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 - 85Sebastian Aho - 85Justin Faulk - 85Jaccob Slavin -
84Dougie Hamilton - 84Jordan Staal - 83Brett Pesce - 82Petr Mrazek - 82Victor
Rask - 82Justin 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 Justin Skinner (Buffalo Sabres).Teuvo Teravainen,
 Carolina Hurricanes, Mar. 1, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

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 - 91Artemi Panarin - 88Seth Jones - 87Zach Werenski - 86Cam
Atkinson - 84Alex Wennberg - 83Pierre-Luc Dubois - 83Ryan Murray - 83David
Savard - 83Nick 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.Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets, Feb. 22, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The
Hockey Writers)

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 - 90Cory Schneider - 88Nico Hischier - 84Will Butcher - 84Damon
Severson - 84Marcus Johansson - 83Kyle Palmieri - 83Sami Vatanen - 82Jesper
Bratt - 81Keith 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.Taylor
Hall was a big addition to the Devils, but they lost Larsson in the process.
(Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports)

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 - 85Josh Bailey - 85Mathew Barzal - 85Anders Lee - 84Nick Leddy -
 84Robin Lehner - 83Ryan Pulock - 82Johnny Boychuk - 82Thomas Hickey - 82Tomas
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.Mathew Barzal (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

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 - 88Mika Zibanejad - 85Mats Zuccarello - 85Kevin Shattenkirk -
 84Brady Skjei - 84Vladimir Namestnikov - 83Pavel Buchnevich - 83Chris Kreider
- 83Kevin Hayes - 82Jesper 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.New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (Danny
Wild-USA TODAY Sports)

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 - 89Jakub Voracek - 88Sean Couturier - 87Shayne Gostisbehere -
86Wayne Simmonds - 86Ivan Provorov - 84James Van Riemsdyk - 84Brian Elliott -
82Travis Konecny - 82Michael 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.Claude Giroux and Sean
Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers, January 6, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey
Writers)

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 - 93Evgeni Malkin - 91Phil Kessel - 89Matt Murray - 88Kris Letang
 - 87Patric Hornqvist - 84Derrick Brassard - 84Justin Schultz - 83Jake Guentzel
 - 83Olli 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.Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist, Sidney Crosby
and Evgeni Malkin celebrate. (Don Wright-USA TODAY Sports)

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 - 92Braden Holtby - 91Evgeni Kuznetsov - 89Nick Backstrom -
88John Carlson - 88TJ Oshie - 85Matt Niskanen - 84Dmitry Orlov - 84Andrei
Burakovsky - 82Tom 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.Gary Bettman presents Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8)
with the Stanley Cup (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)

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.

The post NHL 19: Top 10 Player Ratings By Team - Metropolitan Division appeared
 first on The Hockey Writers.

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