<
        >
          EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
          Get ESPN+

          How Metropolitan teams are trending

          Will Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz and the Penguins maintain success in the Metropolitan Division? Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
          • Craig Custance, ESPN Senior WriterJul 31, 2013, 09:30 AM ET
            Close
            • Senior NHL writer for ESPN The Magazine
            • Wrote for Atlanta Journal-Constitution
            • Wrote for The Sporting News
            Follow on X

          Continuing our look at how teams are trending in the new divisions, we move to the new-look Metropolitan. Is this the NHL's toughest from top to bottom?

          Metropolitan Division

          Average team point total last season: 54.3

          2012-13 playoff teams: 4

          Notable strength: Star power -- Some of the NHL's biggest stars reside in the new Metropolitan Division, including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, John Tavares, Rick Nash, Alex Ovechkin, Martin Brodeur, Claude Giroux, Eric Staal and reigning Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky.