The NHL offseason is well underway and the league’s landscape is beginning to take form ahead of the 2022-23 season. Many big-name free agents have found new homes, or stayed put. The NHL even had its very own NBA-style blockbuster trade go down this past weekend, when the Flames secured a promising haul from the Panthers in exchange for Matthew Tkachuk.
The Metropolitan Division — and the Eastern Conference for that matter — is still loaded with generational talent and teams with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations. The Post’s Mollie Walker takes a look at the changes in the Metro and what it means for the Rangers.
Carolina Hurricanes
After their second-round exit in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs thanks to the Rangers, the Hurricanes were able to replace most of what they lost this offseason. The Canes somewhat upgraded from defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who was traded to the Flyers for draft picks, with veteran blueliner Brent Burns. Center Vincent Trocheck is now a Ranger and winger Nino Niederreiter now plays for the Predators, but Carolina picked up established scorer Max Pacioretty — and depth defenseman Dylan Coghlan — in a trade with the Golden Knights for future considerations. The Canes also brought in forward Ondrej Kase on a one-year deal.
How it pertains to the Rangers: Only six points and two wins separated the Rangers from the Hurricanes last season, when the two clubs battled it out for first and second place in the Metro. When they met in the playoffs, star goalie Igor Shesterkin and the rest of the Rangers were able to limit Carolina to just one or two goals in six of the seven games, which ultimately proved to be the difference. It’s possible that these two teams will wrestle for the top of the division once again, but if Trocheck proves to be an upgrade over Ryan Strome or Andrew Copp and a couple young players have breakout seasons, the Rangers could snag the No. 1 spot.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Big 3 of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang is back, so the Penguins are essentially running it back after a fourth-straight first-round departure (including their qualifying round loss during the 2020 bubble playoffs). General manager Ron Hextall was able to keep Letang and Malkin and still sign wingers Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, but it’s not the top six that needed to be addressed. The Penguins have an extremely front-loaded lineup and if players like Jeff Carter and Teddy Bleuger don’t have bounce-back seasons, then it’s difficult to see how the club has improved.
How it pertains to the Rangers: The Rangers finished seven points ahead of the Penguins in the division standings, with six more wins. But Pittsburgh nearly knocked the Rangers out in the first round before they rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to advance, partially due to Crosby missing a game and a half after taking a hit from Jacob Trouba. With so few changes, the Penguins are holding out hope that this is the core that can get the club back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their 2017 championship — but their results haven’t changed in recent years.
Washington Capitals
In landing one of the top free agent goalies in Darcy Kuemper, who backstopped the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup last season, the Capitals may finally have security at the goalie position for the first time since Braden Holtby. But the uncertainty surrounding Nicklas Backstrom (hip surgery), Tom Wilson (knee surgery) and Carl Hagelin (eye injury) makes it hard to gauge where Washington is heading into next season. They do have reinforcements…
Read More: A look inside what Rangers have to face in revamped Metro division