Good morning, Devils fans. Along with Jackson’s article today, we are going to take a look at how each team in the Metropolitan Division is faring through the first month (roughly) of the season. Each team will have their major transactions and injuries summarized along with a piece of commentary.
First Place: Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 12-2-2 (26 points)
Transactions:
- Signing: Alexander Nikishin on a one-year contract — 10/25/26
Injuries:
- Jordan Staal (C) — Torn Calf, 1-2 Months — 10/13/26
- Taylor Hall (LW) — Upper-Body, Week-to-Week — 10/13/26
- Return: Seth Jarvis (W) — Offseason shoulder surgery — 10/21/26
Commentary:
The Carolina Hurricanes are off on what is now just a usual start for them. Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake are not just playing like middle six players, but producing
like top-liners, allowing the team to work around the difficulties of having important players in and out of their lineup. Sebastian Aho, with nine goals and 21 points, is on pace for a career season. But more dangerous than any of those developments has been the goaltending of Pyotr Kochetkov, who is 10-0 with a .929 save percentage and 1.49 goals against average. Right now, it looks like Carolina is beatable when they have Brandon Bussi in net, but not so much otherwise. If the Devils hope to catch Carolina in the standings, the Hurricanes are going to have to do something they rarely seem to do: regress.
Second Place: New Jersey Devils
Record: 9-5-0 (18 points)
Transactions:
- Waivers: Stefan Noesen — 10/8/26
- Recalled from Utica on 10/12 and reassigned to Utica on 10/20
- Trade: Acquired Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Alex Command, Nick Bjugstad, 2029 2nd round pick, 2027 seventh-round pick — 10/23/26
- Trade: Acquired a 7th round pick in 2027 from the Washington Capitals in exchange for Remi Poirier — 11/1/26
Injuries
- Return: Connor Brown (W) — Lower-body — 10/20/26
- Return: Johnny Kovacevic (D — Offseason knee surgery — 10/10/26
- Anthony Mantha (W) — Undisclosed — Left 10/30 game
Commentary:
The New Jersey Devils have been the most active team in the Metropolitan Division so far this season. Perhaps this assuaged some of the concerns that some had for the team, though certain media members may still be denying how dangerous they are now that they have Hellebuyck in goal. But even before Hellebuyck joined the roster, the Devils had a top-three shots rate in the league, though their numbers here took a hit in their latter back-t0-back game in Colorado last week. The really big developments for the Devils this season have been the steps that Luke Hughes and Arseny Gritsyuk have taken for the team, while Dougie Hamilton has been strong in both ends to start the season to form a great top two pairings of Hughes-Pesce and Siegenthaler-Hamilton. With one of the best bottom six groups in the league keeping pressure up on opponents, the Devils were even able to survive slow starts from their highest-paid forwards. If Jack Hughes continues what he did in Vegas, and if Timo Meier (1 goal, 5 points) can start scoring to give Nico Hischier (7 goals, 2 assists) more consistent appearances on the scoresheet, the Devils’ offense will generally be too much for opponents to overcome now that Connor Hellebuyck (.923 SV% in two games) holds down the fort.
Third Place: Washington Capitals
Record: 8-5-0 (16 points)
Transactions:
- Trade: Acquired Remi Poirier from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2027 seventh-round pick — 11/1/26
Injuries:
- Matt Roy (RHD) — Lower-Body; six games — Returned 10/20/26
- Pierre-Luc Dubois (C) — Illness; five games — Returned 10/24/26
- Update: Rasmus Sandin (LHD) — ACL surgery — Practicing in non-contact jersey — 10/31/26
Commentary:
Never count the Washington Capitals out of anything. For all of the hand-wringing about whether Alex Ovechkin is really himself in his final season, as he plays bottom six minutes with only four points in 13 games, the team is outscoring opponents 9-7 in his minutes, and Ovechkin has started slowly before. Meanwhile, the team around him is not having an issue scoring thanks to new additions in Alex Tuch (10 goals) and Jordan Kyrou (11 points) despite Dubois’ illness keeping him out of five contests. Cole Hutson also has four goals and eight points, while the Protas brothers have yet to get going much on offense. If Spencer Carbery actually uses Remi Poirier, the Capitals have the potential to be even better, as Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have a combined .895 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average through 13 games.
Fourth Place: New York Islanders
Record: 7-5-2 (16 points)
Injuries:
- Mat Barzal (C/RW) — Preseason injury — Knee — Several Weeks — 9/16/26 (10/8 update — skating on own)
- Alexander Romanov (LHD) — Torn ACL; 6-8 months — 10/7/26
- Mattias Maccelli (LW) — Lower-body; 2-4 weeks — 10/17/26 (10/31 update — skating)
- Cal Ritchie (C) — Lower-body; 4-6 weeks — 10/17/26 (10/31 update — not skating)
- Ryan Pulock (RHD) — Upper-body; 2-4 weeks — 10/31/26
Commentary:
Some might say that Ilya Sorokin is only delaying the inevitable: the New York Islanders are not a good enough team to truly compete for the playoffs. Maybe things will get better if or when Mat Barzal returns to the lineup, but New York is a very top-heavy right now. Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer are both producing a point per game, but things fall off after that. Concerning for Peter DeBoer’s squad is Kyle Palmieri’s slow start after his ACL repair, as he has three goals and four points in 14 games, while Ondrej Palat has still not quite rejuvenated his career with the team. Having such an older group — the Islanders have 13 players on their roster, including Pulock on injured reserve, over the age of 30 — the Islanders would probably be better off bottoming out and getting Schaefer some real help for the coming seasons rather than mediocrity in the present.
Fifth Place: New York Rangers
Record: 7-7-1 (15 points)
Transactions
- Signing: Luke Glendening (C) — 10/22/26
- Signing: James Reimer (G) — 10/25/26
Injuries
- Joonas Korpisalo (G) — Foot Infection; 4+ weeks — 10/1/26 (10/30 update — practicing)
- Igor Shesterkin (G) — Major Knee Injury; Out for Season — 10/10/26
- James Reimer (G) — Upper-body; Day-to-Day — 10/26/26
Commentary:
Eventually, the New York Rangers were going to have a rather unlucky goaltending season. Igor Shesterkin’s 3-1-0 start with a .927 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average largely masked the several warts on the team’s roster, but his knee injury in his fifth start derailed the hopes for their season. Since then, Dylan Garland has taken each decision with a 4-6-1 record, an .897 save percentage, and 2.73 goals against average, though James Reimer put him in a bad spot against the Kings with three goals given up on eight shots before leaving due to an injury. In more encouraging news for New York, Adam Fox is still himself (17 points) while Alex Lafreniere shockingly leads forwards with nine goals and 16 points. Tye Kartye, who was selected off waivers from Seattle last season, also has four goals and 10 points in the team’s 15 games, bringing him up to 24 points in 39 games in a Rangers unifrom. Unfortunately for the team, Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller are past their heyday, while Pavel Dorofeyev has not quite replicated his Vegas Golden Knights scoring efficiency. Until they get more scoring from the “big guns,” the team will continue to lose games without their star goaltender.
Sixth Place: Pittsburgh Penguins
Record: 5-7-2 (12 points)
Injuries:
- Egor Chinakhov (RW) — Lower-body; 4 games — 10/13/26; returned on 10/19 and 10/29
- Samuel Girard (LHD) — Lower-body; 3 games — 10/17/26; returned 10/29/26
- Ben Kindel (C) — Vasovagal episode — 10/20/26 (10/27 update — practicing)
- Bryan Rust (RW) — Lower-body; 6+ weeks — 10/22/26
- Evgeni Malkin (LW/C) — Illness; 1 game — 10/24/26
- Elmer Soderblom (RW) — Upper-body; IR — 10/28/26
Commentary:
Things are not going very well for Pittsburgh, and it’s hard not to look at injuries as a reason why. Egor Chinakhov was a big part of making the Penguins offensively dangerous last season, but a lingering lower-body is not great for a player who moves with so much speed. Thankfully for Pittsburgh, the aged core of Crosby, Malkin, Karlsson, and Letang have played well enough to give the roster around them a chance to contribute and win, but they need to stay healthy for that to happen. I am surprised, though, that Pittsburgh was not more interested in Remi Poirier than Washington. Currently, Arturs Silovs (5-3-1) an .889 save percentage while Sergei Murashov (0-4-1) has an .871 save percentage. If Pittsburgh had decent goaltending, they might be a bubble team.
Seventh Place: Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 4-8-4 (12 points)
Transactions:
- Signing: Michael Bunting (W), one-year, $1.215 million — 10/6/26
- Waivers: Helge Grans (RHD) — Cleared — 10/12/26
- Waivers: Garrett Wilson (W) — Cleared — 10/12/26
Injuries:
- Rasmus Ristolainen (RHD) — Left hand — 10/3/26 — Update: Re-injured — 10/26/26
- Return: Denver Barkey (C) — 10/5/26
- Cam York (LHD) — Upper-body — 10/10/26 — Return: 10/27/26
- Nikita Grebenkin (W) — Back Surgery; 4+ months — 10/5/26
- Travis Konecny (RW) — Lower-body — 10/8/26 — Return: 11/1/26
- Owen Tippett (RW) — Upper-body — 10/15/26 — Return: 11/1/26
Commentary:
I am not going to pretend like I think the Philadelphia Flyers can be a good team. I didn’t think they were a good team last year, when they made the playoffs: the devilry of getting into the playoffs via overtime points can only sustain a team for so long, as we are seeing now. Despite having 10 goals from Matvei Michkov in 16 games, head coach Rick Tocchet has yet to give him more than 16 minutes of ice time per game. This has remained true despite Michkov and Zegras being the only Flyers with more than seven points in the team’s 16 games. The defense has struggled mightily without Rasmus Ristolainen, as the team has struggled on whether David Jiricek or Simon Benoit, or Hunter McDonald can reliably pick minutes up. And perhaps worst of all for Philadelphia, Dan Vladar looks more like the version of himself that was backing up Jacob Markstrom in Calgary than the guy who surprised with a .906 save percentage in 51 starts last season. We will see if Joseph Woll (1-5-2, .899 SV%) takes the net from here.
Eighth Place: Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 5-7-0 (10 points)
Transactions:
- Waivers: Mikael Pyyhtia (W) — Cleared — 10/6/26
- Waivers: Carson Soucy (LHD) — Cleared — 10/28/26
Injuries:
- Return: Damon Severson (RHD) — March shoulder surgery — 10/9/26
- Return: Dante Fabbro (RHD) — Preseason hand injury — 10/27/26
- Return: Ivan Provorov (LHD) — Preseason lower-body injury — 10/31/26
- Update: Isac Lundestrom (C) — Offseason achilles tendon surgery; no timetable — 11/2/26
Commentary:
The Columbus Blue Jackets are also not very good, but they deserve to be higher in these standings than the Philadelphia Flyers, who have played four more games than them. But the Jackets have one of the worst offenses in the league and mediocre goaltending that does not do enough to help their defense out. On offense, the Jackets have two forwards — Ryan Lomberg and Conor Garland — who have zero points in 12 games played. Danton Heinen has zero points in nine games. Almost all of their production has come from Kent Johnson, Zach Werenski, and Charlie Coyle, though they have gotten some goal scoring from Cole Sillinger, Adam Fantilli, and Denton Mateychuk. Matthew Knies has not been the same player he was on Auston Matthews’s wing, which should not be too much of a shock, but the player who in most need of increasing his scoring is Sean Monahan, who only has four points so far. Monahan was excellent when he first came to Columbus, but has had a difficult time getting on the scoresheet at times since last season began. In net, they are anchored in some games by 39-year old Cam Talbot (3-2-0, .894 SV%), but he is too old to play every game. Jet Greaves (2-5-0, .883 SV%) gets too many starts for his skill level, and Columbus will remain in no-man’s land as long as long as this continues.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Metropolitan Division so far? Are you comfortable with the Devils’ current standing? Do you think reaching Carolina is possible? Or do the Devils need to worry more about beating Washington back? Who among the fourth through eighth teams do you see rising throughout the rest of the year? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
