The New York teams in the Metro Division failed to keep pace with their New Jersey rival, instead standing pat with minimal changes from last season. The Philadelphia Flyers largely did the same, instead relying on the growth of their young players and holding firm with the rebuild philosophy.

Keith Srakocic/AP

And the moves, or lack thereof, are the biggest reason the Pittsburgh Penguins will remain competitive in the Metro Division this season.

Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas hopes to keep his team competitive while pocketing assets for the future. While our Penguins analysis shows a team that isn’t—on paper—as good as it was at the end of last season, the stagnation amongst their biggest competitors is also a good thing.

While we have not yet put the Penguins on the drawing table against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Metro’s junior team improved significantly from last season’s disaster. They reunited playmaking center Sean Monahan with Johnny Gaudreau at the top of the lineup, and top prospect Kent Johnson is ready (or not) for the lineup.

However, they don’t figure to be a factor in the playoff hunt.

The New York Rangers and New York Islanders are very much in the playoff projections. The Rangers won the division and the Presidents’ Trophy, but the Florida Panthers sent them home in the Conference Final. That one Stanley Cup in 1994 remains singular since 1940.

The Islanders were the biggest beneficiary of the Flyers’ late-season collapse and the Penguins’ inability to flip that switch and find their best until later March. The Islanders squeaked into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the third-place team but with only 94 points.

Generally, 95 points is the assumed floor for a wild-card berth, not third place. And none of the Metro teams, beginning with the Islanders and below, met that threshold.

New York Rangers

The Rangers’ biggest move this offseason was acquiring now-former Penguins winger Reilly Smith. They also signed Chad Ruhwedel to a two-way deal but sneakily lost Barclay Goodrow on waivers to the San Jose Sharks.

The move was sneaky, as many speculated that San Jose was on Goodrow’s no-trade list, but the Rangers were able to free the salary cap space despite the potential restriction.

But Smith was the big change for the Rangers, and as Penguins fans might attest, Smith is not a game changer. His impact in Pittsburgh was negligible, with only 13 goals despite predominantly top-six minutes.

Yet the Rangers remain the favorite to win the division because their top nine, including Mika Zbanejad, Vincent Trocheck, and, most importantly, Artemi Panarin, is still rock solid.

Former Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox also leads the blue line. Oh, and Igor Shesterkin is in their net.

“Though there was plenty of noise with the failed Jacob Trouba trade, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Rangers in terms of moves, the biggest being acquiring Smith from the Penguins, which didn’t move the needle much,” Jim Cerny of Forever Blueshirts told PHN. “So, the Rangers will run it back with most of the roster that won the Presidents’ Trophy last season, which isn’t a bad thing, and look to make their next big move ahead of the 2025 trade deadline instead.”

The Rangers didn’t improve, but they’re still a Stanley Cup contender.

New York Islanders

The Islanders, on the other hand, needed a boost this offseason and have received little help. Islanders Grand Puba Lou Lamoriello inked a plethora of depth on two-way contracts, but the only NHL player expected to make a difference is winger Anthony Duclair.

Last season, Duclair had 24 goals and 42 points split between the San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s a serviceable top-six winger, but will he lift the Islanders lineup?

That’s about it for the Fish Sticks.

Philadelphia Flyers

The arch-rival Philadelphia Flyers did little externally, but their internal options are tantalizing. Matvei Michkov was the seventh overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft but only fell that far because teams didn’t believe they could get him out of Russia for several years, if ever.

Michkov had a cat that ate the canary smile when he hinted–through an interpreter–that he may have misled some teams because he wanted to be a Flyer.

He’s small, at just 5-foot-10, 147 pounds on draft day, but he’s electric with the puck. Presumably, he’ll gain weight as he adds an exciting threat to the Flyers lineup.

The other additions to the Flyers’ lineup are solid fourth-liner Garnet Hathaway and a healthier version of Sean Couturier. Last season, Couturier played his first campaign in a couple of years and greatly wore down in the second half.

Couturier probably won’t wear down the same way. Potential stud defenseman Jamie Drysdale played much of the season with a core muscle injury. After offseason surgery, he, too, will be healthy this season.

Goaltending could be the Flyers’ Achilles’ heal as Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov will be the netminders.

“Most people are, understandably, excited about Matvei Michkov coming over this year. Aside from that, there are a lot of questions about leaving the roster virtually unchanged from last year and how far this current group of players will take themselves. Goaltending is by far the biggest question mark,” Philly Hockey Now colleague Jon Baily said. “We still need to find out if Sam Ersson is truly a capable starter at the NHL level and whether Ivan Fedotov can replicate his KHL success by making necessary rapid improvements in his ability to read the NHL game and being much lighter on his feet. If not, the Flyers are doomed to be a bottom-10 team this year.

Projections: The Islanders are in trouble and will likely be the same team as last season, but the Flyers should be better. If they can get some goaltending, they will again be a playoff contender, albeit a wild-card contender.

The Rangers could be the Eastern Conference champion. Despite a slow summer, they have the necessary defense, goaltending, and goal-scoring to be successful. A tweak or two during the season could elevate them to Stanley Cup favorites.