The Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins have had rollercoaster results in the standings lately, and it's tough to predict where they'll finish again. They have made notable changes, however.
The NHL's Metropolitan Division was largely underwhelming this past season – save, of course, for the Stanley Cup-champion Carolina Hurricanes.
But three Metro teams in particular will be especially fascinating to watch in 2026-27 – the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
The Devils, Penguins and Capitals have had some rollercoaster results over the past couple of seasons. Nobody can say for sure what Caps, Pens and Devils teams we're going to see this coming year.
The Devils made major changes on and off the ice, hiring former Florida Panthers executive Sunny Mehta as their GM. In net, the Devils traded goalie Jacob Markstrom to the Panthers while acquiring veteran Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues and signing left winger Anthony Mantha. But Mehta has chosen – thus far, at least – to keep New Jersey's core, including brothers Jack and Luke Hughes, Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, who signed a five-year contract extension.
Mehta traded young defenseman Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames, but the Devils' depth on 'D' softens the impact of Nemec's departure. But New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe is squarely on the hot seat, as he's not Mehta's hire and could be replaced at any moment.
Indeed, there's a very real pressure on Devils players and management to turn things around immediately after finishing seventh in the Metro this past season. It was the second time in three years that they missed the playoffs after making it the previous season.
New Jersey does have $3.85 million in salary cap space, but Mehta may value that financial flexibility to make moves during the season.
In sum, it's not entirely clear what Devils team we're going to see next year – the team that has missed the playoffs, or the team that at long last lives up to expectations and goes on a deep post-season run.
The Penguins, meanwhile, have missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. But last season, Pittsburgh bounced back, finishing second in the Metro.
Penguins GM Kyle Dubas has had an active summer. Dubas has about $13.7 million in cap space, while adding left winger Nick Robertson in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as free agents Trevor van Riemsdyk and Andrei Kuzmenko. Goalie Stuart Skinner departed, but Arturs Silovs is expected to take over starting duties.
That said, there's no assurance the Pens will be a playoff team again next season. Pittsburgh is still a team in transition, as it tries to wring the last good hockey out of superstars Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson while also building for the future.
Although Penguins coach Dan Muse did a bang-up job in his first year running the team, there could be a regression the Pens have to deal with.
Finally, the Capitals have also had great highs and agonizing lows of late.
Two seasons ago, the Caps were the top team in the Eastern Conference. But they crashed out in a major way last season, falling to ninth place in the East and fourth in the Metro. The Capitals missed out on a playoff spot by only three points.
Fortunately for them, Capitals GM Chris Patrick made some of the best moves in trades and free agency this summer.
Patrick acquired veteran scorer Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues. He also engineered a sign-and-trade deal with the Buffalo Sabres for star right winger Alex Tuch. And Patrick signed veterans and free agents Vincent Desharnais (ex of the San Jose Sharks) and Boone Jenner (formerly of the Columbus Blue Jackets). Re-signing Alex Ovechkin was a boost as well.
Patrick has spent virtually every penny of his cap space, but from this writer's perspective, the Capitals are one of the most improved teams in the league, if not the most improved. And if they miss the playoffs this coming season, you have to imagine Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is not going to be pleased.
There's no guarantee Washington will gel with a new group of players. So there's still a real gamble going on in D.C. with this new-look Caps squad, but we think they'll be back near the top of the Metro.
We all can try and project where the Capitals, Devils and Penguins will finish in 2026-27, but we all know by now that strange things happen when you're playing these games. There will be unforeseen influences, good and bad, for every team.
But Washington, Pittsburgh and New Jersey all carry the weight of huge expectations next season. There's a world where all three teams miss the post-season, but there's also a world where all three teams make it.
Thus, we'll be watching closely to see which teams step up in the face of pressure and which teams crumble in the face of it.
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