This is the last of a four-part series previewing the 2015-16 NHL season:
Metropolitan Division
Capsules may not include latest injury or roster updates.
New York Rangers
Almost as good as Tampa, but not quite, even with Derek Stepan and tenacious defenseman Ryan McDonagh. Keith Yandle’s acquisition at the deadline gives the Rangers perhaps the most formidable group of defensemen in the conference, a major reason why the Rangers own the Flyers right down to their birth certificates. Big news was Glen Sather stepping down as GM so Jeff Gorton could take over. Minor signing of Viktor Stalberg from Nashville and of course, the signing of troubled 33-year-old veteran center Jarret Stoll late in the summer. Wonder how Martin St. Louis’ retirement impacts in the dressing room from a leadership standpoint? Stoll has two Cups to make up for that but whether he’s the guy to assume such a role remains unclear. AHL standout Oscar Lindberg has arrived on Broadway.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Anyone see what Gary Roberts did in transforming Phil Kessel’s body this summer? It was impressive and Kessel senses new life after the disaster in Toronto. His offense — 30 goals or more a year — should greatly help Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Kessel moves well for a big guy. Much of the work GM Jim Rutherford did was fill things out after the major deal that saw him send prospects and picks to Toronto for Kessel. An underrated move was signing Matt Cullen to add depth given the elbow injury to Eric Fehr. A bold move was trading Brandon Sutter to Vancouver for center Nick Bonino and defenseman Adam Clendening. The Pens will miss Paul Martin and Christian Ehrhoff on the blue line which means Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot have to mature at a quicker rate. Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding in goal last season. The Pens kept second-round forward Daniel Sprong.
Washington Capitals
The big news in D.C. isn’t the Republicans perhaps regaining the White House soon, but the arrival of T.J. Oshie from St. Louis for Troy Brouwer and the free-agent acquisition of Justin Williams, a triple-crown Cup winner. For all their offensive firepower, the Caps never seem to get over that hump, though they came very close in recent years. Barry Trotz’ arrival last year made the Caps better defensively. You have to wonder what, if any lingering effects, the bitter arbitration between the club and versatile forward Marcus Johansson will have. He sought a one-year award of $4.75 million and was awarded one million less while his younger centerman, Evgeny Kuznetsov, re-signed for two years at $6 million. Odds favor Rocket Richard winner Alex Ovechkin potting 50 goals for a seventh time. The Caps committed long-term to goalie Braden Holtby (five years, $30.5 million). Nick Backstrom’s full recovery from hip surgery is pivotal.
New York Islanders
No more Nassau Coliseum. It’s Barclay's Center now in Brookyn for John Tavares and company. The acquisitions of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy were pivotal in the Isles' 22-point rise in the standings and for a while, they led the Metro pack. GM Garth Snow left the roster alone at a time when given the new building, fan base, and almost $9 million extra in cap space, he could have done something more to help the Isles who were pedestrian on the power play and in the bottom third on penalty kill. Goaltending remains suspect in terms of getting deep in the playoffs against better teams. It’s been 22 years since the club last went two playoff rounds. A handful of prospects went to camp and Ryan Pulock most notably was trying to make the cut. A lot of clubs would love to have hard-nosed Kyle Okposo on a second line.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Were it not for an unimaginable injury factor, the Blue Jackets would have been in the playoffs last season. They lost 508 man-games because of injuries — more than any other NHL club. There’s no reason to think that will happen again and with the addition of Brandon Saad and Greg Campbell to go along with a fine core group that includes Nick Foligno (73 points), Ryan Johansen (71) and Scott Hartnell (60), they should again finish ahead of the Flyers. John Davidson, the president of hockey operations in Columbus, has continued to transform this franchise. Saad and Campbell bring Stanley Cup experience, an ingredient the club needs to take that next step. Sergei Bobrovsky is indeed a goalie they can build and win with. Keeping defenseman Ryan Murray healthy is pivotal.
Philadelphia Flyers
For the second consecutive summer, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall was handcuffed by Paul Holmgren’s excessive spending of the past and could do very little in terms of significant upgrading with the roster. That Hextall was able to jettison Chris Pronger’s dead cap money into the desert in Arizona was amazing. What he could not do, however, was move Vinny Lecavalier’s $4.5 million cap hit. Waiving Andrew MacDonald saves only $950,000. Meanwhile, the Flyers have a traffic jam of highly-touted defensive prospects who can’t get onto the big-league roster until bodies disappear. This roster remains a work in progress, lacks five-on-five scoring, and is basically the same with the notable exception of D-man Evgeny Medvedev. Sam Gagner really disappointed in camp. The penalty kill remains suspect. Expect a rather trying year for rookie NHL coach Dave Hakstol who has far too many "project" players to mentor.
New Jersey Devils
The end of an era, a former dynasty, a legacy. Lou Lamoriello has left the building in Newark. No Lou after Marty Brodeur departed a year earlier. It’s Ray Shero’s team now with his long-time winning AHL coach from Wilkes-Barre, John Hynes, taking over for Peter DeBoer. Shero had an open wallet in Pittsburgh but things are very different in cash-starved New Jersey where the Devils projected payroll will be about $57 million or about $5 mill above the cap floor. The most notable move the club made was re-signing defensive stalwart Adam Larsson to a six-year, $25 million deal to keep him anchoring a changing defense that includes newcomer John Moore. Shero has a faster club and some talent in the system. The Devils lack for scoring again (28th last season) and don’t seem able to fix that problem any time soon.
Carolina Hurricanes
If there’s any reason for fans to get excited in Carolina it might be over a chance to see defenseman Noah Hanifan, who will be in the starting lineup right out of Boston College after being chosen fifth overall in last summer’s draft. Still feeling the pain of past contracts, the 'Canes bought out the final three years of Alexander Semin’s deal. This is about the Staal Brothers and Jeff Skinner now and all of them need better seasons just to keep the franchise afloat in a tough division. Carolina, which had a brutal October start last fall (0-6-2), plays eight of its first 11 games on the road. If the 'Canes are going to have a chance in the Metro, coach Bill Peters can’t afford a poor start. Just look at the Flyers the past two years. Carolina didn’t have any blockbuster free-agent signings but did acquire backup goalie Eddie Lack at the draft.