Hurricanes might be the only Metropolitan Division team with a shot at the 2026 Stanley Cup

The Metropolitan Division is in an interesting state right now. Since 2019, only the Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders and New York Rangers have come out of the division in the playoffs, and in all seven instances, the Atlantic Division team won in the Conference Finals. They’ve lacked a true Cup contender since the 2018 Washington Capitals actually won the Cup, and it felt like even with the Capitals winning the East and the Hurricanes going to the Conference Finals last season, there wasn’t one last season either.

So entering the 2025-26 season, does the Metropolitan Division have any Cup contenders? Tyler Yaremchuk and Jonny Lazarus talked about the Metro’s current outlook, and how there may only be one team with Cup potential this season, on Daily Faceoff Live.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You look at this [Metropolitan] Division right now, and I’m not calling the New York Rangers Cup contenders, and I’m not calling the New Jersey Devils Cup contenders at this point. They had 111 points, they were a great story, I don’t think I’m calling the Washington Capitals Cup contenders.

I honestly think the only contender in the Metro that you can legitimately look at and think they can win the Stanley Cup next year, it’s Carolina, and it’s no one else.

Jonny Lazarus: I’m with that. That’s the only team I wrote down in the Metropolitan Division. I have eight teams written down as true cup Contenders, I have one out of the Metro.

But I’m with you. And even with that, their goaltending is still a big question mark. They get to the Conference Final, and they’ve done so twice in the past few years. And when they get there, sure, they run into a very good Florida Panthers team, but their goaltending is not able to steal them games. Carolina is a team that usually controls the pace of play, has the puck in their possession for a majority of the game, but they don’t get those big-time saves when they need it most, and that’s what hurts them.

So even though we are saying Carolina is probably, and I think most people would agree, the number one Cup contender out of the Metropolitan Division, still a big question mark in the blue paint for them.

Tyler Yaremchuk: They basically got into my list of Cup contenders by default because they’re the best team in the Metro, and that means I can see them going to the Conference Final, and if you can get to the Conference Final, you can win the Stanley Cup.

You can watch the full episode here…