NHL division previews: 2017-18 Metropolitan Division
The NHL division previews are back with the third installment, the 2017-18 Metropolitan Division. In what is undeniably the strongest division in the NHL, there are multiple teams fighting for their playoff hopes.
The division previews are here to take a look at the 2017-18 Metropolitan Division, the strongest division in the NHL. The majority of the division is good enough to make the playoffs, and the Metro will likely occupy five playoff spots on the end of 2017-18. Let’s take a look at each team and where they stand.
8th in 2017-18 Metropolitan Divison – New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are in need of offense in a bad way, and losing Travis Zajac for an extended period of time isn’t helping their case. This could mean that first overall pick Nico Hischier could be slotting into the top six sooner rather than later for the Devils.
The rest of the forwards don’t bring much to hope for in the upcoming season either. Taylor Hall is head and shoulders the best of the rest, with players like Kyle Palmieri, Pavel Zacha, Marcus Johansson and Adam Henrique offering a bit of scoring respectively.
New Jersey will be in the bottom half of the NHL for scoring again.
The defensive corps doesn’t give much reason for optimism either. Andy Greene is getting older and slower with every season but is still very likely going to have to slot in on the first pairing. The rest of the names likely to be there are Ben Lovejoy, Damon Severson, John Moore, Steve Santini and Will Butcher. Not much to write home about, to say the least.
The only part of the Devils roster that looks relatively sound is goaltending. With Cory Schneider in between the pipes and Keith Kinkaid as his backup, you would think they would be good enough to at least compete. Nonetheless, with the poor possession and not much in the way of shot suppression, Schneider and Kinkaid aren’t going to be getting much help.
Player to watch in 2017-18: Nico Hischier. Many thought the Flyers would take Nolan Patrick first overall, not that Hischier was surprising. But it will be interesting to see if Hischier can step into the top six and provide the Devils with some much-needed scoring.