Metropolitan Division Preview

Frank and Jason are continuing on with their season previews as we are officially under a week away from the start of the NHL Season. Today, they focused on the Metropolitan Division.

Before they got into that though, Frank emptied his notebook after being at the NHL Board of Governors meeting. A lot of people noticed that Gary Bettman seems pretty certain that the salary cap will rise to at least $87 million next summer. That news is significant, but Frank was more interested in what the Commissioner had to say about potential expansion.

Gregor pushed back on the idea a little bit, saying that it would weaken the talent pool. Frank also pushed back on the idea of Atlanta being a potential destination.

From there, they dug into the metro and started with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team was riddled with injuries last season and while some there was some optimism around the team heading into the season, the Mike Babcock drama has overshadowed that.

Neither Frank or Jason gave the Flyers or Blue Jackets much of a chance to make the playoffs. They did leave the window open for both the Capitals and Penguins to make a return to the big dance after missing in 2022-23.

After a fresh edition of Buy or Sell, they dug into the teams that did make the playoffs last season. The Islanders seem ripe for a step back and Frank thinks that the Rangers may be in a similar positon. The final two teams they talked about, the Devils and Hurricanes, both seem like a legitimate Stanley Cup Contenders.

1:10 - Board of Governors notebook (salary cap, expansion) 10:05 - Columbus Blue Jackets 13:10 - Philadelphia Flyers 19:10 - Washington Capitals 25:20 - Pittsburgh Penguins 34:30 - Buy or Sell 42:00 - New York Islanders 49:30 - New York Rangers 57:55 - New Jersey Devils 1:01:05 - Carolina Hurricanes

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