After a billion-plus dollars were handed out on July 1 and the dust has settled on 2024’s Free Agent Frenzy, let us take an offseason snapshot of the eight Metropolitan Division teams. Who got better? Who did not? Find out my take in this post.
With the 2024 NHL Draft being just over a week old and Free Agency Frenzy being six days old with so, so, so much activity done with the first few hours alone, the dust is beginning to settle on the NHL offseason. There are some loose ends to be tied up. There are restricted free agents to be signed. There are arbitration hearings for teams and players to try to avoid. There are prospects to ink to entry level contracts if available. Nevertheless, the heavy lifting of the Summer has been done.
Around this time, I like to take a snapshot of what the division as a whole has done. The top three teams in the Metropolitan Division are guaranteed playoff spots. The fourth and fifth place teams will battle it out with the Atlantic Division for two wild card spots. I want the New Jersey Devils to earn a playoff spot. I strongly believe the Devils have to for General Manager Tom Fitzgerald to continue in his current role. This means it is valuable to know how the Devils’ direct opposition has done so far in this offseason. This is the 2024 Offseason Metropolitan Division Snapshot.
Let us go in reverse order of last year’s standings. All signing, trade, salary and cap data comes from PuckPedia as of last night. Apologies if I miss any departed players or misunderstood a transaction.
Columbus Blue Jackets
2023-24 Finish: 27-43-12, 66 points, 40.2% Points, 8th Place
Players In: Sean Monahan (Free Agent), Dylan Gambrell (Free Agent), Jack Johnson (Free Agent), Gavin Brindley (ELC), Denton Mateychuk (ELC)
Players Out: Alexandre Texier (Trade to St. Louis), Adam Boqvist (Buy Out), Jake Bean (Free Agent)
Players Re-Signed: Yegor Chinakhov, Cole Clayton, Owen Sillinger
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Kirll Marchenko (filed for arbitration), Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, Tim Berni, Jake Christiansen (filed for arbitration), Jet Greaves (filed for arbitration)
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Alex Nylander (Not qualified), Tyler Angle, Jakub Zboril, Malcolm Subban
Other Notable Moves: The new General Manager and President of the Columbus Blue Jackets is Carolina’s now-old GM: Don Waddell. Among his first moves, Waddell fired head coach Pascal Vincent. Vincent was put in a bad situation that did not get much better as the season went on. The head coaching position is still vacant as of this writing.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $69.93 million ($18.07 million in space), 37 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Columbus’ ownership knew that Jarmo Kekalainen was not leading the team to anywhere from where they were. It made sense to fire him. Bringing in Waddell, however, is a bit of an interesting call. He has certainly repaired his professional reputation in Carolina. However, the Canes may have been taking a collaborative approach. Will Waddell on his own function like he did in Atlanta? Given that ownership actually wants the team in Ohio, I will think not – but the doubt will still be there.
Especially since this team’s big moves in the offseason were to throw a bizarre 5 x 5.5 contract at Sean Monahan. I understand Johnny Gaudreau and Monahan played well with each other in years past. That was the past. The past. It may not work as well in 2024 but we shall see. Trading Texier for a pick reads to me more like just moving on from him, which I get. Not qualifying Alex Nylander reads the same to me, only that no team really wanted him. Buying out Adam Boqvist is another signal that Waddell wants changes. With only three signings, it is hardly a new-look Jackets team. That may change (further) if Patrik Laine is dealt.
What it may be instead of a new-look team is an even younger team. Gavin Brindley and Denton Mateychuk each signed ELCs. The defense can easily call up and slot in Corson Ceulemans or David Jiricek while having Samuel Knazko and Stanislav Svozil in the wings. The organization added goaltender Nolan Lalonde for depth too. This is with a team that is looking to be built around Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger, and Kent Johnson. Perhaps even Cayden Lindstrom, whom they drafted at fourth overall. They may take lumps for the next season or two but a young core can absolutely be formed around these players should Waddell choose. Waddell does have a number of RFAs to re-sign with three filing for arbitration to force something to happen sooner. With just over $18 million in cap space, it is no big deal. Waddell has room to go in a few directions. Provided it has the Blue Jackets moving up, he will be supported.
Did They Get Better?: All together, is this a better team than it was? Well, not so fast. I can see some growth happening. Fantilli, Johnson, and Sillinger should get better. A healthy season from Zach Werenski will help a lot. Should good Damon Severson appear along with Gaudreau meshing with Monahan. Kirill Marchenko and Dimitri Voronkov can be solid pieces to the roster. Is this better than a 62 point team? Yeah, I can see it. Competing for a playoff spot? Nope. I do not trust Elvis Merzlikins to be the top goaltender. Most of all, who is coaching this team again? They do not have a head coach. With Waddell just getting into the picture, I expect more changes. They do not often lead to big immediate jumps in the standings.
New Jersey Devils
2023-24 Finish: 38-39-5, 81 points, 49.4% Points, 7th Place
Players In: Brett Pesce (Free Agent), Brenden Dillon (Free Agent), Stefan Noesen (Free Agent), Tomas Tatar (Free Agent), Paul Cotter (Trade), Jacob Markstrom (Trade), Jonathan Kovacevic (Trade), Jakub Malek (ELC), Seamus Casey (ELC), Adam Beckman (Trade), Mike Hardman (Free Agent), Colton White (Free Agent)
Players Out: Alex Holtz (Trade), Akira Schmid (Trade), Kevin Bahl (Trade), John Marino (Trade), Graeme Clarke (Trade), Brendan Smith (Free Agent), Kaapo Kahkonen (Free Agent), Michael McLeod (Not Qualified), Cal Foote (Not Qualified), Michael Vukojevic (Not Qualified)
Players Re-Signed: Nick DeSimone, Kurtis MacDermid, Sam Laberge, Brian Halonen, Max Willman
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Dawson Mercer, Nolan Foote, Adam Beckman, Santeri Hatakka, Nico Daws
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Chris Tierney, Kyle Criscuolo, Erik Kallgren, Keith Kinkaid
Other Notable Moves: Sheldon Keefe was hired as the head coach. Jeremy Colliton joined his staff. Yes, David Rogalski is still in the organization. No, I do not know why.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $83.02 million ($4.97 million in space), 41 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Tom Fitzgerald was very active in this offseason. His moves ranged from the opportunistic (the Keefe hire) to shrewd (the trade for Markstrom costing just a 2025 first rounder and Bahl for retained salary on Markstrom) to understandable (the John Marino trade) to bad (the Holtz/Schmid dump for Cotter) to downright stupid (the MacDermid contract extension and raise). Do not fear, my fellow Devils fans. Fitzgerald did not win the offseason. The MacDermid contract ensured that. (I think Nashville did.) He did do well enough to take care of plenty of needed business. As well as leave enough money for a Dawson Mercer bridge deal.
He ultimately accomplished his goal to make the Devils bigger and tougher. The Devils were already a top-ten team in average height last year and an average pound shy of being in the top half of the league (they were 16th). Cotter, Dillon, Noesen, and Kovacevic have earned reputations for their physical play. It was not an accident that they were acquired. The Get Bigger strategy even applied to their draft class, which featured no prospect shorter than 6’2”. I will credit Fitzgerald from deviating from that to bring back Tatar. Should he find his form from 2022-23, then he could end being a bargain addition to the middle of the Devils forwards.
It is a bit surprising that among all of this activity, it is not clear if the fourth line center will actually be a center – no, Curtis Lazar is not one and apparently Cotter is not either – and who is going to support the top six. The latter could have been Alex Holtz’s time to shine. But the Devils have moved on. Good that they did not throw money at Tyler Toffoli again, but the role still remains vacant. Those are spots that could further cement the Devils as being major players in the Metropolitan Division once more. Provided all else goes according to plan.
Did They Get Better?: I already questioned whether all of this made the Devils a better team on the night of July 1. Since then, I have settled on this answer: it can be better if Markstrom and Jake Allen can be a solid goaltending tandem like Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid were in 2022-23 and if Sheldon Keefe gets more out of his players than Lindy Ruff and Travis Green could. You can even add a third if: if they stay healthy. The Devils offense did struggle with The Big Deal suffering from a shoulder injury that required surgery. Additionally, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier ended up needing offseason operations for their injuries. When Dougie Hamilton tore his pec, the power play was never the same without him. Hamilton is 100% and the others should be by camp. Every team in the NHL has that if, but it applies more to the Devils since they suffered in part from it. None of those if’s have anything to do with what the Devils did. Could they be a playoff team in 2024-25? Yes. They can even contend. But I also thought they should have been last season. Look what happened. The pressure is truly on, though. If they do not make it this time, then ownership seriously has to question Fitzgerald’s approach. It is not like those prime years of Hughes, Hischier, Bratt, etc. are going to come back.
Philadelphia Flyers
2023-24 Finish: 38-33-11, 87 points, 53% Points, 6th Place
Players In: Matvei Michkov (ELC), Anthony Richard (Free Agent), Rodrigo Abols (Free Agent), Jett Luchanko (ELC)
Players Out: Cam Atkinson (Buy Out), Carter Hart (Not Qualified)
Players Re-Signed: Bobby Brink, Adam Ginning, Erik Johnson, Garnet Hathaway, Ivan Fedotov
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Yegor Zamula
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Marc Staal, Denis Gurianov, Cooper Marody, Adam Brooks, Victor Mete, Will Zmolek, Mason Millman
Other Notable Moves: N/A
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $86.18 million ($1.82 million in space), 47 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: That cap number should come with an asterisk. It includes the cap hits of Ryan Johansen ($4 million) and Ryan Ellis ($6.25 million), two players who may not play hockey again. Both could and may still be put on offseason LTIR. This means they have more than enough money to take care of their last RFA player, Yegor Zamula.
It has been a found-money kind of season for the Flyers in 2023-24. They brought in John Tortorella and the team played way above expectations throughout the season. I thought they would fall apart as Danny Briere is overseeing a rebuild. Instead, they nearly made the playoffs. The concern is that what went right last season may not go so right next season. I think Briere understands that as he did not go out and sign a whole lot of players thinking he has the team to win now. Pieces are still to be added for the long term.
He did get one piece over from Russia under odd circumstances. Michkov was allowed to terminate his KHL contract early and sign an ELC with Philly. While I would not expect him to be great right away, he could be great sooner rather than later. He can be the center piece of the younger end of the Flyers, which include Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerster, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale. He is easily the center piece of what has been a quiet offseason for the Flyers. All that is left is Zamula needing a new contract. Maybe they also begin negotiations with Travis Konceny for what I would expect to be a fat extension.
Did They Get Better?: No. Michkov has a real bright future but expecting the 19-year old to propel the Flyers into the playoffs is asking a lot. Technically, it could happen if last season is repeated, Ivan Fedotov and Sam Ersson make for a strong pairing in the crease, and they seem some further improvements from Brink, Foerster, Drysdale, and York. But that is a best-case scenario and those rarely happen twice. And last season did not even end with a playoff berth. I think the Flyers will not be anyone’s doormat but I do not think they make the playoffs just yet.
Pittsburgh Penguins
2023-24 Finish: 38-32-12, 88 points, 53.7% Points, 5th Place
Players In: Kevin Hayes (Trade), Matt Grzelcyk (Free Agent), Anthony Beauvillier (Free Agent), Blake Lizotte (Free Agent), Sebastian Aho The Defenseman (Free Agent), Lukas Svejkovsky (Trade), Filip Larsen (Free Agent), Filip Kral (Free Agent), Mac Hollowell (Free Agent), Jimmy Huntington (Free Agent), Bokondji Imama (Free Agent), Nathan Clurman (Free Agent)
Players Out: Jeff Carter (Retirement), Pierre-Oilvier Joseph (Not Qualified, Free Agent), Reilly Smith (Trade), Bennett MacArthur (Trade), Filip Lindberg (Free Agent, Liiga), Ludovic Waeber (Free Agent, Swiss NL)
Players Re-Signed: Alex Nedeljkovic, Emil Bemstrom, Valtteri Puustinen, Jack St. Ivany, Jonathan Gruden, Samuel Poulin, Ryan Shea, Cory Andonovski
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Kasper Bjorkqvist, Filip Hallander
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Dillon Hamaliuk, Maxim Cajkovic, Radim Zohorna, Xavier Ouellet, Taylor Fedun
Other Notable Moves: Not so much a move, but nearly one. GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Mike Sullivan have had issues behind the scenes. Sullivan’s contract has an extension too. If the season does not go well, do not be shocked if Sullivan is among the first coaches fired.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $84.47 million ($3.52 million in space), 48 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Not even seven days after July 1 and the Penguins are just about done. General Manager Kyle Dubas took care of his business with Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton real fast. All of those left to re-sign and unsigned players were not on Pittsburgh’s roster by the time free agency rolled around.
That said, I get the sense this is more or less re-arranging the chairs on an infamous ocean liner sailing from England to the United States. Smith was moved out and Kevin Hayes was brought in for the cost of future considerations. Nedeljkovic was retained as was mid-season acquisition Bemstrom and a heap of Baby Pens/possibly grown up Pens. Depth may be seen as restored with the additions of Grzelcyk, Beauvillier, Lizotte, and Defenseman Aho.
But let us be real. This team goes as far as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Erik Karlsson, and Tristian Jarry goes. Four of those five are starting or have started to show signs of age and decline. Crosby is the exception. But the squad that barely missed the playoffs in 2022-23 also barely missed the playoffs in 2023-24. Does Mike Sullivan and his staff figure out how to get more from Bryan Rust, Michael Bunting, Lars Eller, Marcus Pettersson, and Ryan Graves along with their big-money core five players? Does Hayes really move the needle? Or Grzelcyk and Aho? I get that the plan is to just keep riding with Crosby & Co. until they cannot. The Penguins cannot really move on until they do. I would like to think the fanbase understands that the rebuild is going to be a painful endeavor. Yet, a plan to have one last ride has missed the playoff stop twice in a row. The bandaid may need to be ripped off here.
Did They Get Better?: Not really. I could be talked into Hayes, Grezlcyk, Lizotte, and Aho filling in spots so St. Ivany or John Ludvig, Puustinen, and Samuel Poulin do not have to. Does that make the Penguins a playoff team? The foundation and several supporting pieces remain and they missed it twice in a row. Luck and hope are not plans. I think it will be thrice in a row – and maybe Sullivan is fired/moves on at the end of 2024-25.
Washington Capitals
2023-24 Finish: 40-31-11, 91 points, 55.5% Points, 4th Place – First Round Exit (4-0 to NY Rangers)
Players In: Logan Thompson (Trade), Andrew Mangiapane (Trade), Pierre-Luc Dubois (Trade), Matt Roy (Free Agent), Jakob Chychryn (Trade), Taylor Raddysh (Free Agent), Brandon Duhaime (Free Agent), Luke Philip (Free Agent), Spencer Smallman (Free Agent) Terik Parascak (ELC), Ilya Protas (ELC), Cam Allen (ELC)
Players Out: Darcy Kuemper (Trade), Nick Jensen (Trade), Beck Malenstyn (Trade),
Players Re-Signed: Connor McMichael, Hardy Haman Aktell, Riley Sutter, Alex Limoges, Mitchell Gibson, Ethen Frank, Chase Priskie
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Henrik Borgstrom, Tobias Geisser
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Max Pacioretty, Lucas Johansen, Matt Phillips
Other Notable Moves: They bought CapFriendly. Boooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $102.17 million (-$14.17 million in space), 50 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Washington bought CapFriendly, making them a pariah to hockey fans worldwide that used it for various purposes. The joke has become whether they bought it to hide how bad they are at the cap. The league has allowed them to make their signings, so I suppose Nicklas Backstrom and his $9.2 million cap hit is on offseason LTIR. That would put the Capitals within the allowable 10% above the salary cap ceiling a team can be in the offseason. Of course, they need to become cap compliant by mid-September and even Backstrom on LTIR will not be enough. T.J. Oshie’s back may keep him out. His $5.75 million going on LTIR plus Backstrom would be enough. Provided the Capitals are cool with watching their dollars every day to see if they can call someone up from Hershey.
The Capitals certainly swung big to be both maxed out on contracts and cap space. Shipping off Darcy Kuemper to Pierre-Luc Dubois is a bold decision. One in that it puts a lot of trust in Charlie Lindgren, who drove a lot of last season’s success. Also in that Dubois’ reputation has been falling apart. If he and the Caps can get on the same page, he may back up that $8.5 million cap hit. If Andrew Mangiapane makes the most out of a contract year – he’s a pending UFA and will be 29 in 2025 – then he can help the Capitals’ offense big-time. Raddysh and Duhaime are more veteran depth although did they really need million-plus dollar deals? Adding Matt Roy and Jakob Chychrun can make their defense more threatening beyond John Carlson and Rasmus Sandin. But you go down their page at PuckPedia and you wonder why they have spent so much money on all of these additions. Was the Dubois acquisition really necessary? Goaltending is the one thing that is cheap and that will not last as both Lindgren and Thompson are up for new deals in 2025.
What I do not get is what their direction is. Cynical as it may seem, it may be just to keep the Alexander Ovechkin machine humming for another two seasons. All to chase a Great One’s record. At that point in 2026, it may be time for an actual re-build since Carlson will also be coming out of contract by then and Backstrom and T.J. Oshie are already done. Cool. But where does that leave Sandin, Roy, Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson, and Dubois, whom are all signed for the next four seasons or more? I presume they will survive any cuts. At least they have the resource to find out what they have.
Did They Get Better?: On paper, they did. Mangiapane and an effective Dubois bolsters their offense beyond the usual suspects on Washington. Their blueline is stronger for adding Roy and Chychrun. In reality, I am less certain about Lindgren being for real at age 30 with Thompson as a back-up holding up the squad. Should Father Time to continue to slow down Ovechkin and some of these players do not mesh (read: Dubois), then this could be one expensive sixth-place team in the division.
New York Islanders
2023-24 Finish: 39-27-16, 94 points, 57.3% Points, 3rd Place – First Round Exit (4-1 to Carolina)
Players In: Anthony Duclair (Free Agent), Marcus Hogberg (Free Agent), Maxim Tsyplakov (Free Agent), Jesse Nurmi (ELC), Marc Gatcomb (Free Agent), Fredrik Karlstrom (Free Agent)
Players Out: None?
Players Re-Signed: Kyle MacLean, Mike Reilly
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Oliver Wahlstrom (Filed for arbitration), Ruslan Iskhakov, Simon Holmstrom, Tyce Thompson, Dennis Cholowski
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, Robert Bortuzzo, Otto Koivula, Karson Kuhlman, Reece Newkirk, Robin Salo, Paul LaDue
Other Notable Moves: Tommy Albelin is back in the league after a long tenure with Switzerland’s national teams. Islanders hired him as an assistant. Scott Swedens lives on.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $86.93 million ($1.07 million in space), 41 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Lou Lamoriello made two moves on July 1 that add to his team as well as adding Spartak Moscow scorer Maxim Tsyplakov. Granted, past moves kept the Islanders from doing a whole lot more than that. Given all of the money being thrown around, maybe that is fine. Wahlstrom filing for arbitration along with Iskhakov and Holmstrom being RFAs will make things tight, presuming the Isles do not find another taker for Wahlstrom. Some money still has to be moved around. The biggest omission is that two-third of the seemingly endless Identity Line remain unsigned. I am not surprised no one has signed them to a three-year contract worth over a million dollars per season.
The thing with the Isles is that their core remains as-is due to those past months. Mat Barzal and Bo Horvat are signed through 2031 and will run the forwards. Duclair joins Pierre Engvall and Anders Lee as secondary scoring to go with the expiring contracts of Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri. Mike Reilly is a depth return to the defense still led by Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield through 2029. Noah Dobson should join that crew as long-term mainstays but he needs a new deal next season. And the goaltending continues to live and die by Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. It is pretty much the same approach with the same mindset with most of the same players from the past few seasons.
Some will say that this will never bring a Cup to Long Island. I think that may be fine with ownership and the fanbase. After years of being the third-best team in the NYC Metropolitan Area, being a competitive, consistent playoff achiever may be satisfactory. I still think their path to any kind of run leans on Sorokin/Varlamov getting hot. (I do not expect Patrick Roy to turn into Lemaire or Bowman.) Given that Florida went deep last season and won a Cup this season on the back of Sergey Bobrovsky, I cannot say it cannot be done. It is not a very good way to go about it. Then again, the Isles have five playoff appearances in their last six seasons. The dice will keep being rolled.
Did They Get Better?: Duclair is a good addition. But, again, this team is pretty much the same team as they have been. So, yes, but not by a significant amount. Expect this team to claw, scratch, and hang around for a playoff spot. Again.
Carolina Hurricanes
2023-24 Finish: 52-23-7, 111 points, 67.7% Points, 2nd Place – Second Round Exit (4-2 to NY Rangers)
Players In: Sean Walker (Free Agent), Jack Roslovic (Free Agent), Shayne Gostisbehere (Free Agent), William Carrier (Free Agent)
Players Out: Brady Skjei (Free Agent), Brett Pesce (Free Agent), Jake Guentzel (Trade), Teuvo Teravainen (Free Agent), Stefan Noesen (Free Agent), Dylan Coghlan (Trade)
Players Re-Signed: Jaccob Slavin (Extension), Jordan Martinook, Jalen Chatfield
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Martin Necas (Filed for arbitration), Jack Drury (Filed for arbitration), Seth Jarvis, Tarmo Reunanen, Joey Keane, Jesper Sellgren
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Tony DeAngelo, Antti Raanta, Griffin Mendel, Max Comtois, Tuuka Tieksola, Blake Murray
Other Notable Moves: Don Waddell left the Canes to take over Columbus and be in charge. They hired from within. With over 20 patents to his name and once being a hockey blogger on this very network (and for the Flyers, boo), Carolina’s new GM is long-time Canes analyst and assistant GM, Dr. Eric Tulsky.
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $76.32 million ($11.68 million in space), 40 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: Waddell moved on to Ohio and Tulsky inherited a tricky situation in Carolina. The team is coming off back-to-back-to-back 50+-win seasons with disappointing ends in the postseason in each of those three years. Carolina’s exceptional 5-on-5 game, forecheck, and defensive structure were hallmarks of those teams. Something Tulsky absolutely had a hand in forming along with Rod Brind’Amour and others in Raleigh. However, key personnel were set to move on. Two members of that exceptional blueline, Pesce and Skjei, signed elsewhere. Martin Necas, who filed for arbitration, has been a hot name on the trade market for weeks now. Long-time winger Teuvo Teravainen has moved on as did useful bottom-six winger Stefan Noesen. How would Tulsky fill in the gaps that he saw coming?
For the bottom six, he retained Martinook and added William Carrier and Jack Roslovic. For the defense, he signed Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere while also retaining Jalen Chatfield and extending Jaccob Slavin. Gaps in the roster are filled and with plenty of space remaining. That is good management. However, the RFA situation will test Tulsky and his staff. Necas and Jack Drury filed for arbitration. Given how Necas has been on the trade block, either a deal gets done or perhaps management goes to the hearing with him. A bigger question may be how to handle Seth Jarvis. He has grown to be an important winger on the team. This means he should get paid a lot. The Canes have the cap space to take care of all of this business and well, but know that they want to remain fluid.
Which is critical because the guys coming back are a year older and it is a question if their window is still open. Brent Burns is 39 and I do not know if Walker and Gostisbehere can fully fill in what Pesce and Skjei did in Carolina. Unless Necas brings in a scorer (or Jesperi Kotkaniemi breaks out somehow), the offense is going to continue to lean heavily on Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jarvis with others chipping in. The goaltending has been untouched as the Canes are set to go with Frederik Andersen, whose health issues alone make him a risk, and Pytor Kochetkov. The Canes were so strong in 5-on-5 that they could overcome bad goaltending last season. But they may not be as strong due to the personnel changes – and so Tulsky and his staff need to be willing to make changes quickly if things go south again.
Did They Get Better?: It is hard to say. I want to know what they end up doing with Necas. I expect Drury and Jarvis to get paid and remain on the squad. I also understand that the team may try to bring Alexander Nikishin over from the KHL to help the defense. But Pesce and Skjei leave big holes to fill and I am not certain Walker and Gostisbehere fill them while Burns ages further. And the goaltending, goodness, I am actually surprised this was not addressed. Carolina will still be a total pain to play against and should easily be a playoff team, if not a division winner. But the expectation has to be a deep playoff run and not another 50+ win season followed by getting bounced out. And, no, getting swept in the Eastern Conference Finals such that Brind’Amour claimed it was not a sweep, does not count as a deep run.
New York Rangers
2023-24 Finish: 55-23-4, 114 points, 69.5% Points, 1st Place – Eastern Conference Finals Loss (4-2 to Florida)
Players In: Reilly Smith (Trade), Sam Carrick (Free Agent), Casey Fitzgerald (Free Agent), Benoit-Olivier Groulx (Free Agent) Dylan Roobroeck (ELC),
Players Out: Jack Roslovic (Free Agent), Alexander Wennberg (Free Agent)
Players Re-Signed: Kaapo Kakko
RFA Players Left to Re-Sign: Ryan Lindgren (Filed for arbitration), Braden Schneider, Lauri Pajuniemi, Karl Henriksson, Matthew Robertson
UFA Players Still Unsigned: Blake Wheeler, Chad Ruhwedel, Nic Petan, Tyler Pitlick, Bobby Trivigno, Olof Lindbom
Other Notable Moves: Not so much a move but a potential one that did not come out. There were quite a few Rangers fans unhappy with Captain Elbows Jacob Trouba in the postseason, where he showed his age, his poor performances, and his desire to hurt people. The word was that the Rangers wanted the 2024 Mark Messier Leadership Award Winner to waive his no-movement clause. But Trouba likely does not want to do that given that his wife is in residency in New York City, they just had a child, and, oh yeah, he’s the team’s captain and making $6 million in salary. I do not know about you, but I Stand with the Troubas. If the Rangers want to dump Trouba so badly, just buy out his contract. There are only two seasons left on it and the penalty of $2 million in 2026-27 and 207-28 is not much given how well the Rangers have managed the cap so far. How well? Check this out:
Their Salary Cap as of July 6: $79.90 million ($8.09 million in space), 42 contracts
Offseason Thoughts: When you are the President’s Trophy winners, you may not feel like you have to do a whole lot. Especially since the list of pending free agents was not substantial. Roslovic and Wennberg have moved on and the Rangers have done so as well with Sam Carrick for depth and a cheap Reilly Smith to bolster the attack. Outside of Lindgren, Schneider, and minor-league business, the Rangers are pretty set for camp.
Of course, that speaks to the issues with the squad. It is absolutely a contending squad. Igor Shesterkin is a top-tier goaltender. Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller are great defensemen. The core forwards of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, and Chris Kreider can ruin anyone’s day – especially on a power play. Vincent Trocheck has fit in Manhattan like a glove. It even appears that Alexis Lafreniere may be taking a leap forward. Throw in a healthy Filip Chytil to go with further growth from Will Cuylle, Schneider (he’ll get re-signed), and even Hartford standout Brett Berard, and you have a very strong roster.
Of course, the playoff appearances have shown the flaws of said roster. When the power play is not clicking, things can get dire. If Panarin, Zibanejad, and Kreider are kept quiet, then it is rough. Shesterkin having a bad night means a bad night for everyone and 38-year old Jonathan Quick may not be equipped to bail him out for another season. Trouba, as captain, continues to get minutes and show how much he can struggle to do the basics of his job. At least the depth at forward and skaters are not filled with vets trying to hold on – yet. Check again after the trade deadline.
The thing is that for the Rangers, their window may be closer to being closed than they may think. This offseason can be quiet. Next season brings Miller, Zac Jones, Cuylle, Adma Edstrom, Kakko, Matt Rempe and Lafreniere up for contracts. Some are going to get serious raises (especially Miller and Lafreniere) and managing that will be a challenge. Something where clearing up Trouba’s contract would help. Those core forwards are on the wrong side of 30 and Panarin’s big contract enters its final season in 2025-26. But the bigger concern will be in net. Shesterkin and Quick become UFAs next Summer. The Rangers need to keep Shesterkin to keep any of this going. But they need to be prepared to make him an eight-figure player after riding high on his supremely underpaid contract. Not that Lindgren filing for arbitration is easy, but 2024 is very much a calm before a storm that Chris Drury will have to manage.
Did They Get Better?: Weirdly, enough, I see this like I see the Islanders. I like the pick up of Smith. But this is still pretty much the same team with the same key players driving the team’s success. So not really. Unlike the Isles, there are several under-25 year old players who can improve a bit and make the roster better for it. There is a potential. Also unlike the Isles, the Rangers will likely compete for first place again provided the season does not go awry.
Given what the other teams in the division did, I have to say that the New Jersey Devils look a lot better. They at least addressed their biggest need in goaltender by getting Jacob Markstrom. They hired a head coach who has demonstrated success in a massive, unforgiving market. They added to their defense by effectively swapping John Marino for Brett Pesce, letting Brendan Smith walk, and backfilled Smith’s and Kevin Bahl’s spots with Brenden Dillon and Jonathan Kovacevic. We can say they made upgrades on paper. The rest of the division, not so much.
Washington was certainly the most aggressive of the division in making signings. I am not certain they made the best moves they could for all of their spending. For all of their money spent, the 2024-25 Caps are going to be based on whether Lindgren can do it again. I am not so sure about that. I am also doubtful of how well Pierre-Luc Dubois gets on given how he struggled in Los Angeles and the Kings simply dumped him. The Caps could fall further than what they did last season.
I do think Carolina and the Rangers did not need to do a whole lot to remain competitive. The Rangers’ core remains as they are and they have some younger players to help elevate the squad – even if they do not put them over the top. I do think Carolina suffered bigger losses and I am skeptical that they filled in those spots well. But both of those teams are playoff teams short of a disaster of a 2024-25 campaign. In terms of the rest, what really happened? Columbus is still looking up at everyone else. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia did not do a ton to make their teams appreciably better. The Islanders and Rangers made one or two notable signings and that is really it. Sure, the Penguins, Isles, and Flyers will compete but are any of them sure-fire playoff teams? After the past six days? Of course, the games are played on the ice and, again, I thought the Devils looked great in comparison to everyone last year. And then look what happened.
Now I want to know your opinion. What do you think of the offseason moves made within the Metropolitan Division? How do you think the Devils’ offseason stacks up with the other 7 teams in the Metropolitan Division? Did the Devils do the best among the eight teams in the division, or do you think someone else had a better offseason? While it is early, who do you think will take the division in 2024-25 based on what we know now? Where should we expect the Devils to end up by next April? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the offseason of the Devils and the other seven teams in the division in the comments. Thank you for reading.