To count down the days until the start of Penguins training camp on Sept. 22, our Penguins beat reporter Matt Vensel will analyze a different aspect of the team each weekday. Today, we take a look at the Metropolitan Division landscape.
The last time the Penguins failed to make the NHL playoffs, Sidney Crosby was just an 18-year-old rookie, George W. Bush was our president, Twitter was founded and the gates of hell briefly opened to give us the No. 1 hit song, “Bad Day.”
Yeah, 2006 feels like forever ago. So this run of 16 straight postseason appearances, presently the longest in North American pro sports, is pretty remarkable.
It is also something that shouldn’t be taken for granted, not with Crosby and other core stars in their mid-30s and the Penguins playing in a stacked Eastern Conference, which could result in only three Metro teams making the playoffs.
To give you a better idea of what the Penguins are up against, we have slotted the Metropolitan division’s eight teams into four different tiers, from playoff locks to one Penguins rival that could already be out of the mix by Christmas.
Note that these teams are listed in alphabetical order within each tier.
TIER ONE: PLAYOFF LOCKS. Barring awful injury luck, these teams will make the playoffs and be a threat to go on a Stanley Cup run after they get there.
Carolina Hurricanes. After a fairly busy offseason, the reigning Metro champions are well positioned to compete for the division title again in 2022-23.
The Hurricanes lost Pittsburgh product Vincent Trocheck and Nino Niederreiter in free agency and traded away Tony DeAngelo. But they more than made up for it by adding a few veterans, most notably former Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns and sniper Max Pacioretty. (The latter will be out until the second half.)
Setting those transactions aside, the real reason to be bullish on their chances is that they still have a tremendous young core led by Sebastian Aho, one of the NHL’s best coaches in Rod Brind’Amour and All-Star goalie Freddie Andersen. This team could very well be the one representing the East in the Stanley Cup final.
TIER TWO: IN THE SCRUM. These teams will also be battling for a playoff spot and are all capable of winning at least one series should they get in the field.
New York Islanders. After back-to-back trips to the conference finals in 2020 and 2021, the Isles got off to an awful start last season and never recovered.
They had legit excuses. Their roster got hit hard by COVID-19. They also played a ton of road games early on as they waited for their new arena to be ready. But the Islanders were also an old team and will be one this season once again.
Even with a first-time head coach in Lane Lambert, who replaced Barry Trotz, the Islanders should bounce back and be a tough team to beat most nights. They are far from a postseason lock. But they should be in the mix until the end.
New York Rangers. Led by Igor Shesterkin, who deservedly won the Vezina Trophy during the regular season, the Rangers surprisingly made it to the conference finals last spring then went down swinging against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
That roster remains largely intact, with the most notable move being the Rangers swapping out No. 2 center Ryan Strome for Trocheck, likely an upgrade. They did let deadline pickups Andrew Copp and Frank Vatrano depart, instead banking on progress from youngsters like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko.
If those players, particularly Lafreniere, make big strides and Shesterkin performs similarly, Madison Square Garden could be booked into May again.
Pittsburgh Penguins. We will assume you are well aware of what the Penguins did this summer, so we won’t rehash the re-signings and additions here.
When the puck drops on the season, the Penguins, led by the 35-year-old Crosby, will be one of the — ahem — most experienced teams in the NHL. That’s a polite way of saying they got older. Will that be a problem? Shouldn’t be during the regular season. But it could prevent them from going on a deep playoff run.
Washington Capitals. They are back in a similar boat as the Penguins, with their Cup hopes tied to a few stalwarts who are well into their thirties. Alex Ovechkin incredibly buried 50 goals last season. He can’t keep this up ... can he?
So what’s different about this team? Well, Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson may both be sidelined until 2023 after offseason surgery. Washington attempted to fix its goalie woes by signing Darcy Kuemper, who just lifted the Cup with Colorado. Connor Brown and Dylan Strome got injected into their middle six.
All that said, it’s difficult to envision a title team here. But playoffs? As is the case with the Penguins every year, bet against the Capitals at your own risk.
TIER THREE: COULD SURPRISE. Likely ticketed for the NHL draft lottery again, but crazy things happen every season. So we’re telling you there’s a chance.
Columbus Blue Jackets. Bottom out? The Blue Jackets were surprisingly spunky last season. Brad Larsen had them playing hard and let their young playmakers open things up a bit, a departure from prickly predecessor John Tortorella.
Johnny Gaudreau saw something he liked, shockingly signing with Columbus. The postseason is a stretch. But with Gaudreau, Patrik Laine and teenage talents Kent Johnson and Cole Sillinger there, that cannon should be firing often.
New Jersey Devils. The Devils continue to chase that elusive playoff appearance, acquiring Ondrej Palat and John Marino. And they have intriguing young players, none more fun than Jack Hughes, already a budding superstar at age 21. Their lack of a bona fide No. 1 netminder will likely do them in again, though.
TIER FOUR: MAYBE NEXT YEAR. But next century is also a real possibility.
Philadelphia Flyers. Strong dumpster fire potential here. #FireChuckFletcher has been trending on Twitter for months. And this could finally be the year Tortorella literally explodes on the bench. That is the only reason worth watching this team, which has been rudderless since Ron Hextall was dismissed as GM.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: September 20, 2022, 9:30 a.m.