The

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

'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. 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 The National Hockey League's Patrick Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honor of ...

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 Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and the other three in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, 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

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

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

* 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

* 2014 –

(51–24–7, 109 pts) * 2015 –

(53–22–7, 113 pts) * 2016 –

(56–18–8, 120 pts) * 2017 –

(55–19–8, 118 pts) * 2018 –

(49–26–7, 105 pts) * 2019 –

(48–26–8, 104 pts) * 2020 –

(41–20–8, 90 pts) * 2021 – Division suspended for season * 2022 –

(54–20–8, 116 pts) * 2023 –

(52–21–9, 113 pts) * 2024 –

(55–23–4, 114 pts) * 2025 –

(51–22–9, 111 pts)

Season results

;Notes * The 2019–20 NHL season was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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

* 2016 –

* 2017 –

* 2018 –

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

* 2015 –

* 2016 –

* 2017 –

* 2024 –

Metropolitan Division titles won by team

''Teams in bold are currently in the division.''

References

NHL History
{{Navboxes , title = Metropolitan Division , list = {{Carolina Hurricanes {{Columbus Blue Jackets {{New Jersey Devils {{New York Islanders {{New York Rangers {{Philadelphia Flyers {{Pittsburgh Penguins {{Washington Capitals National Hockey League divisions Sports in the Eastern United States Carolina Hurricanes Columbus Blue Jackets New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals