The Metropolitan Division

Washington Capitals

GM: Larry “No Viagra Needed, 19m Dollar Man” Linke

Top Forwards: Carter Verhaeghe, Pavel Buchnevich, Alex Tuch

Top Defenders: Devon Toews, Alex Pietrangelo

Goaltender: Petr Mrazek, Jack Campbell

Dark Horse: Joonas Donskoi (will have 23+ goals this season in the NHL)

Weakness: Star Power

Prediction: 1^st in the Metro Division. Larry has come a long way and I wanted to mention his long abbreviation but I totally forgot it & hope he will reply in the comments with it as we have not seen it for a while. People may question why I chose Larry to be first. Even though he does not have the star power, he spends more time analyzing his team than any of us. A top rated Verhaeghe and several role players like Tuch, Vatrano, Donskoi, Dvorak and Rooney. Depending on his tactics, as we have seen in the preseason, Larry will find a way to be the top team in the division and he will add it to his abbreviation. Mrazek will play like a Vezina trophy winner and will also provide Larry with more fuel to his fire.

Blue Jackets

GM: Jesse VanSickle

Top Forwards: Vincent Trochek, Brayden Point, Brock Boeser

Top Defenders: Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, Darnell Nurse

Goaltender: Jacob Markstrom

Dark Horse: Michael Bunting (leaf fans think he is the next Gretzky)

Weakness: Goaltending

Prediction: 2^nd in the Metro Division. Jesse has an all-around solid team. Most would pick him to finish 1^st however based on his goaltending I do not think that is possible. The team has one of the best defenses in the league with names such a Krug, Muzzin, Nurse, Lindell, and a scoring heavy offence. The team has 6 players with 80+ scoring. I think if they were to use some of their draft capital and prospects to acquire a top five goalie, Jesse could potentially take over 1^st.

New York Islanders

GM: Joseph Bubanj

Top Forwards: Aleksander Barkov, Nikolaj Ehlers, Matthew Tkachuk

Top Defenders: Charlie McAvoy, Ryan Pulock

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevsky

Dark Horse: Connor Garland (will score 30 goals with Vancouver)

Weakness: Defense

Prediction: 3^rd in the Metro Division. Joe had a noticeably quiet summer but then again, his team is already built like a machine. Zacha is fresh off a career year, a duo of Barkov and Zacha down the middle will be hart to match with Bozak and Stephens to follow. One of the best winger groups in the league as well with Tkachuk, Connor, Ehlers, Rakell. The biggest weak spot on this team is defense. The only big names being McAvoy and Pulock. Joe is one top defender away from being one of the elite teams in the league. STHS is funny and for this, Joe will finish 3^rd in the Metro.

Philadelphia Flyers

GM: Anthony Cepparulo

Top Forwards: David Krejci, Blake Wheeler, Gabriel Landeskog

Top Defenders: Rasmus Ristolainen, Marc-Eduard Vlasic

Goaltender: Ilya Sorokin, Chris Driedger

Dark Horse: Alex Chiasson (will score get PP time with Canucks if signed)

Weakness: Traded a 1^st for J-G Pageau

Prediction: 4^th in the Metro Division. Anthony has spent the off season building his team. Before I arrived, it appeared that he was in the middle of a rebuild but after my arrival he appears to have obtained a new fire and wants to go for wins. Anthony has a decent forward group including Wheeler, Landeskog, Duclair, Krejci, Pageau, Gallagher and Hartman. He also improved his defense this off season adding Ristolainen and Braun. Anthony also has the benefit of having two decent starting goalies in Driedger and Sorokin. Imagine if he traded his first-round pick for an actual top six winger.

Carolina Hurricanes

GM: Richard Cordell

Top Forwards: Sean Monahan, Tyler Toffoli, Chris Kreider

Top Defenders: Mikhail Sergachev (Devon what is his contract again?)

Goaltender: Jonathen Bernier (doing you a favor and helping you get that 1^st)

Dark Horse: Sean Monahan (will bounce back, 75+ points in NHL)

Weakness: Made a Bet with The Lion

Prediction: 5^th in the Metro. Rich has a decent crop of wingers with players such as Toffoli, Niederreiter, Kreider, Saad, Mangiapane and Copp. But the team is lacking one thing this season and that is a true number 1 center. Monahan has worse ratings than Tommi Santala. Rich also has an ok defense led by Sergachev, Scandella and Oesterle. Perhaps if he is able to trade Bernier for a 1^st, he can use that 1^st to get a #1 center. Until then, 5^th place finish in the Metro.

New York Rangers

GM: PJ Jennings

Top Forwards: Auston Matthews

Top Defenders: Connor Murphy

Goaltender: Calvin Peterson

Dark Horse: Michael Rasmussen (will have a breakout year in DET, 50+ points)

Weakness: Inactive 

Prediction: 6^th in the Metro. I do not think PJ has said one word in the main chat since I have joined. I do not even know if he made any off season moves. I see a middle of the pact team. Not good enough to compete but good enough to not suck. Matthews and Sprong will do all of the heavy lifting for this team while Connor Murphy does his best to deep this defensive unit above water.

New Jersey Devils

GM: Ken Hogan

Top Forwards: Tim Stutzle, Oliver Bjorkstrand

Top Defenders: Tyler Myers, Colton Parayko

Goaltender: Jonathen Quick

Dark Horse: Olli Juolevi (I think Florida will rejuvenate his career)

Weakness: Didn’t Trade 2^nd Overall Pick

Prediction: 7^th in the Metro. Man, if I took over the Devils at the start of the off season, I would have shopped that 2^nd overall pick and traded it for a haul. I am sure Steph was offering everything he could for it. Regardless, Stutzle is a great piece to build our offense around. Ken paid a premium for Parayko as well. My 2 cents – sell off all your decent players to go full Toby (but perhaps get better value and win trades). I know many GMs will line up close to the trade deadline to grab Myers, Stone, Parayko, Bjorkstrand and Rielly Smith.

Pittsburgh Penguins

GM: Toby Cordell

Top Forwards: Matt Duchene, Max Domi

Top Defenders: Ryan Suter, Cam Fowler

Goaltender: Martin Jones, Mike Smith

Dark Horse: Matt Duchene (will bounce back in NSH, 55+ points)

Weakness: Draisiaitl Trade

Prediction: 8^th in the Metro. Toby had a good off season in year 1 of his rebuild. I foresee Toby trading Smith at the deadline to a team in need. Aside from Suter, Fowler, maybe Domi and Watson – there is not much for buyers to look for. Toby will continue on his rebuild path and we will see how long he can keep it up. He went from rebuild to changing his mind and being a contender in the TSHL. Time will tell. Until then, Toby will finish last in the Metro.