Ovechkin’s Capitals Favored Over Crosby’s Penguins in Metro Division Odds

• The Washington Capitals won the Metropolitan Division last year with 104 points
• The Pittsburgh Penguins made big changes, trading away Phil Kessel while acquiring Alex Galchenyuk
• The Carolina Hurricanes retained Sebastian Aho and Petr Mrazek, acquired Erik Haula, but lost Calvin de Haan

The Metropolitan Division provided NHL fans with plenty of excitement in the playoffs as the Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes made unexpected runs. A lot of squads made surprising moves in free agency, so as we look towards the 2019-20 season, which team is the best bet to win the Metro Division?

Odds to Win 2020 Metropolitan Division

Still A Weak Division

It’s important to note that while some divisions like the Central are extremely strong, the Metropolitan is quite weak. The New Jersey Devils were awul last year, the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers are rebuilding, and the New York Islanders lost key members (Robin Lehner). This division mostly feels like a two or three-team race.

Washington Capitals Currently The Favorite

The Capitals are currently the favorite to win the Metropolitan Division at +350. They had an interesting offseason, maneuvering their way around the salary cap issues. They picked up defenseman Radko Gudas, re-signed Carl Hagelin, and added forwards Richard Panik and Garnet Hathaway.

This is a team that had 104 points last regular season and is probably the safest bet. However, they have some question marks on the roster. Matt Niskanen and Brook Orpik are gone, and Brett Connolly – who had 22 goals and 24 assists last season – signed with Florida. They also lost Dmitrij Jaskin and Andre Burakovsky.

For the most part, they did some great maneuvering but it would be hard to say they improved. They’re not worse, though, which means they’re the leader going into the season. We’ll see if anyone can hang with them in 2019-20, though.

Carolina Hurricanes Stay Strong

The Hurricanes had a strong playoff run and should be just as good this year. They kept Sebastien Aho, Petr Mrazek, acquired Erik Haula from Las Vegas, but lost defenseman Calvin de Haan. The question is which team will see next season?

Remember, the Canes started the year 15-17-5 and were nowhere near to begin a Stanley Cup contender. Then the light bulb when on and the ‘bunch of jerks’ finished the year 31-12-2. There’s going to be some skepticism in their ability to carry momentum over to next season as some people still view them as a fluke.

Pittsburgh Penguins Rolled The Dice

The Penguins made some big moves this offseason and we’re not sure if they’ll be better. They traded away Phil Kessel – basically a perennial 30-goal scorer – in the hopes that Alex Galchenyuk can regain his form as a 30-goal man. He hasn’t scored more than 19 in the last three seasons.

They also gave money to (six years, $21 million) to Brandon Tanev, who is mostly an energy forward. When you start to add up contracts like Tanev, Jack Johnson and Erik Gudbranson, you start to see too many albatrosses on the books.

If Galchenyuk comes to life around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and if Dominik Kahun is an underrated addition as many think, this team is probably still in the 100-point neighborhood. If not, the downside is another first-round exit or possibly missing the playoffs.

Capitals Are The Safest Bet

The Islanders failed to sign Artemi Panarin or get any more offensive help, the Penguins rolled the dice and the Carolina Hurricanes are about the same. Maybe they’re as good and maybe they won’t have the same success as last year.

Meanwhile, the Capitals feel like the safest play here. They won the division last year, had the best offseason in the Metropolitan and should be in the same neighborhood points-wise. They’re the safest bet to make here.

SBD’s NHL Division Champion Odds Coverage

• Atlantic: Lightning Favored to Win Atlantic Division (Again) Over Bruins, Leafs
• Central: Avalanche Have Better Odds than Stanley Cup-Champion Blues to Win Hyper-Competitive Central Division
• Metro: Ovechkin’s Capitals Favored Over Crosby’s Penguins in Metro Division Odds
• Pacific: Pacific Division Odds Say It’s Vegas’ to Lose at +160; Flames Only +280 to Repeat