Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason – Metro Division Early Offseason Power Rankings

It seems that the Metro is the most improved division in the NHL, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and their rivals continue to load up with top-tier talent.

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While a few of the teams within the Metropolitan division remain stagnant, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals are loading up with high-profile, impact wingers. As far as the teams that aren’t very active, a few of them feel as if they’re in good shape for next season. And, considering their success last year, they may be right.

It’s obviously extremely early in the summer. But we’ve now concluded day two of free agency and most of the true impact players available have found homes. As expected from an offseason that saw a weaker than usual free agent class, trades were occurring throughout the league and we witnessed a ton of names change logos.

I enjoy doing an early power ranking, and then we’ll revisit closer to the start of the regular season to see what has changed. There will be more acquisitions, roster movements, and personnel changes. But, until then, let’s see where these eight teams sit at this point.

Apr 9, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; New Jersey Devils right wing

(18) is congratulated by teammates as he scores a goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

8. New Jersey Devils

The Devils finished last season with a record of 32-36-14 and fell to seventh in the Metro. It was a dismal season for the normally defensive juggernaut that is still trying to recover from losing Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk.

In an offseason that has seen so many of their division counterparts re-tooling rosters, the Devils’ changes were made mainly in the front office and behind the bench. They hired former Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero and former Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Head Coach John Hynes to begin their rebuild.

The Devils are a team with a ton of cap room, but very little when it comes to impact pieces on their roster. In my opinion, despite not finishing dead last this past season, they have what’s quite possibly the worst roster situation in the league. The addition of Kyle Palmieri was a nice start, but not nearly enough.

Ray Shero has stated that he’s comfortable going with mainly youth on this team. And, while that’s uncharacteristic for him, he’s likely not exaggerating considering that they’ve been very quiet through the first couple days of free agency.

I don’t see the Devils finishing any higher than eighth in the division in 2015-16.

Apr 11, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Carolina Hurricanes defensemen

(65) skates with puck against the Detroit Red Wings at PNC Arena. The Red Wings defeated the Hurricanes 2-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

7. Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes closed out 2014-15 with a record of 30-41-11, which was good for last in the Metropolitan. They’ve suffered major injuries to their top talent such as Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner, and so far their plan of building around Jordan and Eric Staal isn’t working out in their favor.

The Canes have been quietly active so far this summer, as they’ve acquired defenseman James Wisniewski from the Anaheim Ducks and goaltender Eddie Lack from the Vancouver Canucks. In a move that was far from under-the-radar, they also bought out Alexander Semin after his horrendous showing since signing a five-year deal worth $7 million annually.

While the Hurricanes are a few steps ahead of the Devils, there are far too many questions with this squad to bump them up higher on this list. They have some talent in the organization, but will they all stay? Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner have been mentioned in the rumor mills this summer as possible trade possibilities, and it remains to be seen if Jordan Staal can begin producing like a true number two center.

Canes fans are likely in for another long season in 2015-16.

Apr 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing

(24) and defenseman

(15) react to a goal by Ottawa Senators right wing

(not pictured) during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports

6. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers still have Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds so I can’t imagine them losing the number 6 spot in the Metro to either the Devils or Hurricanes, but I also can’t seem them moving up these ranks.

I was pretty clear about my feelings on what the Flyers have done so far this offseason on Twitter yesterday.

As of right now, the Flyers are looking at a full roster with approximately $4.5 million in cap space available. There have been whispers of them being involved in trade talks for names like T.J. Oshie and Patrick Sharp, but Oshie was acquired by the Washington Capitals and there hasn’t been anything concrete on a deal for Sharp.

They did add Sam Gagne, a center that fell out of favor in Arizona and was practically given to them in exchange for Chris Pronger‘s contract. Also, they signed 35-year old goaltender Jason LaBarbera. Other than that… Silence.

The Flyers finished last season with a record of 33-31-18, which placed them sixth in the Metro and outside of the playoff race. I can’t imagine they improve that record by much in 2015-16. Of course, a lot can change between now and October.

May 29, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers players shake hands after game seven of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

4. New York Rangers

For any Islander fan that reads this and sees the Isles listed at five, I’m sure they’ll be even more upset when they see the Rangers ranked above them. However, it’s hard to count them out just yet.

The Rangers were the class of the Metropolitan division last season. They finished with a record of 53-22-7, and won the President’s trophy for best record in the NHL. Not only did they tie the Isles for the most goals in the division, they also trumped everyone for the least goals-against with 192. They were a league-leading plus-60 in goal differential.

Part of that was obviously due to Henrik Lundqvist‘s outstanding play, and Cam Talbot‘s ability to fill in and play at an elite level when called upon. But, they simply had a ton of depth and rolled four solid lines every night.

Like most teams in their situation, they found themselves with cap issues and aging players such as Martin St. Louis at season’s end. They clearly aren’t in a rebuild, but they do have a lot of re-tooling to do.

The Rangers acquired Emerson Etem from the Anaheim Ducks, but forfeited Carl Hagelin in the process. They also signed Brian Gibbons, former Pittsburgh Penguins stand-in and Columbus Blue Jackets gamble. Let’s face it, it isn’t a good sign when you’re signing Brian Gibbons this early in the offseason.

I still look for the Rangers to be tough to beat next season. They still have enough talent to finish in the top-four of the division and likely squeak into the playoffs. However, they won’t be anywhere near the juggernaut that they were in 2014-15.

May 10, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals left wing

(8) kneels on the ice during a stoppage in play against the New York Rangers in the second period in game six of the second round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Rangers won 4-3, and tied the series 3-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

3. Washington Capitals

The Capitals are having an outstanding offseason so far, and to be honest, my top three could change by the day as these teams remain very active. With the T.J. Oshie acquisition and signing UFA Justin Williams, AKA Mr. Game Seven to a very cap-friendly contract, the Caps will be the real deal this season.

They’ve lost a few really important pieces from last seasons squad in Mike Green, Joel Ward, and Eric Fehr. While Fehr and Ward could circle back and re-sign, Green has already moved on to the Detroit Red Wings. And, defense is my biggest concern with this team.

While they still have some work to do in order to fill out their bottom-six, the Caps’ defensive corps, which would possibly have former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Taylor Chorney in the top-six, is a bit frightening for Washington fans. Brooks Orpik is aging and won’t be able to continue his style of play at a high level for very long. I’m not saying the Caps should have kept Green, but they should surely consider either Christian Ehrhoff or Cody Franson with their approximate $15.5 million in cap space.

As a Pens fan, I can’t wait to watch the all-star games that we’ll witness when facing the Caps. And, provided they make more smart moves throughout the rest of this summer, look out for Washington next season.

Apr 20, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The Pittsburgh Penguins celebrate a goal by right wing

(hidden) as New York Rangers right wing

(19) reacts during the third period in game three of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Rangers won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

2. Pittsburgh Penguins

I made it clear in multiple articles leading up to Wednesday’s events, I didn’t think there was any realistic chance that we’d see Phil Kessel wearing black and gold next season. But, Jim Rutherford proved all of us wrong and pulled off a deal for the ages.

However, the very reason that made the Kessel acquisition so special is exactly where I have my biggest doubts for the Pens, and that’s their defense. In completing that trade, Rutherford was able to keep Derrick Pouliot and Olli Maatta with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That’s hard to imagine, but exactly why he held out for so long before pulling the trigger.

The issue, though, is that the Pens’ defensive corps is now very young and unproven. Combined with the injury issues we’ve seen from Kris Letang and Maatta, as well as having a $3.3 million unusable asset like Rob Scuderi, it’s a concerning group. I’ve been a supporter of a youth movement on the blue line, and I’ll stand by that. This collection of defensemen has very high upside if it all works out as planned. If it doesn’t, though, the Pens may find themselves in a tough situation.

It’s hard to imagine any team in the league being able to contain the Pens’ dynamic offense. They’re graced with names like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, David Perron, and now Phil Kessel. The addition of Sergei Plotnikov from Russia could prove to make them an even bigger threat.

As I said in the last slide, I can see the Pens and Caps swapping their ranks continuously. Both will be very dangerous this season and have questions on the blue line.

Apr 8, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goalie

(72) against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nationwide Arena. The Jackets won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

1. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets shocked the hockey world when they acquired Brandon Saad from the Blackhawks in a deal that seemed to come out of left field. The return for Saad was fairly large, but Columbus has a boat load of young depth within the organization.

This seems to be a trend for the top three teams, and proves why they are so interchangeable, but Columbus has a very suspect defensive corps as well. The addition of Saad has made the Jackets one of the deeper teams in the league from a forwards perspective, and the good news is that they still have some cap room to sign a solid blue-liner.

Saad hasn’t been inked to his deal just yet, and is still technically susceptible to an offer sheet. While Columbus said that they’ll definitely match any offer sent, that could put them in a rough spot under the cap if someone raises the price on them. I assume a deal will get done within the next few days, but if someone would happen to swoop in and steal Saad these rankings would change quickly.

With names like Ryan Johansen, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, and Cam Atkinson, it’s easy to see why this team will be tough to match up against. They’ll be rolling four solid lines that contain youth and skill.

Next: Will the Jim Rutherford Haters Please Stand Up?

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• Welcome To The Burgh: Lars Eller
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• Farewell Carl Hagelin
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• Ryan Graves Solid Signing For The Pittsburgh Penguins