How Does Pittsburgh Stack Up Against Rest Of Metropolitan Division?

After making the playoffs for the first time in four years last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins and GM/POHO Kyle Dubas were, by all accounts, expected to have a very busy summer.

And, well, it has been a relatively busy summer. Dubas made several signings at the dawn of free agency on Jul. 1 and a few trades as well. Wherever he subtracted from last season, he was generally able to fill those spots with equal or higher-upside talent.

But, even if Dubas and the Penguins haven't really done anything to make their roster worse in comparison to last season, have they done enough in comparison to their direct competition?

That question is a bit more complicated to answer. While Pittsburgh may have gotten better on the margins of the roster, other teams within the Metropolitan Division did, too - and some more so than others. 

On paper, how do the Penguins stack up against their division opponents for the 2026-27 season?

Additions: None

Subtractions: G Frederik Andersen, D Mike Reilly, D Charles Alexis Legault

The Hurricanes may not have added, but they were the definitive Stanley Cup champions for a reason. Their roster was nearly unbeatable as-is, and despite their run of playing winning hockey and being the class of the division, they've also maintained a top prospect pool.

It will be interesting to see how they navigate the loss of Andersen with Brandon Bussi and Pyotr Kochetkov. But, regardless, this was a good, division-winning team last season, and they probably will be again in 2026-27. 

Additions: RW Jordan Kyrou, RW Alex Tuch, C Boone Jenner, D Vincent Desharnais, D Justin Holl, D Timothy Liljegren

Subtractions: C Connor McMichael, C David Kampf, C Hendrix Lapierre, RW Brandon Duhaime, D Declan Chisholm, D Trevor van Riemsdyk

Of all the teams in the division, the Capitals are the team the Penguins should be most worried about. 

They added veteran goal-scorers in Tuch and Kyrou. They added center depth and two-way awareness in Jenner. They added some blue line depth in Desharnais, Holl, and Liljegren. Yes, the loss of McMichael is going to be felt, but they have effectively replaced his production with the players they were able to get their hands on. 

There's little doubt that Washington is easily the Metro's second-best team on paper. They replaced what they lost, and then some. 

Additions: RW Andrei Kuzmenko, LW Nick Robertson, LW Hendrix Lapierre, D Trevor van Riemsdyk, LW David Gustafsson, D Kaedan Korczak, D Declan Carlile

Subtractions: G Stuart Skinner, RW Anthony Mantha, C Noel Acciari, RW Kevin Hayes, D Ryan Shea, D Parker Wotherspoon, D Connor Clifton, D Jack St.Ivany

Even if the Penguins didn't go for a big splash this offseason, they still made some improvements to the margins of their roster that should help them compete.

Kuzmenko is, essentially, a Mantha replacement, while Robertson should bolster Pittsburgh's middle-six. Lapierre is a solid depth option at center, and all three defensemen should bring some stability to the blue line - especially van Riemsdyk, a veteran who can play both sides. And Carlile profiles similarly to Wotherspoon.

The other key for Pittsburgh is rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov, who will likely be Arturs Silovs's tandem partner. The inherent risk Pittsburgh is taking this season is betting on two young goaltenders - as well as betting on older players to perform again - but if Murashov ends up delivering on who he appears to be, they should be able to build on what they did last season. And they'll have other internal improvement in the form of young players pushing, too. 

Additions: G Joseph Woll, C Noel Acciari, D Simon Benoit 

Subtractions: G Samuel Ersson, RW Garnet Hathaway, D Emil Andrae, D Noah Juulsen 

Really, the movement from the Flyers this offseason was mostly lateral. Woll, however, is an upgrade on Ersson, and he should help bring some much-needed stability to the goaltending position for the Flyers. 

But, at the end of the day, they're banking on most of their improvement being internal. They are hoping for breakouts from players like Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Alex Bump, and Oliver Bonk. And, given the level of Martone's talent in particular, that might not be the worst bet.

Philadelphia isn't quite in the position to go big in the market, but they're getting there step-by-step. Like Pittsburgh, they've improved margins enough that it might make a difference.

Additions: G David Rittich, LW Anthony Mantha, RW Evan Rodrigues, LW Jesper Boqvist

Subtractions: D Simon Nemec, G Jacob Markstrom, LW Maxim Tsyplakov, D Declan Chisholm, LW Angus Crookshank

With a new GM in Sunny Mehta, it will be interesting to see what happens next for the Devils. They signed Mantha in hopes that he can repeat last season's 30-goal performance. Rodrigues and Boqvist should help bolster their forward depth.

But it's hard to say what kind of effect the loss of Markstrom and Nemec will have. Their goaltending situation, quite frankly, is a mess. They're relying on an inexperienced Nico Daws and two journeyman veterans in Jake Allen and Rittich, and that doesn't seem like a recipe for success. 

If the Devils were smart, they'd be in on Connor Hellebuyck because addressing their goaltending in a big way will go a long way in elevating them to playoff contender again. They have a solid foundation within their forward group, so they're not that far off. 

Additions: RW Pavel Dorofeyev, G Joonas Korpisalo, D Marcus Pettersson, D Sean Durzi, RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, C Joe Veleno

Subtractions: C Vincent Trocheck, D Will Borgen, G Jonathan Quick, LW Conor Sheary

On the surface, it seems like the Rangers had a big offseason. Dorofeyev is, obviously, the grand addition, and Bjorkstrand should help bolster scoring, too. Pettersson and Durzi will help add depth to the blue line, too.

But Trocheck is a big loss, no matter how you slice it. Even with the additions of Dorofeyev and Bjorkstrand, their center depth is still a glaring issue. Also, the core players of their roster are in their 30s and showed signs of decline last season, particularly Mika Zibenejad. 

All in all, the Rangers may have gotten better. But with the lack of center depth and an aging roster, they are still going to have to rely pretty heavily on Igor Shesterkin, and they have to hope that several players have bounceback campaigns. Their moves didn't really do much to move the needle with regards to the rest of the Metro.  

Additions: LW Valeri Nichushkin, G Pheonix Copley, LW Ryan Lomberg

Departures: C Boone Jenner, LW Mason Marchment, C Brendan Gaunce, LW Zach Aston-Reese, D Egor Zamula

Will Nichushkin help their offense? Maybe. But the losses of Jenner and Marchment might be too big to overcome for Columbus, who was actually making a legitimate push for the playoffs until the final few weeks of the season, when the wheels fell off. 

This is still a young team that is banking on the potential of its young players in Adam Fantilli, Kent Johnson, Denton Mateychuk, and Jet Greaves, who had a spectacular campaign last season. They have solid pieces in Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, and Charlie Coyle, too, as well as reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski. 

But it's hard to say anything they've done will help get them over the hump. Greaves could be good enough to help them sniff the playoffs, but without adding anything else to the roster and subtracting two key pieces - especially Jenner - they're not in a position to improve and may fall off a bit if their young talent doesn't take a substantial step forward.  

Additions: LW Matias Maccelli, RW Mitchell Chaffee, G Vitek Vanecek

Subtractions: LW Anders Lee, RW Maxim Shabanov, G David Rittich, C Marc Gatcomb, D Carson Soucy, D Adam Boqvist

Even if adding Maccelli was a nice move for the Isles, there's no way around losing their captain in Lee. Chaffee doesn't move the needle, and neither does Vanecek.

Sure, there is some promise in the years to come for the Islanders, as young star defenseman and reigning Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer should only continue to improve and others like Kashawn Aitcheson and Victor Eklund should be arriving soon. But, in the now, they don't appear as if they're going for it, and they project to fall in the standings as a result. 

So, overall, there is a net loss because of Lee. They didn't get better, but they did get worse, and it's going to get a bit worse before things start to get better again. 

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