In his introductory press conference after being named Penguins director of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas explained how he evaluates his team against its opposition.

“I think that the major focus, No. 1, is inside our division. That’s the way I always looked at things,” Dubas said. “Rather than try to stack ourselves up against all 31 other teams, let’s focus on our division. Let’s focus on trying to win our division. We play the most games there. That’s what’s going to set our playoff seeding. We’ve got to be inside the top three to lock ourselves in, and our goal is going to be to win the division.”

Last season, the Penguins finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the fourth-place New York Islanders but 16 points behind the New York Rangers, who held down the third guaranteed playoff spot behind Carolina and New Jersey.

How much has the division changed in the offseason? The Trib is offering a team-by-team look this week:

New York Rangers

As usual, the New York Rangers were aggressive in free agency. But instead of going after the bigger names, they went sorting through the clearance bin. Most notably, they signed former Winnipeg Jets forward Blake Wheeler who was bought out by his previous team. That allowed the Rangers to sign the power forward to an affordable one-year deal worth $800,000. Additionally, the Rangers signed forwards Alex Belzile (two years, $775,000 salary cap hit) and Nick Bonino (one year, $800,000), defenseman Erik Gustafsson (one year, $825,000) and goaltender Jonathan Quick (one year, $825,000)

2023 finish: 47-22-13, 107 points, eliminated in the first round

Key additions: Forward Alex Belzile (31 games, six goals, eight assists, 14 points), forward Nick Bonino (62 games 10 goals, nine assists, 19 points), defenseman Erik Gustafsson (70 games, seven goals, 35 assists), defenseman Mac Hollowell (six games, zero goals, two assists, two points), forward Riley Nash (66 AHL games, 24 goals, 35 assists, 59 points), forward Tyler Pitlick (61 games, seven goals, nine assists, 16 points), goaltender Jonathan Quick (41 games, 16-15-6 record, 3.41 goals against average, .882 save percentage, two shutouts), forward Blake Wheeler (72 games, 16 goals, 39 assists, 55 points)

Key departures: Forward Ryan Carpenter (22 games, one goal, two assists, three points), forward Patrick Kane (73 games, 21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points), defenseman Niko Mikkola (81 games, one goal, five assists, six points)

What it means: The Rangers are never averse to bringing in big names who are past their primes. And that’s what Wheeler is. Once a consistent 20-goal threat, Wheeler will presumably get first crack at replacing top-six wingers Patrick Kane and Vladmir Tarasenko — each unsigned as unrestricted free agents — in the lineup. Bonino will provide a steady veteran presence in the bottom-six forwards while Quick, in the twilight of his career, is ready to serve as a reliable backup to All-Star starter Igor Shesterkin. Gustafsson isn’t afraid to attack offensively and will slide into the bottom defensive pairing. Belzile, Hollowell, Pitlick and Nash are all spare parts.

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