Metropolitan Division

National Hockey League division
Metropolitan Division
ConferenceEastern Conference
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Founded2013
Suspended in 2020–21
2021 (reactivated)
No. of teams8
Most recent
champion(s)
New York Rangers (2nd title)
Most titlesWashington Capitals (5 titles)

The National Hockey League's Metropolitan Division (often referred to simply as the "Metro Division") was formed in 2013 as one of the two divisions in the Eastern Conference as part of a league realignment.[1] It is also a successor of the original Atlantic Division and one of the two successors to the Southeast Division. Six of its teams were previously together in the Patrick Division from 1981 to 1993 (one joined in 1982). It is the only NHL division without a Canadian team, with five of the division's clubs located in either the New York City area or in Pennsylvania and the other three in North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.

The Metropolitan Division contains some of the most historic and intense rivalries in the NHL, including Flyers–Penguins, Devils–Rangers, Capitals–Penguins, Islanders–Rangers, Capitals–Rangers, Capitals–Islanders, Flyers–Rangers, Capitals–Flyers, and Devils–Flyers. Three of its teams (Rangers, Islanders, and Devils) are within the league's largest market (New York), the Flyers are in the fourth largest market (Philadelphia), and the Capitals are in the seventh largest (Washington, D.C.). Games involving Metropolitan Division teams are frequently shown on U.S. national television.

Division lineups

2013–2020

Changes from the 2012–13 season

  • The Metropolitan Division is formed due to NHL realignment
  • The Northeast and Southeast Divisions are dissolved due to NHL realignment
  • The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins come from the original Atlantic Division
  • The Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals come from the Southeast Division
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets come from the Central Division

2020–2021

  • Division not used for the 2020–21 NHL season

Changes from the 2019–20 season

  • Due to COVID-19 restrictions the NHL realigned into four divisions with no conferences for the 2020–21 season
  • The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets move to the Central Division
  • The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals move to the East Division

2021–present

2021–present Metropolitan Division Teams
  • Carolina Hurricanes
  • Columbus Blue Jackets
  • New Jersey Devils
  • New York Islanders
  • New York Rangers
  • Philadelphia Flyers
  • Pittsburgh Penguins
  • Washington Capitals

Changes from the 2020–21 season

  • The league returned to using a four division and two conference alignment
  • The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets come from the Central Division
  • The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals come from the East Division

Division champions

Season results

(#) Denotes team that won the Stanley Cup
(#) Denotes team that won the Prince of Wales Trophy, but lost Stanley Cup Finals
(#) Denotes team that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs
Denotes winner of the Presidents' Trophy
Season 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
2013–14 (1) Pittsburgh (109) (2) NY Rangers (96) (3) Philadelphia (94) (WC1) Columbus (93) Washington (90) New Jersey (88) Carolina (83) NY Islanders (79)
2014–15 (1) NY Rangers (113) (2) Washington (101) (3) NY Islanders (101) (WC2) Pittsburgh (98) Columbus (89) Philadelphia (84) New Jersey (78) Carolina (71)
2015–16 (1) Washington (120) (2) Pittsburgh (104) (3) NY Rangers (101) (WC1) NY Islanders (100) (WC2) Philadelphia (96) Carolina (86) New Jersey (84) Columbus (76)
2016–17 (1) Washington (118) (2) Pittsburgh (111) (3) Columbus (108) (WC1) NY Rangers (102) NY Islanders (94) Philadelphia (88) Carolina (87) New Jersey (70)
2017–18 (1) Washington (105) (2) Pittsburgh (100) (3) Philadelphia (98) (WC1) Columbus (97) (WC2) New Jersey (97) Carolina (83) NY Islanders (80) NY Rangers (77)
2018–19 (1) Washington (104) (2) NY Islanders (103) (3) Pittsburgh (100) (WC1) Carolina (99) (WC2) Columbus (98) Philadelphia (82) NY Rangers (78) New Jersey (72)
2019–20[a] (3) Washington
(69 gp
90 pts.
.652 ppct.)

(4) Philadelphia
(69 gp
89 pts.
.645 ppct.)

(5) Pittsburgh
(69 gp
86 pts.
.623 ppct.)

(6) Carolina
(68 gp
81 pts.
.596 ppct.)

(7) NY Islanders
(68 gp
80 pts.
.588 ppct.)

(9) Columbus
(70 gp
81 pts.
.579 ppct.)

(11) NY Rangers
(70 gp
79 pts.
.564 ppct.)

New Jersey
(69 gp
68 pts.
.493 ppct.)

2020–21 Division suspended for season; temporary realignment
2021–22 (1) Carolina (116) (2) NY Rangers (110) (3) Pittsburgh (103) (WC2) Washington (100) NY Islanders (84) Columbus (81) New Jersey (63) Philadelphia (61)
2022–23 (1) Carolina (113) (2) New Jersey (112) (3) NY Rangers (107) (WC1) NY Islanders (93) Pittsburgh (91) Washington (80) Philadelphia (75) Columbus (59)
2023–24 (1) NY Rangers (114) (2) Carolina (111) (3) NY Islanders (94) (WC2) Washington (91) Pittsburgh (88) Philadelphia (87) New Jersey (81) Columbus (66)
Notes
  • a The 2019–20 NHL season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the imbalance in the number of games played among teams, the regular season standings were determined by points percentage.

Stanley Cup winners produced

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

Metropolitan Division titles won by team

Teams in bold are currently in the division.

Team Wins Last win
Washington Capitals 5 2020
Carolina Hurricanes 2 2023
New York Rangers 2 2024
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 2014
Columbus Blue Jackets 0
New Jersey Devils 0
New York Islanders 0
Philadelphia Flyers 0

References

  1. ^ "NHL introduces new division names with schedule". National Hockey League. July 19, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
  • NHL History
  • v
  • t
  • e
Suspended teams
Events
History
Others
  • v
  • t
  • e
Current
  • Eastern Conference: Atlantic
  • Metropolitan
    Western Conference:
    Central
  • Pacific
Historic
1926–1938
  • American
  • Canadian
1967–1974
  • East
  • West
1974–1993
1993–2013
  • Northeast
1998–2013
  • Northwest
  • Southeast
2020–21
  • Category
Metropolitan Division
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
John P. McConnell
General manager
John Davidson
Head coach
Pascal Vincent
Team captain
Boone Jenner
Current roster
Arena
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • WikiProject
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
David Blitzer and Josh Harris (Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment)
General manager
Tom Fitzgerald
Head coach
Travis Green (interim)
Team captain
Nico Hischier
Current roster
Arenas
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • WikiProject
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
New York Islanders Hockey Club, L.P. (Jon Ledecky, governor)
General manager
Lou Lamoriello
Head coach
Patrick Roy
Team captain
Anders Lee
Current roster
Arenas
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (James Dolan, chairman)
General manager
Chris Drury
Head coach
Peter Laviolette
Team captain
Jacob Trouba
Current roster
Arenas
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
TV
MSG Network
Radio
WEPN-FM
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
Comcast Spectacor
General manager
Daniel Briere
Head coach
John Tortorella
Team captain
Sean Couturier
Current roster
Arenas
  • Spectrum
  • Wells Fargo Center
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • WikiProject
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
Fenway Sports Group (majority)
Ronald Burkle
Mario Lemieux
General manager
Kyle Dubas
Head coach
Mike Sullivan
Team captain
Sidney Crosby
Current roster
Arenas
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • Commons
  • v
  • t
  • e
Franchise
History
Personnel
Owner(s)
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Ted Leonsis)
General manager
Brian MacLellan
Head coach
Spencer Carbery
Team captain
Alexander Ovechkin
Current roster
Arenas
Rivalries
Affiliates
Media
Culture and lore
  • Category
  • Commons