With my school semester well underway, my content output has admittedly slowed. Fear not, as I am getting back on the saddle to wrap up this series. Although the regular season has finally started, I haven’t adjusted any of my predictions for this or any other part of the series, in spite of a litany of early injuries across the board. We put a bow on this series with the Metropolitan division, and we’ll take a look at the full league standings and playoff picture (per these predictions) once the Metro teams have been analyzed. 

Last season, the Rangers' collapse was the talk of the league, as they missed the playoffs entirely in 2024-2025 after winning the President’s Trophy and making the Conference Finals the year prior. They’ll set the record straight this season, comfortably making the playoffs behind the collective efforts of their high-end talent. While they may still be at least one trade away from making any serious noise come playoff time, they have the resources to return to form in the regular season.

While the Rangers are set to climb the division standings, both Pennsylvania teams will trend in the opposite direction, creating a fierce battle for top draft position within Pennsylvanian state lines. The Flyers and Penguins will both bottom-feed in the metro, suffering from a talent crop in the midst of (or in desperate need for) a deep rebuild.

At this point, Rob Brind’Amour’s well-oiled machine of a team is expected to win this division, and dominate in the regular season. However, they have failed to replicate that success come playoff time, notoriously winning just one conference final game in three separate attempts under the former Hurricanes captain. Hoping to take the next (and presumably final) step, the Hurricanes roster heading into this season looks quite different to the one they boasted this time last year. Between prospect graduates and offseason acquisitions, I believe they will all find great success, and the Hurricanes will see improved results across the board. 

The Carolina Hurricanes added defenseman K’Andre Miller, alongside forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Taylor Hall this past offseason. Additionally, super-prospect Alexander Nikishin came over from the KHL last spring to round out what has very quickly become a world-class defense core. Headlined by stay-at-home superstar Jacob Slavin, the Hurricanes offset Slavin’s lack of offense from the back end with players like Shayne Gostisbehere and the newly acquired Miller from the Rangers. While Jalen Chatfiel and Sean Walker’s defensive reliability round the d-unit out, Nikishin and Miller are the real x-factors.

Miller has struggled each of the past two seasons in New York, underwhelming on the defensive side, while not being able to replicate the 43 points he put up in 2022-2023. Considering Miller’s defensive struggles, he joined the right team and system, as Brind’Amour prides his team on their strong defense as a unit. While it might not click right away for Miller, expect far-imporved underlying numbers on both sides of the puck. As for Nikishin, the team hopes he can step in and be a two-way stalwart out of the gate, continuing to show the offensive prowess that saw him light up the KHL. If he needs extra time to adjust, they have a good enough group around him where they aren’t reliant on his immediate success. That being said, I expect the large Russian to be a complete force in all three zones right away for this team.

That brings us to the Hurricanes forward core, and new acquisition Nikolaj Ehlers. The former Winnipeg Jet has speed and skill that will fit perfectly with Carolina’s aggressive, chance-heavy offensive game. Given the resume he has built up in Winnipeg, Ehlers will immediately slot into the top line, alongside established two-way beasts in Seth Jaris and Sebastian Aho. While Ehlers 200-foot game lags well behind his new linemates, he too will be eased into this well-knit system, surrounded by selke-caliber talent. Expect a point-per-game season from Ehlers in his first year on a new team, rounding out one of the best top lines in the sport. If he continues to miss 5-15 games a season like he did in Winnipeg, any of Andre Svechnikov, Jason Balek or even Logan Stankoven could fill in and not look out of place. 

Carolina’s absurd team depth and talent extends to their goalie tandem. While erratic yet entertaining 1b Pyotr Kochetkov is hurt to start the year, he and 1a Freddy Andersen make for a solid tandem, albeit not as world-beating as the rest of the team. Of the teams in the Metropolitan division, the Carolina Hurricanes are the most likely to succeed, and the standings will reflect that.

While a Rangers bounce back appears to be in the cards, that is not due to their perfectly-constructed roster. Then again, the team wasn’t that much better when they won the President’s Trophy just two short seasons ago. While mainstays like Panarin and Zibanejad aren’t getting any younger, and veteran presence Chris Kreider was shipped off to Anaheim, the Rangers are still the second best team in this division. Unlike any of the teams below them in the standings, they have an elite superstar at forward, defense, and goalie. While Panarin’s increasingly inevitable decline looms over this franchise, I doubt that his end product will dip in a contract year. Just last season, he led the underperforming Rangers in scoring, outpacing second place Zibanejad by a whopping 27 points. I doubt the 120-point masterclass Panarin put on in 2023-2024 is replicable, but he should finish his age 34 season with a point total comfortably in the 90’s. 

Of the three pillars of this Ranger’s team, defenseman Adam Fox has the best chance of growth between this year and last. While his game couldn’t possibly improve much individually, the Rangers went out and signed a top-pair quality shutdown guy in Vladislav Gavrikov to be Fox’s running mate on the top pairing for the next seven seasons. In Adam Fox’s first six years of his career (5 straight with Norris votes, including one trophy win and three other top five finishes), he has yet to play with a partner like Gavrikov. Given Fox’s ability to both shut top lines down and produce points, he was usually asked to carry the workload alongside an unreliable and offensive-minded partner (like the previously-mentioned K’Andre Miller). Enter stay-at-home savant Vlad Gavrikov, who appears to have been built in a lab with the sole purpose of playing alongside Adam Fox. Given Gavrikov’s defensive prowess, Fox will be able to return his focus to the offensive side of his game again. While the rest of the d-core remains shaky, they have one of the best top pairings in the league, and I expect Fox to have yet another top-five Norris finish come season’s end. 

Like Adam Fox, the addition of Gavrikov helps superstar goalie Igor Sheshterkin. While he has proven the ability to get results regardless of the defenders put in front of him, Igor too has the bet defensive situation in front of him in years. 

While the lack of depth indicates the team is a couple trades away from being a serious cup contender, a healthy season from the Rangers key players (Gavrikov included) should see them make their way back into the playoffs. 

The Capitals are in a weird spot, and I expect a 15-point dropoff as a result. While that sounds negative, both the points tally and weird spot the team is in will be a more accurate portrayal of the Capitals’ identity, for this season and beyond.

As for the roster itself, Alex Ovechkin continues to grab all the headlines, and he should still be a productive top-line caliber goalscorer in what could very well be his final season. The offensive unit around him produced career highs across the board last year, and a slight regression to the mean is the most likely outcome. Aliaksei Protas, Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome all shot at shooting percentages that will be very difficult to sustain for a second consecutive season (21.1%, 14.7% and 19.5% respectively). While regression appears to be in order, it should be minimal, given the improvements that will come with aging into their prime (particularly for Protas & McMichael, now both 25). Alongside them will be increased roles for players like rookie Ryan Leonard, who looked like a lightning rod in his short stint with the team at the tail end of last season. Contributors like Pierre-Luc Dubois and Anthony Beauvillier make up the rest of what is a very well-rounded forward core. While they are certainly an upper-echalant unit, they will need results from all four lines if they want to come close to last season’s offensive output.

While some widespread offensive regression will be a big catalyst for the team’s drop off in points, the defensive will hold the ship together regardless of offensiv production. Although their veteran #1 offensive defenseman John Carlson is getting up there in age (35), the presence of newly-extended Jake Chychrun will ease the blow when Carlson inevitably hangs them up. 

In net, Logan Thompson leads a tandem that also seems to be primed for regression. While Thompson and reliable backup Charlie Lindgren have the luxury of sitting behind the Caps’ elite defensive unit, I need to see more before I assume that the tandem’s 2024-2025 output is the new norm rather than the exception.

On paper, the Devils have a strong argument to move up at least one spot in this list. They have a well-rounded forward core, with a young superstar & co-star duo in Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. On defense, the offensive output of Luke Hughes and Dougie Hamilton rounds out the third elite d-core in this division, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom has a proven track record as a reliable starting goaltender. So what’s the issue? 

Unfortunately, as we all know, Jack Hughes has an extremely hard time staying healthy. While he is a top-15 level player that is guaranteed to produce when suiting up, he has played more than 62 games in a season just once in his career. Last season, Hughes missed the playoffs after putting up 70 points in 62 games. While two-way beast Nico Hischier can seamlessly slot into the vacant #1 center spot, Hughes’ absence obviously leaves a gaping hole in the roster. No matter how much you like Jack Hughes, his injury track record has gotten to a point where you need to operate under the assumption that he will miss at least ten games to accurately predict this team’s results. 

Beyond their superstar in Hughes, I really like the team. Early returns from the season indicate that rookie winger Arseny Gritsyuk brings a welcome offensive punch to the team’s middle six. While the rest of the roster is well-constructed, my issues lie with Jacob Markstrom. His .905 save percentage on a pedestrian 2023-2024 Flames team indicated some promise, but he only managed a flat .900 save percentage on a much-improved Devils team last season. While he’s had a great career, and there still could be some gas left in the tank, the Swede is now 35. As much as this well-built Devil’s core deserves health and success, it would be irresponsible to ignore the possibility of decline for their starting netminder, as well as continued injury struggles for Jack Hughes. For these troubles, the Devils might find themselves with a tough first-round playoff matchup for the second year running. 

The Blue Jackets once again find themselves just shy of the postseason on my predictions list, improving their regular season totals from last year by 3 points in the process. The roster remains similar to the unit that finished just two points shy of the playoffs last year. The forward core is chalked full of promising talent that continues to break out, with guys like Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko leading the youth movement. The d-core is still anchored by Zach Werenski, fresh off a runner-up finish in Norris voting, carrying a unit of mediocre talent around him. In net, Elvis Merzlikins continues to underwhelm, likely a leading cause keeping them from the playoffs. The fate of a consistent goalie tandem lies upon Jet Greves, who has looked mightily impressive whenever he’s been called up. If he and fellow young prospect Denton Mateychuk (defenseman) can play huge roles, this promising team can ascend to further heights. Until that actually happens, all that can be done is predicting incremental improvements from this promising young hockey team. 

On paper, this Islanders team has a playoff-caliber roster. The remnants of their contending teams in the early 2020’s remains, and they have exceptional center depth. However, the wings around them are either new blood that is too young to be relied upon, or regressing veterans whose best days are behind them. While #1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer has so far lived up to the hype, the defenders around him are either aggressively one-dimensional or just flat out not good anymore. Ilya Sorokin in net is still an elite talent, but who knows what his season-ending statline will look like with that team defense in front of him? 

While I expect this unit to be aggressively mediocre, Schaefer symbolizes a hope for this franchise’s future, one that was not there this time last year. Forward’s Emil Heinamen and KHL import Maxim Shabanov bring further promise up front, while prospects Cole Eiserman, Calum Ritchie and Vickor Eklund bring further promise for the future. In the meantime, enjoy the play of Mathew Barzal and the aging relics of the team's past, all while hoping to build your future with more draft lottery luck. 

This team is intriguingly bad. While their goaltending tandem looks to be the league’s worst for the second consecutive year, the team has already entered their rebuild, and they are starting to bear the fruits of their labor. Headlined by Matvei Michkov, the Flyer’s pieces are beginning to fall into place. This past offseason, they acquired the ultra-skilled Trevor Zegras to play with Michkov, we’ll just have to see if new hire  Rich Tocchet and his old-school style clashes with the young duo. On the prospect side, 2024 first rounder Jett Luchanko cracked the roster, and 2025 draftee Porter Martone will follow suit in due time. 

For now, all the Flyers can do is continue to sign established pieces to team-friendly deals (see Noah Cates’ 4 x $4 million deal, as well as Tyson Foerster’s 2 x $3.75 million contract) and hope players like Owen Tippet and Travis Konecny can produce during these trying times for a franchise deeply entrenched in what could be a long rebuild. 

Speaking of long rebuilds, it’s time for the Pittsburgh Penguins to stop delaying the inevitable. While Crosby is still an elite first line center at the ripe old age of 38, his future hall-of-fame teammates Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have begun to slowly decline as they hit their late thirties, both likely to retire at the end of this season. Looking past what has been their big three’ for more than a decade, the Penguins don’t have much to show beyond them. While Erik Karlsson makes for a fourth surefire hall-of-famer on this current roster, he is not what he once was, and his acquisition embodies the Penguin’s reluctance to rebuild. 

Given the terrible team depth and goaltending, the Penguins are once again in prime position to trade away desirable pieces like Rikard Rakell and Brandon Rust. If they play their cards right, Pittsburgh could replace one generational superstar with another yet again if they perform poorly enough to win the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes at season's end. While it’s sad to see Malkin, Karlsson, Crosby and Letang wrap their careers’ up on a team this bad, the Pittsburgh Penguins need to look towards the future, and they need to do it now. 

Image Sources: Hurricanes offseason, Gavrikov signing

Dallas Stars (C1) vs Winnipeg Jets (WC1)

Minnesota Wild (C2) vs Colorado Avalanche (C3)

Vegas Golden Knights (P1) vs Utah Mammoth (WC2)

Edmonton Oilers (P2) vs Anaheim Ducks (P3)

Toronto Maple Leafs (A1) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (WC1)

Florida Panthers (A2) vs Montreal Canadiens (A3)

Carolina Hurricanes (M1) vs New Jersey Devils (WC2)

New York Rangers (M2) vs Washington Capitals (M3)

Thank you for reading all four parts of this series (if you haven't yet, the other three parts are linked below). This has been a very fun exercise for me, and I plan on reflecting on it at season's end, as well as making more predictions of this nature in year's to come. Looking ahead, I plan to shift my focus to news on the Minnesota Wild now that the season is underway. 

Atlantic Division standings prediction 

Pacific Division standings prediction

Central Division standings prediction