Adam Proteau explains the biggest needs for the bottom four teams in the NHL's Metropolitan Division: the Penguins, Islanders, Flyers and Blue Jackets.
Adam Proteau explains the biggest needs for the bottom four teams in the NHL's Metropolitan Division: the Penguins, Islanders, Flyers and Blue Jackets.
The NHL has arrived at its weeklong all-star break, and we’re in the process of breaking down each team and projecting where we see them headed through the league’s March 3 trade deadline and the rest of the season.
We started the breakdowns Monday with the bottom four teams in the Pacific Division. Tuesday, we turned to the top four Pacific teams.
Wednesday and Thursday, we analyzed the bottom four and top four teams in the Central Division.
Today, we’re focusing on the bottom four Metropolitan Division teams.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Standings Position: 5th
Record: 24-16-9
Projection: Hanging on for a playoff spot, either in the wild card or with the No. 3 position in the Metro; adding a bottom-six forward and/or a third-pair blueliner and/or a backup goaltender
Why: At the beginning of December, the Penguins were firing on all pistons, winning seven games in a row and eight of nine to post a 19-9-4 record. Since then, they’ve stalled, going 5-7-5 before the all-star break, and they’re currently clinging to the final Eastern wild-card slot, although they’re only three standings points behind Washington, with four games in hand on the Caps. The race in the Metro will continue to be difficult for them to keep pace with, but any team with the timeless Sidney Crosby and a still-capable Evgeni Malkin will stay in playoff contention.
CapFriendly projects the Penguins to have more than $2.1 million in salary cap space – enough for GM Ron Hextall to acquire a depth asset by the trade deadline but not enough to bring in big-name talent.
They need starting goalie Tristan Jarry to return from injury as soon as possible, and they need him to step up in the post-season. As we’ve seen in recent years, when the Pens don’t have solid goaltending, it doesn’t matter who else they have. We wonder whether an available goalie, such as San Jose’s James Reimer or Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka, could be a target for them.
New York Islanders
Standings Position: 6th
Record: 25-22-5
Projection: In an immense battle with the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, and Penguins for a low playoff seed in the East; having an early exit in the post-season if they do manage to get there
Why: The Islanders made the first big trade splash of the new calendar year, landing former Canucks captain Bo Horvat, and at a price that didn’t break the bank when it comes to draft picks and prospects. And GM Lou Lamoriello likely isn’t done adding pieces, given that he’s projected to have more than $11.3 million in cap space, and his team needs help for their bottom-six forwards and third defensive pairing. Goalies Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov can’t do all the heavy lifting for them.
The Isles almost assuredly will be in the fight for a playoff spot, but there’s ample competition for the East’s two wild-card berths, with the Rangers, Capitals, Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers all vying to lock one up. That will leave four teams severely disappointed, and the Islanders could be one of those four teams. That would be an utter disaster for Lamoriello and coach Lane Lambert. And that’s why we expect the Isles to continue being active in the trade market. Failure is not an option for them.
Philadelphia Flyers
Standings Position: 7th
Record: 21-21-9
Projection: Lingering at the fringes of the playoff picture; hovering near the 12th to 14th spot in the East; remaining in Nowhere-Land competitively
Why: As we’ve argued during the season, the Flyers are in about the worst place you can be in hockey – far from the bottom of the NHL overall standings and not close enough to a playoff berth.
There’s no evidence to suggest positive change is coming that will put them over the top for one of the hotly-contested Eastern wild-card slots, but is Philadelphia GM Chuck Fletcher going to admit defeat and trade away veteran assets – forwards James van Riemsdyk and, perhaps, Travis Konecny – or will he add pieces?
The Flyers don’t have much in the way of cap space ($2.8 million per CapFriendly) to bring in NHL-ready talent, and it feels silly to even suggest they’re one or two players away from being bona fide playoff contenders. Sure, maybe they're two players away if those two players are Sidney Crosby and Tage Thompson, but you know what we mean.
No, the move in Philly should be to deal away their non-core veterans and aim to build for next season and beyond. They may be a handful of wins out of a playoff spot, but that’s a mirage. There’s not enough young, elite talent here at present, and until that changes, the Flyers will be far from relevant, either in the playoffs or in the draft lottery.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Standings Position: 8th
Record: 15-32-4
Projection: Gathering dust at the bottom of the Metro and staying a front-runner for the Connor Bedard Sweepstakes.
Why: Many observers didn’t see Columbus as a playoff contender, but few people imagined the Blue Jackets would be this atrocious. The injury bug has laid waste to their roster, but we’re talking about a team that has not won more than two games in a row even once this season.
They’ve won two games in a row on three different occasions, and they haven’t won two straight games since Dec. 11. They have 34 standings points, tying them with Chicago for the fewest points in the NHL, and the Blackhawks have three games in hand on them. If it gets any more grisly, there will be an 'R' rating applied to watching their games.
With more than $8.8 million in cap space per CapFriendly, GM Jarmo Kekalainen can be a trade facilitator by the deadline, and he also has some veteran NHL assets to shop around. So, Columbus is bound to be even worse. Shudder and recoil.
Not all is lost, though, especially if Columbus wins the draft lottery and makes Bedard their cornerstone component. Even if they don’t get the top pick, the Blue Jackets are very likely to come away from the first round of the draft with a dynamic young point-producer, and that will help restore some teeth to their feeble offensive attack.
But to get that player, they have to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune for the next 10 weeks. There’s no other option.