Washington Capitals right wing Anthony Mantha (39) and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) scuffle during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
What does Alex Ovechkin have left to play for? Can the Carolina Hurricanes finally turn regular-season success into something more meaningful? And are the Pittsburgh Penguins too good for their own good?
As the summer symbolic ends this weekend, so too does the NHL off-season as eyes turn toward rookie camps, tournaments, and training camps. It won’t be long before the captain’s practices take hold.
Remind us again, weren’t the Penguins supposed to have a fire sale by now? Instead, the only thing for sale is the team.
In fact, the only trades the Penguins have made this offseason have increased their roster count, not diminished it. As a result, the Penguins still have a pair of talented top-six wingers to join the rookies expected to join the group. And the team has a new coach, who might unlock a few solutions to problems that bedeviled the last one.
2025 Preseason Metro Division Power Rankings
1. Carolina Hurricanes
They play a hard-nosed game that is in the opponent’s face for 60 minutes. Coach Rod Brind’Amour’s prowess behind the bench may be in question around the league, but not in Carolina.
The team added athletic but somewhat embattled defenseman K’Andre Miller in a trade with the New York Rangers and signed top-six winger Nikolaj Ehlers. The only thing not to love on this team is goaltending, where an aging Frederick Andersen is still the top dog.
2. New York Rangers
They won the 2024 Presidents’ Trophy, then tanked hard last season, missing the playoffs and earning the 12th overall pick. Out went coach Peter Laviolette, in came former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
Out went Miller, but Sullivan still has the fading Mika Zibanejad to deal with and a team that never jelled last season. There’s too much talent for the Rangers to slumber again, and their goalie, Igor Shesterkin, is too good to have another barely above .900 save percentage season.
3. New Jersey Devils
The swamp monsters should have been better last season, but injuries to Jack Hughes, as well as several other key players at inopportune times, left them in tatters and non-competitive.
Connor Brown was the biggest summer addition, which adds more thump to the lineup and makes the Devils tougher to play against.
With some health, New Jersey has a great 1-2 punch at center (Hughes, Nico Hischier), a starting goalie, Luke Hughes coming into his own on the blue line, and a motivated general manager. They might be the most overlooked team in the conference.
4. Washington Capitals
After embarking upon a retooling effort in 2022-23, the Capitals got a bucket of salary cap space with Nick Backstrom leaving the game (before signing in Sweden this summer) and T.J. Oshie essentially retiring.
Everything worked last season. The Capitals acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Kings in a bad contract swap for goalie Darcy Kuemper, and Dubois popped for 20 goals and 66 points. The Capitals also acquired goalie Logan Thompson from Vegas, and he, too, performed to his best.
However, the adrenaline-inducing excitement of Ovechkin’s chase of the all-time goals record kept the team at full throttle. Without any notable off-season additions (the biggest free agent was re-signing Anthony Beauvillier), the Capitals are primed for a regression to the mean.
5. New York Islanders
The biggest on-ice offseason additions will help the Islanders in the future. Their 2025 draft was a tour de force. First, they snagged No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer, who may make the roster this season, and with the 16th overall pick, they got a potential top-five pick, Swedish scoring winger Victor Eklund.
The Islanders’ most consequential was off the ice. The organizations fired controlling president Lou Lamoriello and hired young Mathieu Darche as the general manager. However, the team is still more talented than its results, and until things change, they’re still middle dwellers.
The playoffs are quite possible but far from guaranteed, as they remain part of the middle of the East.
6. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins probably don’t want to be this high on the power rankings, but they marked their summer by adding second-chance bargain players and by not shedding any of the veterans that make them just competitive enough to cling to the middle while they’d like to rebuild.
With improved goaltending and the current roster, the Penguins could stick with the playoff pack. Rookies Rutger McGroarty, Villie Koivunen, and Owen Pickering could add some youthful exuberance.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus remained in the lead draft of the playoff teams, but wasn’t quite good enough to get into the postseason. The team channeled the heartbreaking tragedy of losing Johnny Gaudreau into motivation and an emotionally charged season.
Columbus made a couple of under-the-radar additions, signing forward Charlie Coyle and thumper Miles Wood. The CBJ is a solid team, but goaltending remains an issue as Elvis Merzlikins ranks near the bottom in most categories among starting goalies.
8. Philadelphia Flyers
The Broad St. Bullies are improved over the start of last season. New coach Rick Tocchet figures to connect in better ways than the fiery John Tortorella, whom the team dismissed following the season.
Confident and fun rookie Matvei Michkov should improve upon his first campaign, and the Flyers have a few veterans like Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier to lead the crop of youngsters and emerging players.
GM Daniel Briere also acquired the talented Trevor Zegras, who comes complete with highlight reel goals and a bit of a bad reputation. The Flyers are better, but not yet playoff worthy.
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