Washington Capitals: July Metropolitan Division Power Rankings
Mandatory Credit: Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Capitals have had an extremely successful off-season so far. Unfortunately, so has a majority of the rest of the Metropolitan Division. Last season, the Metropolitan Division race for the final three spots was close, with the Washington Capitals edging out the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins to finish in second place. The New York Rangers ran away with the division and President’s Trophy thanks to having a very well balanced team with very few flaws. The Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue Jackets have each done quite a bit to lessen the distance between the Rangers and the pack.
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While it is early in the summer, the Washington Capitals and the rest of the Metropolitan Division have been making statements and improvements early and often. This has led to fans from each team in the mix arguing that they’re the better team. Debates are fu, so this power ranking is our opinion of who has the best team right now.
Several factors will be taken into consideration.
- How good is the team’s roster right now? We’ll assume that the Washington Capitals and the rest of the Metropolitan Division all re-sign their RFAs.
- How much has each team improved?
- What is each team’s biggest weakness?
In short, we’ll be looking for the overall best team. Is it the Washington Capitals with a revamped top six forward group and their elite goaltender? Is it the Penguins with arguably the best top six forwards in the NHL? Is it the New York Rangers who haven’t really lost anything of relevance? Could it be the surging fresh off the industry shaking Brandon Saad trade?
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