Examining the potential Achilles heel of each Metro Division team - Part 2

I dove into noticeable flaws that could hamper New York (R), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington.

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I started the week off by looking at the potential Achilles heel of the first half (alphabetically speaking) of the Metro Division.

The mini series concludes today as I dive into clear flaws that could serve as the undoing of the rest of the group.

Let’s get right to it.

New York Rangers — Father Time

The Rangers have an old core; especially up front. By next year’s playoffs (or shortly after they begin), Chris Kreider will be 33, Artemi Panarin will be 32, Mika Zibanejad will be 31, and Vincent Trocheck won’t be far off 31.

Throw in newcomer Blake Wheeler (37) and the five most productive forwards last season are all at or near the point where their best days are behind them.

With a pair of former top-2 picks on the roster – Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko – that shouldn’t be a huge deal. Unfortunately for the Rangers, it is.

Lafreniere has shown flashes but through three NHL seasons he is yet to hit 20 goals or 40 points. He isn’t much of a play driver, either, with Barclay Goodrow being the only of New York’s nine most used forwards to fare worse than Lafreniere in relative xGF% last season.

Then there’s Kakko. He took a step in the right direction last year but has averaged 15 goals per 82 games through four NHL campaigns and isn’t the difference maker he was supposed to be.

With Lafreniere and Kakko currently falling under the category of ‘good support pieces’ rather than ‘budding stars’ the Rangers can’t really afford any drop off from their aging core. I’m not sure that’s realistic.

While I still expect the Rangers to be competitive – especially with Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin at the peak of their powers – Father Time is lurking and going to make its presence known sooner rather than later.

Philadelphia Flyers — Everything