2023 NHL Metropolitan Division Predictions: Part 1 | Hockey Happy Hour | A2D Radio

The Philadelphia Flyers are heading into the 2023-24 NHL Season with incredibly low expectations. After an unexpectedly busy offseason, the Flyers were able to sign a few really good low-key signings in Garnet Hathaway and Marc Staal, who can be very good locker room guys. They can also help take this franchise to the next level. On the injury side, Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson will both hopefully be 100% for Training Camp, beginning September 21st. Gaining those two guys back will not only be huge for the morale but also the offense. Coots will be returning as one of the best two-way players in the game. So not only will he help the offense, he will play well on the defensive side and in the faceoff circle. GM Danny Briere also went out there and was able to sign a few important RFAs in Noah Cates, Cam York, and Ronnie Attard, who will play big parts in the future success of this team. With another year under John Tortorella, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see this team take another step forward. Where will the Flyers finish in the Metro Division? In this segment, the New Jersey Devils will have their time. The Devils finished last season in second place in the Metro Division with a 52-22-8 record, which was good for 112 points. Not a super busy offseason for the Devils, but they were able to lock down their major acquisition from last year in Timo Meier. He signed on the dotted line of an eight-year contract with a cap hit of 8.8 million per year. They were also able to re-sign winger Jesper Bratt to an eight-year contract as well, worth 7.8 million a year. The Devils are a fairly young team overall, and because of that, they have assets that some teams would want. Well, the Calgary Flames were able to pull off a trade where they acquired Yegor Sharangovich with a pick for winger Tyler Toffoli. This deal has a lot of intrigue due to his good year in 2022-23 statistically, but he also has a ton of playoff experience as well as a Stanley Cup Championship. His leadership could be huge in that young locker room. Are the Devils the favorite to win the Metro? There are a lot of questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins. One of those questions is, how long can they keep the playoff window open with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang? The Pens finished outside the playoffs looking in for the first time since 2005-2006. From the looks of their offseason, they will try to make another push at realistically a Wild-Card berth. Their biggest priority this offseason was getting goaltender Tristan Jarry to re-sign. The Pens were able to do that, agreeing to a five-year deal worth 5.3 million a year. They brought in some veteran talent in Matt Nieto and Lars Eller, signed as UFAs to two-year deals, and newly crowned Stanley Cup Champion Reilly Smith via trade before the draft. Head Coach Mike Sullivan could potentially find himself in the hot seat early on if this team gets off to a slow start. This Penguins team very well has the depth to compete for a playoff spot, but could the age of this team be problematic come the second half of the season?