With NHL 19’s official release right around the corner, players of the franchise are anxiously awaiting the official release of the game on Sept. 14 2018. The hope is that this series of articles featuring the top-1o ratings on each team in each division helps tide those fans over until that time comes.
Related: NHL 19 – A Refreshing Twist on the Classic Game
With the Atlantic Division’s ratings already taken care of, it’s time to round out the Eastern Conference with a look at the Metropolitan Division. All of the ratings included are from the Aug. 31 2018 update of the game.
Carolina Hurricanes:
- Teuvo Teravainen – 85
- Sebastian Aho – 85
- Justin Faulk – 85
- Jaccob Slavin – 84
- Dougie Hamilton – 84
- Jordan Staal – 83
- Brett Pesce – 82
- Petr Mrazek – 82
- Victor Rask – 82
- Justin Williams – 82
The Carolina Hurricanes had plans to make major changes to their roster heading into the 2018 NHL offseason. As this list suggests, there were some major moves made as Dougie Hamilton is now the fifth-highest ranked Hurricanes’ player in NHL 19 and there is also a distinct absence of Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm (Calgary Flames) and Jeff Skinner (Buffalo Sabres).
While the Flames may not have immediately gotten better as a result of these changes, they are making a conscious decision to revamp their culture and swing for the fences with future picks.
Columbus Blue Jackets:
- Sergei Bobrovsky – 91
- Artemi Panarin – 88
- Seth Jones – 87
- Zach Werenski – 86
- Cam Atkinson – 84
- Alex Wennberg – 83
- Pierre-Luc Dubois – 83
- Ryan Murray – 83
- David Savard – 83
- Nick Foligno – 82
The Columbus Blue Jackets made one of the quickest turnarounds from league-cellar to league-leaders. Though they haven’t made a deep playoff run yet, they were able to quickly become one of the NHL’s best teams. Unfortunately, playing in a very strong Metropolitan division has hurt them in recent years. Still, the Blue Jackets have proven that they can go tit-for-tat with any team in the NHL with their roster and that should be true in NHL 19 as well.
An interesting name on this list comes in at No. 2 for the Blue Jackets, however, as Panarin remains on their team heading into training camp and the preseason. Whether or not he gets traded is yet to be seen but it will certainly be hard for them to replace him if he is indeed moved.
New Jersey Devils:
- Taylor Hall – 90
- Cory Schneider – 88
- Nico Hischier – 84
- Will Butcher – 84
- Damon Severson – 84
- Marcus Johansson – 83
- Kyle Palmieri – 83
- Sami Vatanen – 82
- Jesper Bratt – 81
- Keith Kinkaid – 81
The New Jersey Devils impressed in 2017-18 with a surprise playoff appearance following their struggles from the previous season. Taylor Hall proved to be one of the best players in the entire league and was rewarded for his efforts with the first Hart Trophy win in the history of the Devils’ franchise.
While there are a few ratings on the Devils that ultimately seem a little low, a repeat performance for the Devils in 2018-19 could see their NHL 19 ratings increase as well as the season progresses.
New York Islanders:
- Jordan Eberle – 85
- Josh Bailey – 85
- Mathew Barzal – 85
- Anders Lee – 84
- Nick Leddy – 84
- Robin Lehner – 83
- Ryan Pulock – 82
- Johnny Boychuk – 82
- Thomas Hickey – 82
- Tomas Griess – 81
The New York Islanders will feature a much different look in 2018-19 and their NHL counterpart will be no exception to that with John Tavares signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jaroslav Halak signing with the Boston Bruins. While the Islanders didn’t replace Tavares this offseason – a nigh-impossible task, the team did look to make an upgrade on defense with the addition of Robin Lehner.
The Islanders do have Mathew Barzal who should effectively take over the team’s No. 1 center spot and had a very impressive 2018 draft class that should help them in the near future as they look to put the Tavares situation behind them. Still, 2018-19 will be telling for the Islanders and their team in NHL 19 may see some drop-off from their NHL 18 version.
New York Rangers:
- Henrik Lundqvist – 88
- Mika Zibanejad – 85
- Mats Zuccarello – 85
- Kevin Shattenkirk – 84
- Brady Skjei – 84
- Vladimir Namestnikov – 83
- Pavel Buchnevich – 83
- Chris Kreider – 83
- Kevin Hayes – 82
- Jesper Fast – 81
Gone are the days of the New York Rangers featuring a power-house team looking to compete for a Stanley Cup. While the Rangers still feature many of their core players from past seasons, the absence of Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh, Michael Grabner and others leaves the team in limbo as they look to retool their roster into a contender.
In reality, the Rangers aren’t that many pieces away from contending again if their draft picks pan out the way they’re hoping they can. A new coach in David Quinn could also be a big factor for the team as well as things were getting stale with Alain Vigneault at the helm. Despite the reality of the situation though, the Rangers see a hit in NHL 19 with their highest-rated defense coming in at 84 overall in Shattenkirk. With Lundqist in the fold, however, anything is possible.
Philadelphia Flyers:
- Claude Giroux – 89
- Jakub Voracek – 88
- Sean Couturier – 87
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 86
- Wayne Simmonds – 86
- Ivan Provorov – 84
- James Van Riemsdyk – 84
- Brian Elliott – 82
- Travis Konecny – 82
- Michael Neuvirth – 81
The Philadelphia Flyers NHL 19 team features a nice balance of mid-to-high 80 overall players in their top-1o with No. 8, No.9 and No.10 taking a bit of a hit. Still, one of those players in the bottom-three happens to be Travis Konecny who had a breakout campaign in his age-20 season. As long as he can pick up where he left off, that rating should rise.
Goaltending appears to be the issue in Philadelphia based on these ratings and if we’re looking at their real-life situation, it would appear that the game-makers at EA nailed this. Still, with players like Giroux, Voracek and Couturier offense with Provorov and Gostisbehere leading the way on defense, the real-life and video game version of the Flyers both appear to be in good shape.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
- Sidney Crosby – 93
- Evgeni Malkin – 91
- Phil Kessel – 89
- Matt Murray – 88
- Kris Letang – 87
- Patric Hornqvist – 84
- Derrick Brassard – 84
- Justin Schultz – 83
- Jake Guentzel – 83
- Olli Maatta – 82
Though they may not have won the Stanley Cup in 2018 after winning each of the previous two, the Pittsburgh Penguins remain one of the most dominant teams in the entire NHL. With two players receiving overalls north of 90 and Phil Kessel narrowly missing the mark despite making a legitimate claim to be part of that exclusive company, the Penguins in NHL 19 will be one of the most electric and dominant teams.
A team that has production from it’s forwards, defense and goaltenders from veterans and young players alike, the Penguins should be able to compete in the NHL for years to come. That should be no different in NHL 19.
Washington Capitals:
- Alex Ovechkin – 92
- Braden Holtby – 91
- Evgeni Kuznetsov – 89
- Nick Backstrom – 88
- John Carlson – 88
- TJ Oshie – 85
- Matt Niskanen – 84
- Dmitry Orlov – 84
- Andrei Burakovsky – 82
- Tom Wilson – 82
As the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Washington Capitals were sure to have one of the highest-rated teams in NHL 19. A team that boasts two of the best centers, one of the best goaltenders and arguably the best goal scorer of his generation, the Capitals should continue to be a force this season and beyond.
The Capitals could have realistically entered this season without Carlson on their team but rather than signing elsewhere, he decided to re-up with the Capitals and make a run for another Stanley Cup. That bodes well for the team in NHL 19 as the offensive defender comes in at No. 5 on their team in the video game with an impressive 88 overall rating.
