsky will need to recreate his herculean effort if they hope for a playoff spot. Prediction: 11th in the East.
5. Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were in decent position by the midway point last season, but that’s when the wheels completely fell off. The team managed only four victories over their final 23 games to close the year and finished 13th in the Eastern Conference. While the team was decent offensively their 3.31 goals against was atrocious and placed them 29th in the league. Both their losing streak and their horrible goals against can be attributed to one thing: starting goaltender Cam Ward spraining his MCL. The 29-year-old was just rounding into form at the time he went down and the team couldn’t overcome his loss. Heading into next season, the Hurricanes should once again be fine on offense. Captain Eric Staal looks like his old self after potting 53 points in 48 games last year, while Alexander Semin (44 points), Jiri Tlusty (38 points) and brother Jordan Staal (31 points) all had good years as well. Also, Ward appears to have fully recovered from his injury and seems fired up for the new season. However it seems as though the team will struggle on defense, which lacks depth beyond the top four, and may be just an injury or two away from catastrophe. Prediction: 9th in the East.
4. New York Rangers. The Rangers were once the class of the Eastern Conference as little as two years ago, but their regression last season was enough to convince management that coach John Tortorella’s shelf life had expired. In comes former Canucks bench boss Alain Vigneault, and the organization is hoping that his much more relaxed style will be a breath of fresh air for the club. Vigneault is especially known for his excellent deployment strategies, which should be a boon for both Brad Richards and Rick Nash who struggled mightily in the playoffs. The strength of the team will be on defense though, where the Rangers finished 4th in goals against last year thanks to an excellent blueline featuring Michael Del Zotto, Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonaugh and Marc Staal. Of course it doesn’t hurt them that one of the greatest goaltenders of his generation, Henrik Lundqvist, is backing them up. The 2012 Vezina winner was brilliant again last season, and there’s no reason to suspect he will be anything but this year. I suspect if there is to be any trouble for the team this season, it’ll be due to growing pains associated with a new coach. Vigneault prefers a more up-tempo style than Tortorella that may leave the team exposed at times and there is likely to be an adjustment period. It should benefit the forwards, but defensemen might find themselves hung out to dry too often and will really be tested. Still, the team should have little trouble eventually finding their groove and snatching a playoff spot. Prediction: 8th in the East.
3. New York Islanders. All the years of pain and suffering came to an end for the Islanders last season, as they saw their rebuilding effort rewarded with a playoff spot for the first time since 2006-07. The team was led up front by new captain John Tavares who, with 47 points in 48 games, is emerging as one of the top ten talents in the league. They also got solid contributions from his running mate Matt Moulson (44 points) and Michael Grabner (16 goals). However the team had trouble on the other side of the puck, and their very young defense corp (with the exception of 37-year-old Lubomir Visnovsky) is going to be tested to improve. The goaltending duties will once again fall to Evgeni Nabokov, and while he’s been good since coming to Long Island from the KHL, he’s going to be hard pressed to maintain that level of play as he approaches the end of his career. Should Nabokov falter, there’s a couple of 23 year old back-ups ready to take his place in the form of Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson. Though neither appears ready for starting duty at the NHL level yet, both have found success in lower leagues and the hope is that at least one of them will be able to finally step up this year and help the Islanders out. With great offense, an emerging defense and (hopefully) adequate goaltending behind them, the Isles should again reach the playoffs, but shouldn’t hope for much more beyond that this season. Prediction: 6th in the East.
2. Washington Capitals. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: last year the Capitals were one of the best offensive teams in the league, winning the Southeast division before ultimately coming up short in the playoffs. The big story was the return to greatness for Alex Ovechkin, who had a simply phenomenal year. He won the Hart trophy as league MVP, the Richard trophy thanks to his league-leading 32 goals and was a first team all-star twice thanks to a switch in position during the season. However, as Ovie goes, so do the Capitals, and the winger had only two points during the seven game series against the Rangers before they were eliminated. Despite the poor showing in the post-season, there was very little turnover for Washington during the summer; the only exception being the signing of Mikhail Grabovski to replace the departed Mike Ribeiro. So while the Capitals should be very good again next year and likely grab a playoff spot easily, the only question will be if they can finally break through when it matters the most. Prediction: 4th in the East.
1. Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins were far and away the best team in the Eastern Conference last season. They cruised to a 36-12-0 record, thanks in part to a perfect 15-0 record in March, which was second in the NHL behind Chicago. With his concussion issues finally behind him, captain Sidney Crosby tore up the scoring charts to the tune of 56 points in only 36 games before a broken jaw put him on the shelf. The injury likely denied him his second Art Ross trophy, though he still won the Pearson for MVP as voted by the players at season’s end. Many other players on the roster had excellent seasons as well, including Chris Kunitz (52 points), Pascal Dupuis (38 points) and James Neal (21 goals). However, the highest scoring team in the league (by a pretty wide margin) was stopped dead in it’s tracks, scoring only two goals during a four game sweep at the hands of the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Final. Despite the way their season ended, there was very little need for turnover during the summer. Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy found their way out of town (along with rental players Jarome Iginla and Douglas Murray) while Rob Scuderi and Chuck Kobasew were brought in. While one assumes Pittsburgh will have no trouble scoring next year and should again finish near the top of the East, there is a story worth keeping an eye on. Namely, how starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will recover from a devastatingly bad playoff performance. If he can get anywhere near the form he showed when the Penguins won the Cup in 2009, then Pittsburgh might just roll back there again. If not…then he might be looking elsewhere for employment when his contract expires at the end of next year, if not sooner. Prediction: 2nd in the East.
Coming soon, the Atlantic division preview!
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