It is time to revisit the pre-season hot seat predictions from the Metropolitan Division. Which hot seat occupiers have cooled off and which have stayed hotter than ever in the worst way possible? Adam Proteau has the answers.

Before the start of the current NHL season, THN.com put the spotlight on which people were on the hot seat for each of the league’s 32 teams. With the halfway point of the season now past us, it’s a good time to revisit those who we placed on the hot seat and discuss whether they’re still on it. Saturday, we began with the Atlantic Division’s teams, and today, we’re moving on to break down the Metropolitan Division.

METROPOLITAN DIVISION (ranked by current place in the standings) 

Team: New York Rangers

Pre-season Hot Seat: (tie) Alexis Lafreniere, RW; and Kaapo Kakko, RW 

Current Status: Hot seat still hot

Lowdown: The Rangers’ two young forwards needed to show improvement this season to take the heat off the rest of the roster, but that hasn’t happened. Lafreniere has amassed 12 goals and 29 points in 49 games – a pace that will produce career bests in those categories, but he’s hardly shown the dominance expected of a No. 1-overall draft pick. Kakko, meanwhile, is a major underachiever, posting just five goals and six points in 28 games. He’s missed time due to injury, but he’s nowhere near the elite performer many projected him to be. If the Rangers do swing a major trade by the NHL’s March. 8 trade deadline, it’s likely one of Lafreniere or Kakko is included in the deal. The Rangers are built to win now, and they can’t afford to keep waiting for the two youngsters to realize their potential.

Team: Carolina Hurricanes 

Pre-season Hot Seat: Brett Pesce, D

Current Status: Hot seat significantly cooler

Lowdown: The Hurricanes have struggled at times this season, but since Christmas, they’ve been one of the game’s hottest teams, going 11-2-1 to pull back near the top of the Metro. They’ve needed all hands on deck to claw back into bona fide Stanley Cup contention, and for that reason, speculation about blueliner and looming unrestricted free-agent defenseman Brett Pesce has cooled off. There may come a point when Pesce’s contract status forces the ‘Canes to deal him by the trade deadline, but at the moment, he’s a top-four D-man on one of the league’s best defense corps. For now, at least, that’s not likely to change.

Team: Philadelphia Flyers

Pre-season Hot Seat: Carter Hart, G 

Current Status: Not applicable

Lowdown: Hart disappeared from the NHL radar earlier this month, and while there has been intense speculation as to the reason he took an indefinite leave of absence from the Flyers, we’re just going to leave things where they are and return to commenting on him once matters become clearer.

Team: New York Islanders

Pre-season Hot Seat: Lane Lambert, coach

Current Status: Hot seat boiled over

Lowdown: The Islanders had huge expectations this season, and to say they’ve fallen short of them would be a massive understatement. They’re 2-6-2 in their past 10 games, and they cost Lambert his job earlier this month. Isles GM Lou Lamoriello moved quickly to fill the void left by Lambert when he hired Patrick Roy to replace him, but don’t fool yourself into thinking the hot seat has cooled on Long Island. Lambert paid the price for the team’s issues, but they haven’t gone away just because Roy has arrived. Roy is under about as much pressure to turn around the Isles’ season, and nothing less than a playoff berth and a victory or two once they get to the post-season will ease the pressure on everyone associated with the franchise.

Team: Pittsburgh Penguins  

Pre-season Hot Seat: Tristan Jarry, G

Current Status: Hot seat somewhat cooler

Lowdown: Amazingly, the Penguins haven’t struggled because of their defense and goaltending; rather, it’s their offense and depth up front that isn’t getting the job done. Jarry and backup Alex Nedeljkovic have delivered solid netminding, but with that said, they’ll need to be just as good, if not better to give the offense a decent chance of winning them some games. The Pens are a borderline playoff team thus far this year, but the pressure is on everyone in the organization to dial up their performance in the second half of the season. That includes Jarry.

Team: New Jersey Devils  

Pre-season Hot Seat: Vitek Vanecek, G

Current Status: Hot seat remains hot

Lowdown: The Devils were a sexy pick by many observers to do a lot of damage this season, but instead of them rising to the top of the Metro, we’ve seen them labor just to be a team near the two Eastern Conference wild card berths. And Vanecek has been unable to be a difference-maker, posting a terrible 3.24 goals-against average and .886 save percentage in 29 appearances. It’s no wonder many are expecting Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald to acquire goaltending help. Vanecek has another year on his contract after the current season, but it’s difficult to envision him playing out his contract in New Jersey. We expect Vanecek will be moved out in a deal by the trade deadline, and he’ll have to try and resurrect his NHL career somewhere else.

Team: Washington Capitals

Pre-season Hot Seat: Evgeny Kuznetsov, C 

Current Status: Hot seat still warm

Lowdown: Kuznetsov has been an unhappy camper for quite some time in Washington, and that’s reflected in his play: with only six goals and 17 points in 43 games – and with a whopping salary cap hit of $7.8 million – the Russian center is hardly an attractive option for teams interested in taking him off the Capitals’ hands. Kuznetsov has another season after this one under contract, and unless the Caps retain some portion of his deal, he may be stuck in the doghouse in D.C. – or he may be bought out of his contract and forced to move on to another organization. The Capitals’ problems only magnify Kuznetsov’s problems, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

Team: Columbus Blue Jackets

Pre-season Hot Seat: Jarmo Kekalainen, GM 

Current Status: Hot seat still incredibly hot

Lowdown: It’s been another season from hell for Columbus, and Kekalainen has yet to be held to account for the Blue Jackets’ woes. It’s true injuries have contributed to the franchise’s problems, but every NHL team has injuries, and few of them have been as brutal as the Jackets. Ownership may wait until the off-season to move on from Kekalainen, but bringing him back for another year doesn’t seem like a viable option for this organization. Kekalainen has had more than enough time to implement a winning strategy, and it just hasn’t happened. A new voice is necessary, and Kekalainen is just about out of time to hope for a miracle.