Which Metropolitan Division teams will take a step forward?

Four of the National Hockey League’s eight Metropolitan Division teams qualified for the playoffs last season. The other four failed to do so by a long shot.

The New York Islanders finished fifth in the Metro last year but still missed the playoffs by 16 points. The Columbus Blue Jackets missed by 19, the New Jersey Devils missed by 37 and the Philadelphia Flyers … well, their 61-point finish put them 39 points back of the No. 8-seeded Washington Capitals.

The Metro’s four non-playoff clubs all made changes this summer, albeit of very different magnitudes. On Thursday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli and Mike McKenna debated which (if any) of them could return to the playoffs in 2022–23.

Frank Seravalli: The Islanders, Blue Jackets, Devils and Flyers fell short. We’re going to put the Flyers aside, because I think sort of the consensus is, to this point, that the Flyers are going to finish last in that Metro Division, but of the Isles, Blue Jackets and Devils, which one of those three teams do you think has the best chance to break through and be a playoff team this year?

Mike McKenna: Well, I don’t think any of them will, but I think Columbus might have the best chance, in my eyes, and I actually think Philly is going to be better than people are giving them credit for. I think [John Tortorella] is going to get them out of the gutter. But I think when you look at Columbus, this is a team that needed to just be a little more grown-up, honestly. They needed some skill, they needed to not be pushed around last season, and you go out and get Erik Gudbranson on D; he takes care of part of that equation. Johnny Gaudreau’s going to uplift the offense of that club, but there’s still really nice parts there. I love Kent Johnson, what I’ve seen so far of the forward out of University of Michigan, former fifth-overall pick in 2021. I don’t know if he plays center for Columbus, but I think he’s one of those parts that could take a big step for them. […] With the Islanders, I didn’t see that team get better this offseason, I think there’s a lot of question marks with Lane Lambert as the head coach. Everybody thinks he’s going to suddenly be offensive. Well, he was a Barry Trotz disciple for a decade. […] And the Devils, I don’t know what’s going to happen in goal. Can the kids stay healthy? Not just “can they take steps?” I love [Ondrej] Palat there. So, I guess Columbus would be my team, Frank, but I think it’s going to be an uphill battle for any of these three clubs.

Seravalli: Yeah, I agree that it’s going to be an uphill battle for all three, but I’m really excited and intrigued by the possibility of the New Jersey Devils — what are they? Can Dougie Hamilton have a better season than he did in his first year in a Devils sweater? Jack Hughes, one of my bold predictions was that he’s going to join the 100-point club. When you consider the injuries that he had last year, the point-per-game pace that he had, he was on track for about 93, so it isn’t even that big of a jump to get there. He needs to stay on the ice. Jesper Bratt was a revelation last year; he’s going to cost more now and in the future with his play.

The full Daily Faceoff Live episode can be found below: