With most of the offseason moves made, the time has come for Edition 1.0 of the 2024-25 Metropolitan Division Power Ranking. At this point in the calendar year, these rankings aren’t set in stone, but they will provide fans of both the NY Rangers and those whose favorite teams reside in the Metro Division with where their favorite teams currently stand.
You may also be in for a few surprises as well, since these rankings don’t solely reflect on where each team finished in the 2023-24 season. Instead, offseason transactions were taken into strong consideration, as were losses of talent to the likes of other teams in the league.
8 - Columbus Blue Jackets
This looks like a throwaway season for the Columbus Blue Jackets with a new regime coming in, players like Patrik Laine likely on their way out, and the makings of a young core with some veteran leadership. To be frank, the Blue Jackets will likely be to the NHL in 2024-25 to what the Arizona Cardinals were to the NFL in 2023: A team that looks terrible on paper but will likely fare better than they should and will become well-respected because of their resilience, but they’ll still end up with a high draft pick.
7 - Pittsburgh Penguins
If the Pittsburgh Penguins want to compete for a Stanley Cup so Sidney Crosby can ultimately exit the game as a winner, they didn’t do a very good job working toward that goal so far this offseason. So far, their “prize” acquisition has been Kevin Hayes, who is, at best, a middle-six player who would factor in as a lower-liner on most competent NHL teams.
6 - Philadelphia Flyers
Unfortunately for Rangers fans, the Philadelphia Flyers will win over many in the NHL universe, given their surprise season last year and with a future star in Matvei Michkov in town. The Flyers also have a young core for Michkov to lead, so don’t be surprised if they’re at least fighting for a wild card spot down the stretch. Only this time, I’m expecting them to be there as opposed to last season when everyone knew the inevitable collapse would occur.
5 - NY Islanders
Signing Anthony Duclair was a major positive, but except for a fun season here or there, Duclair is nothing more than a complementary scorer on a team that doesn’t know how to score consistently. The Isles are a fun team to watch with their physical style of play, but that doesn’t make them a good hockey team.
4 - Washington Capitals
Nobody was happier to be in the playoffs last season than the Washington Capitals, and it surprised none of us that they barely gave the Rangers a fight. If they’re back in the postseason in 2024-25, they won’t be so easy to beat, not after acquiring goaltender Logan Thompson, blueliners Matt Roy and Jacob Chychrun, and forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, the latter of whom probably just needed a change of scenery.
3 - Carolina Hurricanes
The biggest question is how the Carolina Hurricanes will deal with their recent losses, and that lack of assurance is why they’re clocking at No. 3 in these power rankings. I was half-tempted to drop them even lower, but there’s still a lot of talent on this team, while the Capitals have yet to play a single shift with their added personnel.
2 - New Jersey Devils
Injuries, problems on the blue line, and bad goaltending sunk the New Jersey Devils last season, and there’s no way it’s happening again this year. There is always that one “good team with a bad points total” each season, and the Devils were that unlucky bunch in 2023-24. So no, I don’t feel guilty about putting a team that fared so poorly last season at No. 2 in these rankings.
1 - NY Rangers
What’s funny is that this isn’t the best version of the NY Rangers that we will see this season, as the trade deadline is when they will likely make their biggest moves. That said, the Blueshirts are still the Metropolitan Division’s best team on paper, and they even proved it in practice last season. I can’t wait to see what their most formidable unit will look like when we hit that “down the stretch” period following the deadline.