2023 NHL Metropolitan Division Predictions: Part 2 | Hockey Happy Hour

The New York Rangers are heading into the 2023/2024 season as one of the favorites to not only win the Metropolitan Division but to win the Eastern Conference. They had a very disappointing loss in round 1 to the New Jersey Devils in the NHL Playoffs last season. There were some changes in the franchise since the series loss. They fired head coach Gerard Gallant and hired Peter Laviolette in the summer. Some of the roster changes include the additions of Blake Wheeler, Nick Bonino and Erik Gustafsson. The Rangers also had a good draft, being able to select Gabe Perrault with the 23rd overall. Can this quick retool help the Rangers finally get back to the Stanley Cup Finals and win their first Cup since 1994? Now the team on the other side of the island, the New York Islanders, also had an underwhelming season. They finished their season 42-31-9 in the Metro Division before being booted out of the playoffs in round 1, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 in the series. After acquiring and signing Bo Horvat to a long-term deal at the NHL Trade Deadline, the Islanders really didn't have a lot of cap space to make any major outside-the-organization signings. They were able to re-up on big-time pending unrestricted free agents Pierre Engvall, Iyla Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov to nice contracts. There are still moves that need to be made to get the Isles back under the cap ceiling. Are these deals going to be good enough to make the Islanders a legit threat in the Metro Division? This next team is definitely going to be a wild card, no pun intended. The Washington Capitals are coming off one of their worst seasons in a long time. They finished 35-37-10 and placed sixth in the Metro. Many writers and media heads are starting to think this Washington team may be getting ready to rebuild. Now the Capitals entered this summer firing the now-Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette and replaced him with Spencer Carbery. Carbery, who was a coach in the Washington farm system before, is taking over after a short stint as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Similarly to the Islanders’ roster, the Capitals are really tight to the salary cap. Washington may be closer to a rebuild for that reason, specifically. The only moves that the Caps were able to make are signing free agent Max Pacioretty, who’s coming off a major Achilles injury, and signing winger Tom Wilson to a six-year extension through 2030-2031. The Capitals also had a great first two rounds of the NHL Entry Draft, selecting Ryan Leonard at pick eight and Andrew Cristall at pick 40. Even if this team is a bit older right now, the Capitals are setting to make the rebuild or retool quick and easy.