NHL July Power Rankings: Metropolitan Division Rising

Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

It’s crazy how drastically power has shifted in the NHL during the month of July. Teams that everyone thought were contenders in mid-June have become pretenders. Teams that were assumed to be pretenders have become contenders. NHL teams have used more than just free agency to improve during the off-season. This off-season, perhaps more than in any off-season in recent history, teams have also used trades to become either contenders or pretenders.

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That said, there are still about seven weeks before most NHL teams open their training camps, the long part of the off-season is upon us. Now’s as good of a time as any to evaluate where every hockey team is right now and whether or not they’ll be contenders or pretenders next season.

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Perhaps no division has done more this off-season than the Metropolitan Division. The Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Columbus Blue Jackets have all improved since the start of the off-season. The New York Rangers might have lost a few guys, but they are also the reigning President’s Trophy winners and they’ve also got some interesting guys back who might help them be even better than they were last season.

These rankings are based on several factors. First of all, who has each NHL team gained? Secondly, who have they lost? Thirdly, are they trending upwards or downwards? Keep in mind that there is still a lot of time left in the off-season for teams to improve and that there are still legitimate free agents out there who could provide help to a variety of teams.

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