Where The Islanders Sit After Busy Free Agency For Metro Rivals

By re-signing defenseman Mike Reilly and inking Anthony Duclair to a four-year deal, the New York Islanders bolstered their blue line and top-six forward group.

With only $900,000 in cap space left, the Islanders are unlikely to make another major signing, barring a blockbuster trade to clear space.

Meanwhile, the Islanders’ rivals in the Metropolitan Division have been loading up their rosters.

Here’s a look at each team’s additions and how they stack up:

Without sufficient cap space, the Hurricanes were forced to let go of multiple free agents.

Defensemen Brady Skjei (Nashville) and Brett Pesce (New Jersey) and forwards Stefan Noesen (New Jersey), Jake Guentzel (Tampa) and Teuvo Teravainen (Chicago) all departed Raleigh.

New general manager Eric Tulsky signed cheaper options in defenseman Sean Walker and forwards William Carrier, Eric Robinson, and Tyson Jost. 

The Hurricanes re-signed forwards Jordan Martinook and Ryan Suzuki, as well as defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Ty Smith.

At best, the Hurricanes made lateral moves. At worst, they downgraded up front and on defense.

The Hurricanes have become New York’s perennial playoff enemy, so a weaker Carolina should bode well for the Islanders.

The Islanders’ crosstown rivals made one significant move during free agency: Jacob Trouba and his $9 million cap hit are causing problems.

Via trade, the Rangers acquired forward Reilly Smith from Pittsburgh.

New York signed center Sam Carrick but lost defenseman Erik Gustafsson and forwards Jack Roslovic and Alex Wennberg due to limited cap space. Forward Kaapo Kakko was re-signed.

New York might have subtracted more than added this offseason—similar to Carolina. 

However, the Rangers will still be a strong team next season with Igor Shesterkin still between the pipes, but the Rangers certainly have disappointed with what they’ve done the offseason so far.

The Devils started their offseason with multiple trades.

New Jersey acquired defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, forward Paul Cotter, and goaltender Jacob Markstrom—they did, however, lose forward Alexander Holtz, defenseman Kevin Bahl, and goaltender Akira Schmid in the process.

During free agency, the Devils signed defenseman Brett Pesce and forwards Stefan Noesen and Tomas Tatar.

New Jersey had a successful offseason through improvements on defense and in net. After a disappointing season, they will almost certainly be competing with the Islanders for a playoff spot.

The Capitals were the most active of any Metro team, adding the likes of defensemen Matt Roy and Jakob Chychrun. Washington acquired goaltender Logan Thompson and forwards Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois via trade and signed depth forwards Brandon Duhaime and Taylor Raddysh.

The team lost goaltender Darcy Kuemper, defenseman Nick Jensen, and forwards Beck Malenstyn, Max Pacioretty, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel.

The Capitals upgraded across their roster and should be a greater threat next season. The extent to which they improved, however, is up for debate.

Washington is betting on bounce-back seasons from Dubois and Mangiapane. Nevertheless, an improved Capitals team will make obtaining a playoff spot harder for the Islanders.

Under general manager Kyle Dubas, the Penguins have revamped their roster depth.

They traded Reilly Smith to the Rangers and watched defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph join the St. Louis Blues. Pittsburgh then acquired center Kevin Hayes from St. Louis, which was looking to dump his salary.

The team also signed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, forward Blake Lizotte, and former Islanders Anthony Beauvillier and Sebastian Aho.

The Penguins improved their bottom-six and defensive depth—there’s no doubt about that. It will be another year for an aging core, though. Pittsburgh will be vying for a playoff spot and maybe a bit more, but a vast improvement from this season seems unlikely.

The Flyers may have been the least active team in the Metro. 

The team bought out forward Cam Atkinson before re-signing defenseman Erik Johnson and forward Garnet Hathaway. 

Philadelphia also signed star prospect Matvei Michkov to an entry-level deal, the biggest move they could have made this summer.

It’s hard to imagine the Flyers will be much better than they were last season when they outperformed expectations by challenging for a playoff spot. 

Under head coach John Tortorella, the Flyers will likely be competitive but likely aren’t good enough to make the playoffs next season–even though that’s what we said last year.

Columbus signed center Sean Monahan to a five-year deal in hopes a reunion with Johnny Gaudreau could elevate the two. Monahan played with Gaudreau in Calgary before both forwards moved to other teams.

With the exception of this move, though, the Blue Jackets stayed quiet through free agency.

The position of the Blue Jackets in the standings shouldn’t change much.

Monahan will boost a depleted roster, but it likely won’t be enough to make Columbus a playoff threat.

Not to mention, the organization still has to find a head coach. 

The Islanders improved their roster over two days, adding the speedy forward that they needed while bringing back their best transitioning defenseman. 

After finishing third in the division last season behind the Rangers and the Hurricanes, they are likely a wild-card team for 2024-25.

Getting another forward could catapult the Islanders into a top-three spot, but their cap situation ($900,000) makes adding difficult. 

The Devils should be much more consistent and have the potential to finish in the top three in the Metro. 

The Rangers didn't get better—if anything, they got worse—but when Shesterkin is the best goaltender in the division, the NHL should allow them to have regular-season success. 

The Capitals were busy but their success is going to hang on Alex Ovechkin. A slow start to his season, like we saw this past season, could have the team behind the eight ball rather early, but there's potential for them to be a wild-card team, likely in the second spot. 

The Penguins are a confusing bunch, continuing to add older depth to an aging core. The will likely be on the outside looking in.

The Flyers, who were a great story last season, are likely to take steps back as they work on developing their prospects. 

The Blue Jackets don't seem like a competitive enough team, an organization trying to do a rebuild right, especially with former Hurricanes general manager Don Waddel now at the helm.