Metro thoughts...
The Isles have to be gunning for 3rd or 4th place in the division. Dunno if that'll be much more than a wildcard spot, if even that.
I'm thoroughly convinced that only a rash of injuries can see Carolina finish anywhere other than first in this division. Heck, they may take the conference.
Jersey has the talent and the youthful legs, but I can see them being less successful than last season. Their D looks a little different and although they have some shiny guys who look a bit ready, those guys still have to learn on the fly. There's always growing pains.
Amazingly, Pittsburgh didn't do anything positive with their goaltending, and that was the achilles heel. They should be about the wildest run-n-gun outfit in the east, but unless something happens in the crease, I see them battling for the wildcard spot yet again.
I think Washington is going to be better than last year, even if they too have to be worried about declining offensive assets. Still, they've got a lot of guys who look like bounce-back candidates. And now there are 2 or 3 kids who should be making more music. They too should be in the wildcard race.
Columbus was out of the picture early last year, but it felt like roughly the entire top 4 on the blueline missed most all of the season. They've definitely got the firepower to rebound offensively and have a whole bunch of talented youngsters, one or two of which may be ready to contribute - in addition to Boqvist, Johnson, and Sillinger.
Philly looks like the team that has too much of a road to climb, but I think they're going to be a tough team to play against more consistently this year. And Torts gets these guys putting out a strong effort more often than not. They're gonna play a role in knocking teams out of the playoff race late in the season.
This all said, each of Buffalo, Ottawa, and Detroit - perhaps in that order - are closer to making the show and I can't see all three out of the playoffs. One of them is prolly making it. The big question is going to be what to expect out of Florida, Boston, and Tampa. We know things are looking tougher on paper for all three (especially B-town). I'm resigned to seeing Montreal out of the playoffs, but they're actually further along than Philly, so they'll do some damage to someone's playoff hopes along the way, especially if Caufield gets 70+ games in this season.