Although it’s the product that is put on the ice that ultimately tells the tale of a team’s fortune, those that lead the team from behind the bench are more important than most sports fans may seem to think. They have the ability to set the tone before their players even leave the dressing room. The coaches within the NHL’s Metropolitan Division are a diverse mix between those with an abundance of coaching experience to a few who lack in that department all together. Here’s a look at how the coaches of the Metropolitan Division stack up against each other heading into the 2014-15 season.

8. Mike Johnston- Pittsburgh Penguins

Without any NHL coaching experience to his name, Johnston ranks at the very bottom of our list amongst Metropolitan division coaches. The fact that he is inheriting the mess that is currently the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, doesn’t fare well for him either. With a star-studded lineup that can’t seem to figure out how to play sound hockey alongside each other, Johnston will be forced to manage a high number of high-level egos, rather than a high amount of hockey talent.

7. Bill Peters- Carolina Hurricanes

Peters is coming into his first stint at the helm of an NHL club after most recently working alongside hockey guru, Mike Babcock. Because of this, Peters could very well be a sleeper in regards to what he is going to bring to the table and how he will ultimately help the Hurricanes. A defensive and penalty-killing specialist, Peters will be given the task to turn around a Hurricanes hockey club that has had better days in their up and down history.

6. Peter DeBoer- New Jersey Devils

Although DeBoer has a good amount of experience as a head coach, the fact that he has only been able to lead a team to the playoffs once out of his six years as an NHL coach leads me to believe that he can’t quite gain the respect of those that he is coaching. DeBoer’s overall lack of personality

5. Craig Berube- Philadelphia Flyers

After taking over behind the bench in an unforgiving city such as Philadelphia, Berube was nothing short of impressive. He finished with a 42-27-10 record with the Flyers, leading them to an eventual loss to the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers. The Flyers are poised t o improve on last season in Berube’s second season with the team in 2014-15.

4. Jack Capuano- New York Islanders

Even though Capuano has failed to bring the Islanders past the first round of the playoffs in his four seasons as head coach, his passion for the game and his players make him one of the overall better coaches in the division. Capuano hasn’t exactly been given the best tools to work with over the years, and after John Tavares went down with an injury during the Olympic Games in Sochi, all was lost for the coach of the Isles. With a healthy Tavares and a passionate Capuano, expect the Islanders to be more of a force in 2014-15.

3. Barry Trotz- Washington Capitals

A change of scenery is perhaps exactly what the 15-season coaching veteran needed after being fired by the Nashville Predators after last season. Trotz will welcome his new position in D.C. as head coach of a very talented Capitals roster. Trotz has an extremely knowledgeable hockey mind and is known to be a player’s coach on all levels. He may very well be just the man to figure out how to get everyone else on the same page as Alex Ovechkin.

2. Todd Richards- Columbus Blue Jackets

Richards turned some heads in 2013-14 as he was finally able to lead the Blue Jackets into the postseason for the first time since taking over the team in 2011-12. He has developed a system of play in Columbus that has made many believe that the Blue Jackets could very well be a force to be reckoned with heading into this upcoming season, which is something that the hockey scene in Ohio has never seen before. 

1. Alain Vigneault- New York Rangers

 At the beginning last season, if someone was going to tell you that the Rangers would be contending for the Stanley Cup come the spring, you would have thought they were absolutely insane. In Vigneault’s first season as head coach of the Rangers, he was able to lead his club to the promised land in what seemed like no time. His overall leadership and professionalism makes him the perfect fit in a market such as New York City. Under Vigneault’s watch in 2014-15, expect the Rangers to start the season knowing all too well that they have some unfinished business to take care of.