No two ways about it, the Metropolitan Division is going to a blood bath this upcoming season. You have multiple teams with Stanley Cup aspirations, multiple teams that greatly improved this offseason and then you have the Philadelphia Flyers. We’re still well over a month away from regular season hockey, but I’m already getting excited so here we go. My pecking order for 2023-2024:

1. Carolina Hurricanes

Not sure if I’m allowed to say this as a Rangers fan, but I love Rod Brind’Amour. That guy rules. I know people obsess over Jon Cooper and Mike Sullivan, and they certainly have the pedigree, but Brind’Amour is the cream of the crop in my book. He always has Carolina playing a suffocating brand of hockey for a full 60 minutes, no matter the circumstance. They pinch along the walls, they make the little plays, they pepper you with shots and they force you to beat them. Brind’Amour just strikes me as an all-time motivator and a passionate leader who’s still able to connect with guys on a personal level. I’m obviously not in the locker room, but knowing he previously won a Cup playing for the Canes must add to the allure of following him into battle.

The additions of Dmitry Orlov, Michael Bunting and Tony DeAngelo feel like great culture fits, they resigned key contributors in Jesper Fast and Jordan Staal, and didn’t lose any crucial difference makers in my eyes. I also never bought into the narrative that their Achilles’ heel is they don’t have a superstar – Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov fit the bill on their best nights and it also doesn’t even matter when they’re clicking on all cylinders and playing as a cohesive unit.

The X factor for the Hurricanes is health. It feels like they’ve been bit by the injury bug at crucial times the last couple of years. If they’re able to keep guys on the ice and out of the trainer’s room, I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see them represent the East in the Stanley Cup Final.

2. New York Rangers

I’m thinking hungry dogs run faster. This core group fell way short of expectations last season and they’re all painfully aware of it. Chris Kreider put it best, on the way the 2022-2023 season ended: “I think like every guy on that team, I’ve got a pit in my stomach. I expect that to turn into a bit of a chip on everyone’s shoulder.”

For a rather stoic veteran like Kreider to come out and say this, I’m going to take his word as gospel.

It stinks to see Vlad Tarasenko go, but Chris Drury did a solid job this offseason up against the big bad salary cap constraints. The moves were headlined by former Winnipeg captain Blake Wheeler, who slots in nicely at RW at a bargain of a contract. Tyler Pitlick, Nick Bonino, Erik Gustafsson and Jonathan Quick all provide some much needed depth as well. I don’t think the book is closed on Patrick Kane just yet, either.

The elephant in the room is the lottery picks Alexis Lafrenière and Kaapo Kakko finally taking the next step in becoming true difference makers. We’ve seen flashes of brilliance from both, but it’s time for them to impose their will consistently. There’s reason to believe the success of the entire season rides on these guys showing out.

There might be some ugly moments early on, as they get accustomed to new head coach Peter Laviolette’s system. Luckily, they have arguably the best goaltender in the world in Igor Shesterkin to keep the boat from rocking too much. In the end, I think Laviolette and the Rangers will fit like a glove. Laviolette’s emphasis on work ethic and discipline perfectly aligns with the sentiment Kreider shared about chips on guys shoulders. The Rangers aren’t exactly a young team anymore, which means it’s time to win and it’s time to win now.

3. New Jersey Devils

The Devils’ window to contend is wide open and won’t be closing anytime soon. Although this season may be a little different, because they’re not sneaking up on anyone. Coaching staffs around the league are now fully aware of who can hurt them up front. Those guys will still get their points, but it may not be as easy as it was last season. There’s also a good chance they naturally regress a bit from their franchise best 112 point total posted last year.

That being said, the Devils remain a force to be reckoned with. Tyler Toffoli was a phenomenal addition this offseason, maybe the most underrated move across the league. I can already see him in that red sweater scoring big goals.

It’s hard to believe Jack Hughes is only 22 years old with how confident, smooth and shifty he already is. I hate that he’s on the Devils because he’s objectively the man and it’s pretty awesome he gets to tear it up with his younger brother Luke on the same team.

The answer in net still seems to be up in the air, but you have to believe GM Tom Fitzgerald is burning the midnight oil to figure it out. Guys like Carter Hart, Connor Hellebuyck, or John Gibson have Newark written all over them.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins (Wild Card)

The Penguins made the big splash this offseason by acquiring reigning Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson in a 3-team blockbuster deal with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. The 33-year-old Swede played all 82 games for San Jose last season and put up 101 points, the first time a defenseman eclipsed 100 points since Brian Leetch in 1991-1992.

I give new President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas a lot of credit for going for it. He recognized time is running out in the legendary Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin/Kris Letang era and acted accordingly. As a fan, that’s all you can ask for and I’m sure Pittsburgh is fired up. I’m not convinced the move puts them over the hump come playoff time, but that’s a separate discussion.

The Pens may get out to a slow start, with new faces up and down the lineup and Jake Guentzel starting the season on the sidelines. They’re going to need to stay healthy too – they have a pretty formidable roster on paper, but also an older one and undeniably injury prone.

The age-old question of consistent goaltending with this team remains and they’ll be relying on Tristan Jarry big time to ball out.

5. New York Islanders

I find it hard to put the Islanders any further down on this list with Ilya Sorokin in-between the pipes. Did you know Sorokin is the godfather to Igor Shesterkin’s child? Sounds like a joke but it’s actually true. Pretty wild they find themselves as the starting goalies in New York (maybe the two best in the NHL) after growing up together in Russia. I digress. 

I thought it was painfully apparent after watching the Islanders/Hurricanes playoff series last year that they need to get another stud up front. It feels like Mat Barzal would be much better suited playing Robin instead of Batman. I guess the front office disagrees, because they doled out a bunch of extensions and basically plan on running it back with the same group. Not entirely sure how they arrived at that conclusion, in an offseason where some quality names were on the move, but here we are. 

I also don’t really buy head coach Lane Lambert as the man for the job and consistent offensive production is a massive worry. Sorokin and their defensive style of play will keep them competitive, but I can’t envision them making too much noise. 

6. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets were an utter catastrophe last season, but it’s also worth noting they set a franchise record of 563 man-games lost to injury. It’s hard for me to judge a team that had four or so games at full strength. What do you expect them to do?

Johnny Gaudreau is still quietly an elite level talent and will help unlock the potential of promising young players you haven’t heard of yet, in Kirill Marchenko, Kent Johnson, Cole Sillinger, David Jiricek and others. They brought in Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson to bolster the back end and drafted an absolute beast in Adam Fantilli out of Michigan.

Connor Bedard rightfully stole headlines at this year’s draft, but Fantilli is a sure fire #1 overall pick most other years. By all accounts, he’s a freak athlete with a mature head on his shoulders and a stone cold killer of a competitor. There’s definitely a world where Fantilli enjoys a monster year and Columbus surprises everyone.

7. Washington Capitals

The Tom Wilson extension was super confusing to me. Not sure why they’d give 7 years to a nearly 30-year-old enforcer that’s had trouble staying on the ice.

More broadly, It feels like they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. I wonder if they’re held hostage to Alex Ovechkin and his chase of the all-time goals record, at the expense of seriously competing. I have my doubts if they’re able to rebuild or retool simultaneously. Although, maybe there’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing. They got their Cup in 2018, Ovechkin is an all-time great and probably deserves to ride off into the sunset on his own terms. 

It’s hard to look at this roster and get excited about much. Their core is aging and many are coming off injuries. On the bright side, Spencer Carbery has won at every level and is touted as one of the best young coaches in the sport. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s able to do in his first year as head coach.

8. Philadelphia Flyers

It brings me great joy to inform you the Flyers are awful. Just a barren waste land of random, perfectly average players without much skill at any position other than goalie. Your guess is as good as mine as to what their identity is. If these rankings were reality TV/entertainment value focused, the Flyers might crack the top 3 with John Tortorella behind the bench. Who knows what will happen with an uncompetitive team and a bonafide lunatic at the helm.

At least they got rid of Tony DeAngelo, who made out like a bandit headed back to a Cup contender in Carolina. I expect a bunch of other Flyers to be on the move as well, as they sell off assets and figure out the direction of the franchise.

Kevin Hayes, their lone All-Star last season who somehow found himself riding the pine at times due to Torts’ ego, is headed to St. Louis in return for a 6th round draft pick. I sort of like GM Danny Briere, seems like a good hockey mind who will probably end up righting the ship eventually, but it absolutely won’t be this season and I have no idea why he’d trade Hayes for a bag of gummy bears.