Fantasy hockey expert Jason Chen breaks down the trends, a hidden gem, top options and top three point projections for each NHL Metropolitan Division team.
Fantasy hockey expert Jason Chen breaks down the trends, a hidden gem, top options and top three point projections for each NHL Metropolitan Division team.
With the fantasy hockey season right around the corner, it’s time to take stock of your fantasy options for all 32 NHL teams.
For more in-depth team analysis, including projected even-strength lineups, power play units, goalies and prospects to note, click on the team to see their 2023-24 fantasy preview.
You can also view the top 300 fantasy rankings for both standard and banger leagues. The rankings will be updated regularly over the course of the season with version 2.0 coming at the end of September at THN.com/fantasy.
Metropolitan Division Predicted Finish
New York Rangers
Trending: Steady as she goes
Truth be told, the Rangers didn’t have to do much over the summer. The irony is that the Rangers are probably better this season without having to squeeze Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko (ranked 90th in my fantasy rankings) into an already crowded lineup, and there’s also a coaching bump now with Peter Laviolette behind the bench.
The Rangers are a known commodity with Artemi Panarin (26th) and Mika Zibanejad (20th) spearheading the offense, and they were careful only to add veteran Blake Wheeler (228th) over the summer, giving Alexis Lafreniere (280th) and Kaapo Kakko (193rd) a little more room to grow. (Translation: they’re fantasy sleepers.)
There’s no shortage of fantasy options on one of the East’s best teams, and there’s a little bit of everything. Lafreniere has become a sneaky banger-league option with 20-goal, 100-hit potential, Adam Fox (73rd) continues to pile up the points, and Jacob Trouba (116th in the banger league rankings) and K’Andre Miller (293rd) regularly stuff the hits and blocks column.
Igor Shesterkin (24th) ranks as one of the league’s elite goalies, and without any major holes in the lineup, the Rangers should be the toast of the Metro.
Hidden Gem:
Kaapo Kakko is due for a breakout season. His play has been trending upward, and while Laviolette has a reputation for leaning on veterans, Kakko is entering his fifth NHL season. He’ll easily reach the 20-goal milestone if he can get a little more time on the power play, and he has the skill set to play either with Zibanejad, Trocheck or Filip Chytil (210th), who form one of the deepest lineups of centers in the league.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Artemi Panarin, 90 points
Mika Zibanejad, 90 points
Adam Fox, 73 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Rangers:
20. Mika Zibanejad, C
24. Igor Shesterkin, G
26. Artemi Panarin, LW
Carolina Hurricanes
Trending: Who cares until they reach the Eastern Conference final?
I feel like putting the Canes in first place is a jinx, and like the Lightning before them, perhaps they’ve realized that finishing at the top of the standings means nothing if you can’t win a single game in the conference finals.
The Canes have elected to run it back with basically the same roster and even brought back both of their veteran goalies – Frederik Andersen (207th) and Antti Raanta (219th) – when Pyotr Kochetkov looked poised to be the starter sooner than later.
The noteworthy addition was Michael Bunting (190th), who replaces the oft-injured Max Pacioretty, leaving Sebastian Aho (49th) and Andrei Svechnikov (69th) to lead the offense again. The Canes’ offense-by-committee approach, however, caps Aho and Svechnikov’s fantasy value because they won’t get the minutes required to reach 100 points even if they have the requisite talent. But, spreading out the minutes provides a lot of fantasy value to their depth scorers, including Martin Necas (64th), who had a breakout season, Seth Jarvis (171st) and Jesperi Kotkaniemi (215th).
The Canes don’t have an elite fantasy option like the Rangers, but what they lack in quality, they more than make up in quantity.
Hidden Gem:
Seth Jarvis changed his diet, got stronger over the summer and seems poised to become a 60-point player. He’s spent a lot of time playing next to Aho and, last season, scored 39 points while averaging just 16 minutes per game. Oh, and it’s his contract year as well, with his entry-level contract expiring next summer.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Sebastian Aho, 80 points
Andrei Svechnikov, 78 points
Martin Necas, 74 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Hurricanes:
49. Sebastian Aho, C
64. Martin Necas, C/RW
69. Andrei Svechnikov, LW/RW
New Jersey Devils
Trending: Up, but it’s OK to think they’ll finish third, too
The Devils are going to be a really fun team to watch, but I look at that third pairing on defense and the reliability of their goalies and give my head a little shake. Make no mistake, Jack Hughes (fourth) is the best forward in this division, and he’s surrounded by some great talents, including the underrated Nico Hischier (36th), Jesper Bratt (61st) and Tyler Toffoli (62nd). They also get a full season of Timo Meier (47th), and Dawson Mercer (122nd) keeps improving.
On defense, there’s Dougie Hamilton (59th) and now Luke Hughes (274th) and Simon Nemec. It’s a pretty exhausting list, honestly. If you want major fantasy upside, keep mining the Devils, even if it means potentially reaching really deep for Alexander Holtz.
Hidden Gem:
The Devils have a ton of talent, and there’s no way they bump Dawson Mercer out of the top six. He scored 27 goals and 56 points in a breakout season, showing zero signs of a sophomore slump; in fact, Mercer made a huge leap in his second season even though his overall ice time didn’t change. He’s rostered in just 67 percent of Yahoo leagues, and don’t be surprised if Mercer flips it around to 99 percent by the end of the season.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Jack Hughes, 108 points
Dougie Hamilton, 75 points
Jesper Bratt, 73 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Devils:
4. Jack Hughes, C/LW
36. Nico Hischier, C
47. Timo Meier, LW/RW
Pittsburgh Penguins
Trending: Technically, penguins can’t fly, but these ones are trying to touch the sky
Hiring Kyle Dubas to breathe fresh life into the franchise, jettisoning some bad contracts and landing reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson (48th) should point the Penguins anywhere but down.
Their Stanley Cup window is still open, with Sidney Crosby (23rd) playing some of his best hockey at age 30-something. Yes, this is an older roster, but they’ve made some astute moves, acquiring Reilly Smith (186th) to solidify their top six and signing Lars Eller and Noel Acciari to fill out a deserted wasteland in their bottom six.
Watching the Pens try to squeeze one more championship in the Crosby Era will be exciting, but they’re far less exciting from a fantasy point of view. Kris Letang (291st), who had been a fantasy stalwart on defense for a decade, will see a huge dip in value with Karlsson taking over as PP1 QB, and Jake Guentzel’s (113th) injury puts a damper on his season-long value.
The key with this aging core is staying healthy, and that will be the major caveat for the fantasy value for all of their players, especially Tristan Jarry (76th), whom they cannot afford to lose. Last season, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin (46th) both played 82 games in the same season for the first time, and they just can’t afford to waste any of their healthy seasons because it’s become so rare these days.
Hidden Gem:
With Guentzel missing at least the first few weeks of the season, it’s opened the door for Reilly Smith to post his first 30-goal season. With that kind of upside, he has a similar fantasy value to Rickard Rakell (118th), only Smith can be taken 60 spots later. Smith will get a nice center to play with, regardless if it’s Sid or Geno, and he’s never been put at the forefront of an offense before.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Sidney Crosby, 86 points
Evgeni Malkin, 81 points
Jake Guentzel, 78 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Penguins:
23. Sidney Crosby, C
46. Evgeni Malkin, C
48. Erik Karlsson, D
New York Islanders
Trending: Cautiously optimistic…
I’m positive Lou Lamoriello will get buyer’s remorse at some point, but that’s a problem for whoever succeeds him.
The Isles are a capped-out team but are nowhere near winning the Cup. They’ve made an effort to play more freely on offense, but with what players? The Isles are not going to win games with their offense, which means they don’t really offer any elite options in fantasy. What they do have is a pretty good offense and arguably the best goalie in the league in Ilya Sorokin (16th).
A lot of their offense will hinge on the chemistry between Bo Horvat (77th), whose scoring rate will surely increase after scoring just seven goals in 30 games following a trade from the Canucks, and Mat Barzal (52nd), who has yet to return to the heights of his Calder-winning rookie season. When Brock Nelson (87th) is your top goal-scoring threat, it’s going to be a challenge to score a lot of goals.
Hidden Gem:
If a full season of Horvat can jumpstart a power play that finished 30th last season, Noah Dobson (111th) is really good value in the middle rounds for a potential top-tier power-play quarterback. He scored 49 points last season, averaging barely over 20 minutes per game. He scored 19 points on the power play, and he was just one of 11 defensemen to register more than 200 shots.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Brock Nelson, 73 points
Mathew Barzal, 70 points
Bo Horvat, 65 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Islanders:
16. Ilya Sorokin, G
52. Mathew Barzal, C/RW
77. Bo Horvat, C
Philadelphia Flyers
Trending: Definitely up, and they’re not as bad as you think
Sean Couturier (116th) and Cam Atkinson both showed up on the Flyers’ training camp roster without the injury asterisk next to their name. That’s going to be a huge boost to an underrated lineup that features Travis Konecny (121st), who had a breakout season, and a trio of young scorers in Owen Tippett (160th), Morgan Frost (169th) and Joel Farabee (204th). They’ve cut their teeth for a few seasons now and truly earned their top-six roles. Coach John Tortorella wouldn’t have it any other way, and under his tutelage, the Flyers have never looked more focused – or interesting in fantasy hockey – in recent memory.
There are holes in the lineup, sure, but it’s not completely bare, and if you look hard enough, there will be a few sleeper picks. That may include, yes, Carter Hart (138th), who looked better last season and, at the very least, still has the typical workload of a starter. It provides a decent floor for his fantasy value, considering there’s no other goalie who’s really a threat to take his job.
Hidden Gem:
More forgotten than hidden, Sean Couturier has an average draft position (ADP) of… *checks notes*… zero? Rostered in just 14 percent of Yahoo leagues, drafting Couturier is a risk due to his recent injury history, but the rewards are potentially immense for a No. 1 center with 70-point potential and plays over 20 minutes per game. It’s easy to forget that just three seasons ago, Couturier was the Selke winner.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Travis Konecny, 68 points
Owen Tippett, 66 points
Sean Couturier, 62 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Flyers:
116. Sean Couturier, C
121. Travis Konecny, RW
138. Carter Hart, G
Washington Capitals
Trending: Wondering if the all-time goals record is more important than their team record
Surely, this is not a hot take. Of the teams that were surprisingly not good last season, the Caps’ struggles seemed more like reality than outlier.
At 38 years old, Alex Ovechkin (34th) remains the Caps’ best player in fantasy, and it’s not even close. That’s because they’re looking for home-run seasons from players returning from significant injuries, including Tom Wilson (180th), who’s returning from ACL surgery; Max Pacioretty (141st), who’s already expected to miss time due to his Achilles; and John Carlson (110th), who’s returning from a fractured skull.
Their prospect pipeline is bare, and in a stacked rookie class, reaching for the likes of Connor McMichael, who has NHL experience already, is a huge reach. Among their younger players, only Dylan Strome (149th) presents any notable upside. While Rasmus Sandin had a great finish to the season, he’ll be taking a back seat to Carlson on the power play, capping his fantasy value.
Hidden Gem:
Assuming all goes well, Tom Wilson (108th in banger league rankings) could regain his status as a banger-league beast with 20-goal, 200-hit potential. He’s no longer a unicorn with Brady Tkachuk in the league, but that kind of production is certainly hard to find. Wilson recently signed a long-term extension, making him a key part of their future going forward, and he’s assured a top-six role and very likely opposite Ovechkin in his usual spot.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Alex Ovechkin, 81 points
Evgeny Kuznetsov, 73 points
John Carlson, 68 points
Dylan Strome, 68 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Capitals:
34. Alex Ovechkin, LW
91. Darcy Kuemper, G
110. John Carlson, D
Columbus Blue Jackets
Trending: Up, I think…
It’s never a good thing when your $8-million coach resigns just days before training camp. Perhaps the team comes together stronger behind the highly regarded Pascal Vincent, but the Jackets entered the 2023-24 season as a wild card – as in, a team with a wide range of outcomes but not a contender for a playoff spot. Not a single player on their roster should be deemed a “safe” pick in fantasy, especially as they head into the season on the heels of locker-room strife.
There’s talent, for sure, starting with star rookie Adam Fantilli (142nd), who’s a fantastic keeper league asset. Johnny Gaudreau (35th) proved he’s point-per-game material without an elite center or right winger. Patrik Laine (72nd) is a fearsome sniper when healthy. Their blueline will be bolstered by Zach Werenski’s (149th) return.
The problem is there are a lot of new faces, and they’re very young. We’re still waiting for breakout seasons from the likes of Kent Johnson (223rd), Cole Sillinger, Yegor Chinakhov and Adam Boqvist. Goaltending is going to be a big problem, too, in a division with plenty of elite scorers.
Hidden Gem:
The lineup is crowded, but no matter what happens, expect Boone Jenner (195th and 129th in banger league rankings) to be a top-six pivot. He’s a fantastic multi-category player, and only Fantilli is a threat to his job on the top line. Jenner is the incumbent on the top line with Gaudreau and Laine. For two straight seasons, Jenner has been on pace to register at least 30 goals, 200 shots, 100 hits and 700 faceoff wins.
The Hockey News Fantasy Guide Top 3 Point Projections:
Johnny Gaudreau, 80 points
Patrik Laine, 65 points
Adam Fantilli, 56 points
Jason Chen’s Top 3 Ranked Blue Jackets:
35. Johnny Gaudreau, LW
72. Patrik Laine, LW/RW
142. Adam Fantilli, C