Metro Division stock report: Devils among summer risers
Breaking down the direction of all eight teams heading into the 2026–27 season.
Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess
With the bulk of the off-season movement behind us, and an 84-game regular season starting next month, I thought it’d be fun to take stock of the Metro Division as a whole.
I’m going to go team-by-team and share some thoughts on whether I’m buying or selling stock – there is no standing pat! – heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
Carolina Hurricanes: Stock up 📈
It is hard to win the Stanley Cup and see your stock increase but, if such a thing exists, the Hurricanes have to fall into that category.
Teams generally lose several key contributors after winning, making it very difficult to avoid taking a real step back. Not the Hurricanes.
Frederik Andersen is the only notable departure to date and he is coming off a regular season in which he posted a .874 save percentage and lost more games than he won.
He was mostly good in the playoffs, of course, but the Hurricanes made his life as easy as possible. I wouldn’t say he’s much of a loss.
The Hurricanes are deep, they are talented, and a lot of their core (Seth Jarvis, Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, K’Andre Miller, etc.) is only just peaking.
They should be a handful once again.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Stock down 📉
It has been an underwhelming summer for the Blue Jackets.
They walked away from Boone Jenner in free agency, acquired the talented but unreliable Valeri Nichushkin, and have otherwise done nothing of consequence.
It feels almost inevitable superstar defenseman Zach Werenski departs the organization in two years, if not sooner, and Kirill Marchenko’s future in Columbus also seems in question. That noise could become problematic.
The Jackets have enough talent to be competitive but actually making the playoffs is unlikely.
I’d really like to see the Blue Jackets do well but they have some tough waters to navigate over the next year or so.
New Jersey Devils: Stock up 📈
Sunny Mehta has done a really nice job in his first summer on the job.
He added needed goal-scoring ability to the top-6, meaningfully improved the team’s depth, and trimmed plenty of fat off the roster.
The Devils are clearly a better team than they were in April, and the betting market agrees.
They are carrying -146 odds to make the playoffs at FanDuel, implying a 59.3% chance of making the dance. That’s encouraging for a team that finished 21st last season.
Mehta has improved the outlook for the coming year while also cleaning the books and stockpiling high-end futures (the Devils own multiple firsts each of the next two years) that can be used as trade chips when the right opportunity presents itself.
