The offseason is far from over, yet it feels like most of the excitement has already subsided throughout the league. With the draft and the start of free agency in the rearview mirror, we're able to take a step back and capture the lay of the land within the Metropolitan Division. Based on the early returns, the Carolina Hurricanes are in a golden spot.
The Hurricanes have made a few big splashes, trading for defenseman K'Andre Miller and signing the top UFA Nikolaj Ehlers. Along with signing Logan Stankoven to an extension and a few other small moves, the Canes are poised to remain a major threat in the division, shooting for their eighth straight postseason appearance. The rest of the division remains as volatile as ever.
The division has been active on the trade market
Like the Hurricanes, other teams were scouring the market to make trades. Most of the division's big moves came in the exchange of players rather than by signing them. Along with the big K'Andre Miller trade with the Canes, the Rangers traded Chris Kreider to the Anaheim Ducks, joining former Ranger Jacob Trouba on The Pond.
The Rangers weren't the only team offloading talent for pieces and cap space. The Devils sent former Hurricane Erik Haula to Nashville for his second tour. The Islanders made the biggest trade of the offseason, sending defenseman Noah Dobson to Montreal with an extension for Emil Heineman and two first-round picks on draft night.
Washington made a smaller deal, adding Declan Chisholm to their blue line, while Columbus and Philadelphia took big swings. The Flyers brought in Trevor Zegras for almost nothing, while the Blue Jackets got help up the middle with Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood on the wing. Not to say there weren't many good free-agent signings, but most of the big stuff happened via trades.
A weak free agent class prevents much from changing otherwise
With most of the big-name guys failing to reach Tuesday's start to free agency, there wasn't a ton of game-changers for the rest of the division to fight over. Columbus prioritized bringing a few pending UFAs back, signing Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro to multi-year deals. Washington was a finalist for Nikolaj Ehlers before he signed with the Canes, so they brought back Anthony Beauvillier instead.
The only other playoff team in the division, New Jersey, picked from the second layer of free agents, signing Evgenii Dadonov and Connor Brown, while retaining Jake Allen in the net after forming a solid duo with Jacob Markstrom. Pittsburgh took a flyer on Anthony Mantha, despite being in a rebuild. The Islanders made a few depth signings as they retool, as did the Flyers.
The only other team that went big-fish hunting was the Rangers, whose signing of Vladislav Gavrikov, the top defenseman on the market, was the preemptive move to the Miller trade with Carolina. They also added Taylor Raddysh on the wings, though that hardly moves the needle much, especially compared to the Canes.
The Metropolitan Division changes year after year. The lone constant over the last seven years has been the Carolina Hurricanes. Their aggression this offseason, paired with a lackluster free-agent period league-wide, has helped the Canes remain the favorite in the division. While it far from guarantees they'll sit atop the table, it means expectations will be high for the team this season.