TSN's Scott Cullen and TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button profile each U.S.-based NHL team ahead of training camp for the 2016-17 season. Check out their look at the Metropolitan Division.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
While the Hurricanes have been making savvy moves to fill out their lineup, and have a roster based around an impressive group of young defencemen, they need an answer in net to back up a team that produces an otherwise solid possession game.
Needing an upgrade in forward skill, they took advantage of Chicago’s salary cap squeeze to land Teuvo Teravainen and have top prospect Sebastian Aho coming over from Finland. They also added veterans Lee Stempniak, Viktor Stalberg and Bryan Bickell. Jordan Staal is a two-way force down the middle of the ice and young forwards Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm will be crucial to the team’s success.
Few, if any, teams can match the value that the Hurricanes get from a defence corps that includes Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin and Ryan Murphy, with Ron Hainsey providing the steady veteran presence.
So, the lineup holds promise, but the ‘Canes have to get better goaltending out of Eddie Lack and Cam Ward, or it will all be for naught. But, if Carolina gets even league-average goaltending, they could be playoff contenders.
Off-season Headlines
June 15: Canes acquire Bickell and Teravainen
June 16: Canes sign Ward to two-year contract
July 1: Hurricanes sign Stempniak and Stalberg
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Sebastian Aho (Karpat, FIN): A complete player who can play centre or wing. Great sense, high skill and makes teams better.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Janne Kuokkanen (Karpat, FIN-Jr.): Excellent skills, smart, makes plays and can score. Needs time to mature, but has all the elements to be good.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
The Blue Jackets have reached the playoffs once in the past seven seasons, and look like they are aiming to grit their way back into the postseason.
Columbus’ forward group is full of hard-nosed players with some skill – Boone Jenner, Scott Hartnell, Brandon Dubinsky, Nick Foligno – but they have some up-and-coming young talent too, with Brandon Saad, Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennbergand (possibly) and No. 3 pick in the 2016 Draft, Pierre-Luc Dubois.
On the blueline, last season’s addition of Seth Jones gives Columbus a potential No. 1 defender and the group could be okay if their young players develop. Adding rookie Zach Werenski to Ryan Murray, David Savard, Jack Johnson and Dalton Prout gives them the makings of a competitive group.
What really set the Blue Jackets on the wrong path last season was an abysmal start to the season by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. He’ll have to be significantly better if Columbus is going to have a chance to be competitive this season.
A lot would have to break right for them to go from a team that was near the bottom in standings and possession metrics last season to suddenly be in the playoff mix.
Off-season Headlines
June 24: Matthews, Laine and Dubois go top three in NHL Draft
June 29: Blue Jackets sign Jones to 6-year, $32.4M deal
Aug. 1: Blue Jackets sign F Gagner to one-year deal
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Zach Werenski: Incredible ease to his play, both physically and mentally. Potential to control game. Top pair type.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Oliver Bjorkstrand: High end offensive creativity and hands, and skating is improving. AHL Playoff MVP for champions.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
The Devils haven’t made the playoffs for four straight seasons, and were the lowest-scoring team in the league last year, yet there is some reason for hope.
Swapping defenceman Adam Larsson to Edmonton for productive winger Taylor Hall was a necessary upgrade for a low-scoring team, but with Hall and, presumably, a healthy Mike Cammalleri, the Devils’ offence should be better. Adam Henrique and Kyle Palmieri both hit 30 goals last season, Travis Zajac doesn’t score, but plays a responsible game, and prospect Pavel Zacha could add some punch to the lineup too.
Losing Larsson does leave New Jersey thin on the blueline. Unheralded veteran Andy Greene is the rock, and 22-year-old Damon Severson has potential. Free agent addition Ben Lovejoy and holdovers Jon Merrill, John Moore and Seth Helgeson don’t exactly inspire confidence.
Cory Schneider is one of the league’s best in goal, so the question is whether the Devils can play well enough in front of him to compete for a playoff spot.
Given the holes on defence, it seems like an uphill fight for New Jersey, but they will be much more interesting this season.
Off-season Headlines
June 29: Devils acquire Hall from Oilers for Larsson
July 1: Devils sign Lovejoy to three-year, $8 million deal
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Pavel Zacha (Sarnia, OHL): Determined player with offensive skills and physical maturity. A shooter who can beat goalies from outside.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Michael McLeod (Mississauga, OHL): Outstanding speed with a high end motor and desire to make a difference. Can play multiple roles.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The off-season saw the Islanders lose Frans Nielsen and Kyle Okposo as free agents, but they’ve brought in Andrew Ladd, P.A. Parenteau and Jason Chimera and could have a spot for a rookie like Mathew Barzal. John Tavares is the franchise player, but the Islanders’ supporting cast – Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, Ryan Strome, Josh Bailey, and Casey Cizikas – can make a real difference in the team’s fortunes.
The blueline remains steady, with Travis Hamonic rescinding his trade request. Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan round out a steady top four and Thomas Hickey provides quality depth. Ryan Pulock, the 15th pick in the 2013 Draft, made his debut last season, and offers potential, notably because of his heavy point shot.
The Islanders’ crease is crowded, as Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are both capable options, but the Islanders also have Jean-Francois Berube. Might one be dangled to improve the lineup somewhere else?
With three straight playoff appearances, the Islanders would naturally expect to be in contention again this year. They have enough depth to be a playoff team, but they would need some players to take significant strides forward to think that they could, collectively, be something more.
Off-season Headlines
May 10: Isles' Hamonic rescinds trade request
June 2: Isles sign Cizikas to five-year, $16.75 million extension
July 1: Ladd signs seven-year contract with Islanders
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Matthew Barzal (Seattle, WHL): Very smart and poised and has ability to break down defences and create scoring chances.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Kieffer Bellows (U.S. NTDP, USHL): Excellent scoring winger who can do it multiple ways and is highly competitive and hungry to score.
NEW YORK RANGERS
The Blueshirts have reached the playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons, but their window may be closing, in large part because that window is inextricably linked the performance of 34-year-old goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. King Henrik has been consistently excellent, but the Rangers have been spoiled by that greatness. If his play slips, they don’t control play enough to handle the decline.
Figuring out how to fix the defence, behind captain Ryan McDonagh, is the challenge facing the Rangers. They have committed long-term money to Dan Girardi and Marc Staal on the blueline, allowing Anton Stralman and Keith Yandle to depart as free agents, limiting New York’s ability to move the puck. Kevin Klein has played well in a supporting role, and prospect Brady Skjei, a terrific skater, could be ready to make the jump, but the roles of Girardi and Staal will be worth monitoring.
The Rangers do have talent up front, though they’d be even more dangerous if Rick Nash could return to form – he dropped from 42 goals in 2014-15 to 15 goals last season. Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello are credible scoring forwards, but the Rangers have a large collection of relatively young forwards who could make significant contributions. Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, Mika Zibanejad, Brandon Pirri and rookies Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich can all play a part. That depth does provide the Rangers with options when they try to sort out their lines.
There should be enough talent for the Rangers to remain a playoff team, but they have some vulnerability that could pose problems sooner or later.
Off-season Headlines
July 18: Rangers acquire Zibanejad from Senators
Aug. 19: Rangers win Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Jimmy Vesey (Harvard, NCAA): He's ready to step in and make a contribution. Smart, skilled, physical and competitive.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Tarmo Reunanen (TPS, FIN-Jr.): Was injured last season but is smart, good with the puck and could be a 'steal' in the draft.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Philadelphia’s 2014-15 season was going nowhere fast, but the emergence of rookie defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere vaulted them into the playoffs. A team that has landed a spot in the postseason twice in the past four years may very well be a coin-flip type of playoff contender again this year.
Gostisbehere is the leader, but the Flyers have young defencemen on the way, including recent first-round picks Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim. However, until those youngsters take a prominent role, veterans like Michael Del Zotto, Mark Streit, Radko Gudas and Nick Schultz will hold down spots, and Andrew MacDonald is still drawing a $5-million paycheque.
Up front, the Flyers may be top-heavy. Claude Giroux is an elite point producer, and Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn had success on his wings last year, just as Jakub Voracek had in previous seasons. Sean Couturier is a terrific two-way forward and Michael Raffl and Matt Read have been solid support players, but development from young forwards like Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins could really help push Philadelphia over the top.
Goaltender Steve Mason has turned his game around in Philadelphia, and the tandem he forms with Michal Neuvirth should provide an advantage.
They don’t have enough depth of talent to be considered real contenders, but another playoff berth is a reasonable objective.
Off-season Headlines
June 23: Flyers lock up Gudas with four-year deal
July 1: Flyers ink Weise to four-year contract
July 25: Flyers sign Schenn to four-year, $20.5 million extension
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Ivan Provorov (Brandon, WHL): Complete player in all regards with exceptional sense and a calm, poise and maturity beyond his years.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Philipe Myers (Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL): Tremendous development. Big, competitive, makes plays, hard to play against. Signed as a free agent.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
The defending champions are well-suited to defend their Stanley Cup title, with very little turnover from the team that won it all.
Last season, the Penguins took off once Mike Sullivan replaced Mike Johnston behind the bench, and the superstars – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel – were boosted by a supporting cast of rookies, as Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl were notable contributors on the way to the Cup. Pittsburgh also has solid veteran role players. Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen have all had some success in the league. On the whole, Pittsburgh has ample firepower.
The defence isn’t so star-studded, aside from Kris Letang, who was awesome once Sullivan took over. Nevertheless, veteran Trevor Daley held down a spot in the top four while Brian Dumoulin handled a bigger role as the season progressed. Olli Maatta has run into health problems, but the 22-year-old is expected to be a big part of the future on the Pittsburgh defence.
One of the biggest questions for the Penguins this year is in net, as 22-year-old Matt Murray backstopped the team to the Cup win, but veteran Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t ready to cede the starter’s job just yet. Fleury is an established above-average starter, but he still might be the second-best on Pittsburgh’s roster.
Off-season Headlines
August 17: Penguins re-sign Cullen to one-year deal
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Daniel Sprong (Charlottetown, QMJHL): All the skills to be a very skilled, offensive NHL player. Finding consistency is key for him.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Kasper Bjorkqvist (Providence, NCAA): Excellent skater who can be effective offensively and defensively. Smart in all areas and makes plays.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
The Capitals put up 120 points in Barry Trotz’s first season behind the bench, yet the result was all-too-familiar: an early playoff ouster (at least this time it was at the hands up eventual Cup champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and not the usual New York Rangers).
Last summer’s additions of T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams performed as expected, and the rapid development of Evgeny Kuznetsov gave the Capitals sufficient scoring depth behind Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom (at least until the postseason, when Kuznetsov was held to two points in 12 games). The Capitals traded for Lars Eller and could have rookie winger Jakub Vrana knocking on the door soon, so, along with Andre Burakovsky and Marcus Johansson, there should be no trouble scoring.
On defence, John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner have established their credentials and the expectation is that Dmitry Orlov will join then in the top four, cutting back the ice time of veteran designated hitter Brooks Orpik. Nate Schmidt is a strong skater who doesn’t get consistent ice time, though his role increased substantially last season.
It’s tough to argue with the performance of goaltender Braden Holtby, who has been consistently above average with a heavy workload, and has a .937 save percentage in 46 career playoff games.
The pieces are here for the Capitals to contend. They could improve their puck possession numbers – they ranked 11th in score-adjusted possession last season – but this is a team that has legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations, which is part of what makes the playoff disappointments all the more crushing.
Off-season Headlines
June 24: Capitals acquire Eller from Canadiens
July 20: Caps and Johansson settle before salary arbitration
Button's Top 2016-17 Prospect
Jakub Vrana (Hershey, AHL): Multi-dimensional scorer who's hard to defend. He doesn’t need many chances to be productive.
Button's Long-Term Prospect
Ilya Samsonov (Magnitogorsk, KHL): Abilities of today's NHL goalie. Skilled, fluid, competitive and big. Has time to develop and no need to rush.