NHL Metropolitan Division odds: Hurricanes favored to defend title

We're just a few weeks from the opening of NHL training camps. While some teams still have housekeeping to attend to, most rosters are set.

Let's take a look at how the Metropolitan Division is shaping up after a summer that featured a whole lot of movement.

The Carolina Hurricanes are favored to defend their throne and claim another Metro Division title. They've had a very eventful offseason, making several changes to their supporting cast.

Nino Niederreiter, Vincent Trocheck, and Tony DeAngelo headline the list of departures, while Ondrej Kase, Paul Stastny, Max Pacioretty, and Brent Burns were the notable additions.

Pacioretty and Burns have long been among the best goal-scorers at their respective positions and should boost an offense that could use a little more finishing.

Unfortunately, the Hurricanes will have to wait for that boost, at least in Pacioretty's case; the 33-year-old suffered a long-term injury and won't be available until early 2023. Carolina should be very good once again, but it may not be at its best until closer to the playoffs.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are seen as the Hurricanes' top challengers. Though Pittsburgh finished 13 points back of Carolina last season, the gulf may be smaller than it appears. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, and Evgeni Malkin missed 75 combined games in 2021-22, and the team didn't add another top-six forward (Rickard Rakell) until late in the year. With a little more injury luck this season, the Penguins could take things up a notch.

That said, a team makes itself more susceptible to injury problems when its average age is higher; Pittsburgh leaned even further into an older lineup this summer, with Jeff Petry (34) and Jan Rutta (32) its most notable additions.

The New York Rangers aren't far behind the Hurricanes and Penguins. New York will be looking to build on a strong 2021-22 campaign that culminated in an Eastern Conference Final berth. The Rangers did lose some depth up front, but with Trocheck replacing Ryan Strome as the second-line center, the top six remains dangerous.

New York will be looking for young players like Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and K'Andre Miller to take further steps and help compensate for some of the subtractions from the roster.

The Washington Capitals, for some reason, are considered to be a clear tier below the three aforementioned teams. They've had a strong summer, adding Dylan Strome and Connor Brown to give the middle-six forward group more punch. They also signed Stanley Cup-winning netminder Darcy Kuemper - who's posted a .920 save percentage or better in three of the last four years - to solidify their goaltending.

Washington always piles up the wins, and there's no reason to expect any different this season.

The New York Islanders round out the favored five. They disappointed last year and haven't made many moves to strengthen their team. They moved on from Barry Trotz, one of the league's better coaches, and depth defenseman Alexander Romanov was their most notable addition.

Star goaltender Ilya Sorokin is capable of masking many problems, but this team will struggle to earn a playoff spot, let alone a division title.

The New Jersey Devils swung and missed on a couple of star players this summer, including Johnny Gaudreau, but they managed to add some quality support pieces. Ondrej Palat will slot nicely into the top six, while John Marino's arrival alongside Dougie Hamilton and Damon Severson should give the Devils one of the NHL's better right-side defense groups.

Vitek Vanecek, meanwhile, should help bring goaltending stability to a team that desperately needs it. Contending for a division title is a stretch, but New Jersey should be much better in 2022-23.

While the addition of Gaudreau gives the Columbus Blue Jackets a truly dynamic offensive talent, shipping Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Seattle Kraken for pennies on the dollar mitigates some of that gain. The roster still lacks high-end centers, and serious questions remain about the defense. Columbus was the NHL's worst team in expected goal prevention last season, and its only notable addition on the blue line was Erik Gudbranson.

The Philadelphia Flyers are considered the long shots to contend in the Metro, and rightfully so. Their roster is littered with holes. The forward group lacks both firepower and depth, and Philadelphia's three most expensive defenders - Ivan Provorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, and DeAngelo - all have legitimate shortcomings. Carter Hart faces a tall task trying to rebound behind such a poor lineup.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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