How New Jersey Devils Stack Up In Unpredictable Metropolitan Division

The New Jersey Devils come into the 2019-20 season with reasonably high expectations for the first time in years. The new-look Devils will feature a team with an abundance of talent offensively, an improved defense headlined by the acquisition of P.K. Subban and by all indications a formidable goaltending duo in Cory Schneider and MacKenzie Blackwood.

While all of those moves would cause excitement for just about any fan base,the team plays in one of the most competitive divisions in the NHL. The Metropolitan Division features two of the last three Stanley Cup winners in the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, last season’s surprise playoff contenders in the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Islanders and non playoff team’s that are on the rise in the Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers.

While the Devils have improved, making it to the playoffs will be no small task. Let’s take a deeper dive in how the Devils stack up against all of these teams, many of whom have gotten better this off season.

The Washington Capitals will likely win the Metropolitan Division. They are easily the deepest and most talented team in the division. With last year’s first round exit, they have a lot to prove. They know what it takes to win, and this year will be no different.

The Penguins feature two of the premier centers in the league in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. This fact alone puts them in contender category every season. This is another team that knows how to win and has a plethora of complimentary wingers for their star centers.

The true wild card is the acquisition of Alex Galchenyuk. Most hockey fans know that he is a talented; but one-dimensional play and inconsistencies has impacted his game. The Penguins have seen many players succeed as Crosby or Malkin’s wing, and Galchenyuk should be no different with his offensive skill set.

The defense could be a glaring weakness. Goaltending remains a question mark as Matt Murray either is really good or really bad. As their core inevitably gets older in addition to a thin prospect pool, the team may be on the decline sooner rather than later. However,this is not the year with Crosby and Malkin running the show.

Now, this is when it really starts to get interesting. Teams like the Devils, Hurricanes, Flyers and Islanders will all be vying for the Metro’s third guaranteed playoff spot. All come into the season with expectations for the upcoming season, but also with plenty of question marks. The Blue Jackets and Rangers simply aren’t in the discussion for a top-three seed yet.

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The Blue Jackets went all in last season and were ousted in the second round of the playoffs. One must admire their efforts to go for it all. However, the gamble did not pay off after losing Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene and Artemi Panarin to unrestricted free agency. There is talent on the team, but losing all three is too big of a hole to climb out of. As Devils fans, we know a whole lot about losing star players for nothing.

The Rangers are in the midst of a rebuild just as the Devils are. They made some bold off season moves in acquiring Panarin as a free agent, Jacob Trouba through a trade (rather heist) and drafted arguably the NHL’s most ready prospect in Kappo Kakko. Those moves alone undeniably make them a better team today and future; but a shaky defense, lack of depth at center and the possible trade of Chris Kreider put them on the outside looking in this season.

The Islanders are a tricky team to predict. They had a surprising playoff run, but they literally did next to nothing to make their team better for this upcoming campaign. For better or worse, they swapped goaltenders. Departing is fan favorite Robin Lehner and in comes Semyon Varlamov who is older and as his recent play has indicated, may be on the decline. That was the prototypical post lockout Lou Lamoriello move, one that he may regret sooner rather than later. They are well coached by Barry Trotz, which always puts them in the playoff conversation. The Islanders are betting on themselves this season with the lack of off season moves, I just think that they fall short.

The Flyers are a lot like the Devils in many ways. They will put the puck in the net, but can they keep the puck out of it? The Flyers acquired both Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun to help sure up the defense. It took a 2nd and 3rd-round pick to acquire Braun’s services. To put it into context, the Devils acquired P.K. Subban for two 2nd-round picks and a mid-tier prospect. Albeit two different situations, the Devils utilized their assets to acquire the better defenseman.

The true difference maker will be Flyers’ goaltender Carter Hart as he is hoping to piggyback off a productive rookie season. If Hart has any kind of sophomore slump, then it could spell trouble for the Flyers. Brian Elliot doesn’t exactly spew out confidence if he has to be anything more than a complimentary goalie at this stage of his career. Something worth noting in this heated Devils-Flyers rivalry is the MacKenzie Blackwood-Hart storyline. Both were second round picks and appear to be their franchises’s goaltenders of the future. I like the talent that the Flyers have in their pipeline, I just think this is a year too early for them to take the next step.

We conclude the Metro Division with a ‘bunch of jerks.’ The jerk store called, and they gave us the Carolina Hurricanes. The ‘Canes won’t sneak up on anyone this season. As if they weren’t already stacked defensively, they added unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner for good measure. They have a good, young offensive nucleus headlined by Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. If they are any concerns to this club, it is their goaltending. Petr Mrazek has shown flashes of solid play, albeit inconsistently. They will also miss their captain, ‘Mr. Game 7’ Justin Williams as he will be spending his time away from the rink. He is not officially retired as of this writing, so he could come back if he is willing. All of that said, I feel as if they will be a top three team in the division.

The Devils are not the only team in the Metropolitan Division that has high expectations. How the Devils fare in their own division will determine how successful of a team they will be. I believe the top three teams in terms of talent are Washington, Pittsburgh and Carolina. The Devils could emerge as the fourth best team in the division, and a playoff push that mirrored the Hurricanes run of last season would be the best case scenario. One thing is certain, the Metropolitan Division will be as wild as they come.