2025-26 Metropolitan Rankings

One constant of the NHL over the last several years is that the Eastern Conference runs through the Atlantic Division.

The Atlantic has sent a team to the Stanley Cup Final every year since 2018, even having two representatives in the 2021 season.

Just for some perspective, the last time the Metropolitan Division sent a team to the Final, LeBron James was still a Cleveland Cavalier. Cale Makar had not made his NHL debut yet. Taylor Hall was the Hart trophy winner. Maybe strangest of all, John Tavares was in his Final days as a New York Islander.

So, will this year be different? Time will tell, but the top of the division can sure make their cases.

1. Carolina Hurricanes

We’re past the point where the regular season doesn’t matter for the Hurricanes. We know they will be very good. The question since 2019 has been whether or not they can get it done in the playoffs. Last year could be seen as a step, finally winning a conference final game after three straight sweeps. However, anyone watching that series with the Florida Panthers will tell you that it was over before it started. This year will be about seeing if Pyotr Kochetkov can take that next step and getting Nikolaj Ehlers acclimated to that strong top-six. Hopefully, they get some new jerseys soon, too. Rod Brind’Amour is a good coach, but what will him take to get the team through to the Final?

2. New Jersey Devils

Speaking of New Jersey, the Devils are back in the thick of things. With the Jacob Markstrom trade last year, a healthy Devils roster has no excuses not to win. The problem is that they can’t seem to do that. Jack Hughes, for all his talent, has had several shoulder issues that even kept him out of the playoffs last year. Much like the Hurricanes, one aspect will make or break the Devils’ season.

3. Washington Capitals

The last dance. Alex Ovechkin’s last year will be one where the Capitals have a chance to do something special. Washington rode an A+ offseason last year to shock everyone and finish first in the Eastern Conference. The Pierre-Luc Dubois for Darcy Kuemper trade was a win-win for them and the Kings, and the Jacob Chychrun and Logan Thompson contracts both look like they should age pretty well. The Metro seems like a three-horse race once again this year, and the Capitals are on the biggest time crunch.

4. New York Rangers

I think we’re all trying to figure out what the hell happened to the Rangers last year. Pretty everything was a bust last year, not limited to Mika Zibanejad, the goaltending, Peter Laviolette and Alexis Lafreniere. Arguably the team’s worst moment was when they seemingly blamed Kaapo Kakko for their struggles, then traded him to Seattle for Will Borgen after he complained to the media. Despite all that, it feels safe to assume that things can’t be worse than they were last year. They got rid of some pieces, namely Chris Kreider. They got the best coach available in Mike Sullivan. Their one bright spot last year, Will Cuylle, got extended and looks to be a solid middle-six scoring winger for years to come. Two players need to step up for the Rangers in particular- Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin. Fox has the best partner he’s ever had with Vladislav Gavrikov signing in the offseason. As for Shesterkin, he’s got to get back to his Vezina-winning form. He got the big bucks last season, now he needs to show that he was worth it.

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

Arguably no team had less pressure than the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, and yet they came within one win of the playoffs. It can’t be understated the effect good management and coaching can have on a young roster. Dean Evason is the best coach the team has had since John Tortorella, and gave the team stability that they desperately needed. Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko took huge leaps and Dmitri Voronkov had true first-line production. However, the biggest key for the Jackets was Zach Werenski finally leaping to superstardom, putting up a season that could’ve easily won the Norris trophy some years. Now comes the difficult part, as the team has expectations to stay in the fight and possibly earn a playoff berth. If that’ll happen, they need the goaltending to step up. Elvis Merzlinkins was better last year, but still has more to give at his cap hit. Jet Greaves looked good in sheltered minutes down the stretch. Can he handle a bigger workload? If not, can the newly acquired Ivan Fedotov step up? One thing is for sure- it’s nice to see expectations in Columbus again.

6. New York Islanders

The Islanders went from no-man’s land to promising with one ping pong ball. Matthew Schaefer is a game-changer for them, and will be the biggest storyline for the team this season. That’s not to say they will be a threat this season, because they won’t be. Patrick Roy can’t carry a mediocre roster to greatness, and Ilya Sorokin is another goalie who needs to turn back the clock and play like his contract suggests he should. Mathieu Darche has his work cut out for him, but the pieces are getting there.

7. Philadelphia Flyers

Thank God for Matvei Michkov. Beyond him and new coach Rick Tocchet, things still don’t look good for the Flyers. There are several veterans the team hasn’t been able to move off of, and the goaltending remains in bad shape. No, they are not signing Carter Hart. The most interesting part of this team is Trevor Zegras, freed from Anaheim. No doubt highly skilled, this is Zegras’ chance to show he can work well with skilled wingers that the Ducks couldn’t get him connected with. If he can’t work with Michkov, yikes.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Goal one- don’t trade Sidney Crosby. Goal two- win the Draft Lottery and get Gavin McKenna. There is no goal three.