Metropolitan Division: Each team’s breakout candidate for 2019-20.

Washington Capitals – Tom Wilson

2018-19 Stats: 63 games played, 22 goals, 18 assists, 40 points

Whether you hate him, or love him, you can’t deny the impact Tom Wilson has for the Washington Capitals. In a league that has seen power-forwards become a thing of the past, Wilson has ushered the type of play that teams have opted to turn away from. Has he made some very dangerous hits that have led to suspensions? Of course, he has.

Despite his very questionable decisions on the ice, Wilson has become one of the most difficult players to play against. If you have your head down crossing the blue-line, just know Wilson is without a doubt not missing the opportunity to make his presence felt. With an agitating style of play, Wilson can back it up as well as he is regularly among the NHL’s leaderboard for fighting.

After being handed a 20-game suspension for his hit on Oskar Sundqvist in a preseason game, Wilson made up for time missed. He, however, did happen to appeal his suspension, but by the time there was a solution resolved, he only received one game off his suspension.

Once Wilson returned, he was paired with Alex Ovechkin, making him an instant grab in fantasy hockey. If you jumped ship early you would have reaped the benefits of doing so, as he was red hot scoring seven goals in nine games along with a few assists to go along.

Despite anyone’s opinions of Wilson, he is one of the best power-forwards in the NHL right now. Hitting 22 goals shows he can be an effective player without having to resort to only toughness. Wilson was averaging 18:09 TOI per game, playing on the top-line, as well as the power-play and penalty-kill.

If Wilson can play smart hockey and stay out of the box, there’s no reason why he can’t break out into the 30 goal plateau. He has all the necessary tools to do so and playing alongside Backstrom and Ovi makes him an intriguing pick in fantasy hockey.

At only 25, Wilson is entering the best years of his career right now. He will be entering the second year of his six-year contract with the Caps.

New York Islanders – Jordan Eberle

2018-19 Stats: 78 games, 19 goals, 18 assists, 37 points

Before the 2018-19 season began, the New York Islanders sent shockwaves throughout the NHL by signing Barry Trotz, who just came off a Stanley Cup Championship with the Capitals.

Normally, a coach being hired wouldn’t attract as much attention as signing a big free agent player, but the fact Trotz just came off a championship and his experience in the league, makes a significant impact.

With the signing of Trotz, this legitimized the coaching staff instantaneously. After failing to clinch the playoffs two seasons in a row, the Islanders had no issue clinching this season as they finished second in the Metropolitan division. With Barzal as the go-to-guy after the departure of long-time captain John Tavares, the Islanders seemingly looked to be less significant without him. It’s not easy to replace that type of talent.

With Trotz at the helm, the Islanders became one of the NHL’s success stories of the entire season. After sweeping the Penguins in the first round, the Islanders, in turn, got swept by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

This is where Jordan Eberle finally gets mentioned here. In order to mention him, it was important to note the success of the team that contributed to where Eberle left the season.

Nothing in particular stands out in his point totals. If anything, it was Eberle’s worst season of his career in regard to points. So why is he on a breakout candidate list?

If you watched the playoffs at all, Eberle was the main source of goals for the Islanders throughout their playoff run. He was the best player throughout the entire playoffs finishing with nine points in eight games.

Fortunately for Eberle, this came at a contract year. If not for his incredible playoff run, he might not have received the brand new five-year, $27.5 million dollar contract ($5.5/season) he just signed. He also holds an NTC for until 2021, and a modified NTC from 2021-2024 per CapFriendly.

Eberle needs to continue his strong play if he hopes to play up to this contract. It should be important to note he did play with Barzal throughout much of the playoffs. While Eberle did have a strong playoff, he had nothing short of an abysmal season.

He knows he got paid for his performance during the playoffs. if he can bring the same level of confidence he had, he could hit the 60-point threshold again. I would hold-off in drafting him until we know for sure where he plays.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Dominik Kahun

2018-19 stats: 82 games, 13 goals, 24 assists, 37 points 

Saturday afternoon saw the Pittsburgh Penguins trade defenseman Olli Maatta to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Dominik Kahun, per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Personally, I like this trade more for the Penguins right now. While everything is hindsight until a few seasons go by, the Penguins were able to get what they needed.

Maatta was the odd man out come playoffs as he only participated in one game. Both Marcus Pettersson and Erik Gudbranson were being played ahead of him. Maatta had three-years left on a contract that was paying him $4.1 million (rounded) per season.

With him as the player on the outside looking in, it made sense to let him go. Along with Kahun, the Pens were able to pick-up a 2019 fifth-round pick.

Bringing in Kahun does two major things for the Penguins, freeing up cap space and creating depth up front. Trading Maatta frees up about $3.2 million as Kahun enters his final ELC season with a cap hit of $925,000.

What makes the trade successful for the Pens is the fact Maatta was more-likely not to see the ice time he once did as the Pens didn’t see him being a part of the team’s immediate future.

Kahun is very versatile in where he plays. With the Blackhawks, he regularly shifted from center to either wing based on where the team needed him. Kahun is able to provide good defense as well, which is something the Pens need more from out of their forwards. He has experience playing a top-six role as he regularly played on the second line with Brandon Saad and Artem Anisimov.

Overall, I think this is a big win for the Penguins. Kahun will get the opportunity to play with Crosby at one point in the season. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan changes lines frequently in an effort to switch things up. If Kahun gets the “Crosby treatment”, Kahun could become very fantasy hockey relevant.

Crosby has a knack for turning average players into good players. It’s what superstars do in the NHL. I do not think he is worth a draft as of yet until he is paired alongside Crosby. Be sure to keep an eye on Kahun.

Carolina Hurricanes – Jaccob Slavin

2018-19 stats: 82 games, 8 goals, 23 assists, 31 points

The Carolina Hurricanes or “the bunch of jerks”, thanks to Don Cherry’s rant, became one of the NHL’s Cinderella stories. In a stacked Metropolitan division, the Canes weren’t looked at as a team to make the playoffs or make a legitimate run nonetheless.

If there is one person responsible for what we all tuned into night after night, it has to be former captain and current head coach, Rod Brind’Amour. The Canes have some very good players in Sebastian Aho, Jaccob Slavin, and Teuvo Teravainen, to name a few. If you would have told me the Canes would have made it to the Eastern Conference Final, I would have said you were crazy. Well, it happened.

The Canes clinched the playoff as the first wild card in the East. Rod Brind’Amour amazingly wasn’t nominated for the Jack Adams‘ award (coach of the year). He certainly should have been in my opinion. Despite not being nominated, the player’s all bought into what he was selling. That made all the difference in the world.

Slavin is one of those players. He has proved he is the Hurricanes best defenseman, and one of the more valuable players on the roster. Slavin isn’t well-known by casual NHL fans but should be. Slavin plays all aspects of the game, he provides offense where he has hit 30+ points for the third season in a row.

He shut-downs the opposing team’s best player’s on a nightly basis. A puck-moving defenseman is in rare need in the NHL, the Carolina Hurricanes have potentially one of the more underrated defensemen in the league.

The playoffs is where Slavin truly showed just how good he is. A main area of concern against the Capitals and Bruins were defensive turnovers, particularly from Dougie Hamilton and Justin Faulk. Yeah, Slavin may not pitch in as much offensively as Hamilton, but he certainly doesn’t turn the puck over quit like him. If you don’t remember Hamilton avoiding a hit from Ovechkin in game 5 of the first round, don’t worry I have it here.

Slavin is the most consistent defenseman for the Canes, by far. He logs the most minutes, (23:02 TOI – regular season) plays on the power-play, penalty-kill. When the game is on the line, you bet Slavin is out there. Slavin has six-years left on his seven-year deal he signed last season. At $5.3 million per season per CapFriendly, Slavin will be around for a long time. Expect him to continue providing the Canes with his constant strong play.

Columbus Blue Jackets – Joonas Korpisalo

2018-19 stats: 27 games, 10 wins, 7 losses, 3 OT losses, .897 save percentage, 3.13 GAA, 0 shutouts

The Columbus Blue Jackets you saw in the playoffs will look drastically different come 2019-20. Before we even begin to talk about Joonas Korpisalo, it’s impossible not to mention the overall state of the team. While the Jackets aren’t in any sort of panic mode, it’s still rather “up in the air”.

Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky will most-likely not be returning to the team. Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, are exploring free agent opportunities and are not guaranteed to return. The Blue Jackets have important players to resign as well in Werenski, Murray, Korpisalo and newly acquired Kinkaid among the more prioritized players.

Panarin and Bobrovsky’s careers in Columbus are all but over. With Korpisalo and Kinkaid in need of contracts, the Blue Jackets have their goalie tandem in line. Neither will require big contracts as they both have something to prove. The starting position will be up for grabs between both goalies. I believe Korpisalo will take over as the next starter, making him a must grab in fantasy hockey.

With “Bob” out of the picture, the net is Korpisalo’s to lose. Korpisalo’s best season to date was his rookie season in 2015-16, where he won 16 games, with a .920% SV%, as well as a 3.09 GAA. Korpisalo hasn’t been able to get back to what started as. promising career. At only 25, Korpisalo has the biggest opportunity of his career. It’s make or break it time for him.

Yes, the Blue Jackets will be a different team, but they still have a good team even without their two-top player’s. Columbus has only two draft picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, a third and seventh round pick. Not ideal at all. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen deserves no blame at all. The writing was on the wall with Panarin and Bobrovsky, and he knew it. It was his decision to keep them and make a Stanley Cup run, one that looked to be promising.

The Jackets shocked the NHL world by sweeping the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs. The celebration was short-lived for a team that made it to the second round for the first time.

Unfortunately, they ran into the Bruins, losing in six games. It was a massive gamble on Kekalainen’s end to acquire Duchene, Dzingel, and McQuaid, one that may cost the future of the team. Should he be at blame? I don’t know.

Philadelphia Flyers – Carter Hart

2018-19 stats: 31 games, 16 wins, 13 losses, 1 OT loss, .917 save percentage, 2.83 GAA, 0 shutouts

The Philadelphia Flyers broke an NHL record when Cam Talbot became the eighth goalie to start in a game for them in a single season. If I’m being honest, that is not a record I would want to break. What this goes to show, and any Flyers fan I’m sure can attest to, is just how badly they need a starting goalie. Luckily, Carter Hart has saved the day.

Hart won his first two starts, then later went on an eight-game winning streak in an effort to make a near impossible playoff run. During that span, he has shown he can be the next starting goalie in Philly, and for years to come. Hart is only 20-years old, extremely young for a goalie to become a starter, nonetheless even a backup.

With a clear starting goalie, the Flyers should be able to play with more confidence knowing they have a steady net-minder behind them. Adding Matt Niskanen in exchange for Radko Gudas helps to solidify their defense.

According to Fox Sports, the Flyers allow 32.5 shots per game, which is a lot of shots for any goalie to see. If the Flyers can become more defensively sound, Hart alone can help win them games.

The Flyers have a flux of offensively-minded defenseman. Gostisbehere, Provorov, and Sanheim are all looked at as offensive defenseman. While there is nothing wrong with producing offense from the back-end, it leaves you vulnerable at actually playing defense.

This has become a serious issue for the Flyers as they often give up 2-on-1 chances regularly. On Tuesday morning, it was reported the Flyers acquired Justin Braun from the San Jose Sharks, in exchange for a 2019 second round pick, as well as a 2020 third round pick. Adding a stay-at-home defenseman like him will limit the opposition’s chances of repeatedly developing odd-man rushes.

The Flyers did finish with the third-most goals against in the NHL with 281, which comes out to 3.4 GAA per game. Scoring isn’t the issue in Philadelphia. The lack of a starting goalie and sound defense has been plaguing the Flyers for years now.

With Hart the search for a goalie is no more, adding Niskanen and Braun, is a step in the right direction for a Flyers team that was one of the worst defensively in the NHL. Hart is the present and the future. As the clear number one starter, he could be worth adding as your third goalie come fantasy hockey draft day.

New York Rangers – Jacob Trouba

2018-19 stats: 82 games, 8 goals, 42 assists, 50 points

The wait is finally over, Jacob Trouba has been traded to the Rangers! Rangers GM, Jeff Gorton has done a great job in building a New York Rangers team that has been going through a rebuild. Adding the likes of Trouba instantly makes their defense stronger as he will now be the number one defenseman moving forward.

The Rangers have about $19 million in cap space according to CapFriendly. Trouba has previously stated his desire to receive upwards of $7 million per season, luckily for the Rangers, they happen to have plenty of cap room to make that happen. Gorton was able to only have to trade Neal Pionk and what was originally Winnipeg’s 20th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.

They instantly became the winners of this trade. They succeeded in grabbing the top defenseman on the market with the exception to recently signed Erik Karlsson. Not enough can be said about how well Gorton has managed this Rangers team. The Rangers gave up a minuscule amount compared to what Trouba is truly worth.

The writing was on the wall in regard to Trouba’s time left in Winnipeg. The Jets’ went to arbitration two season in a row with Trouba due to never being able to come to an agreement on salary. For the Jets’, they knew what he was going to ask for after coming off a career-high that saw him top 50 points. Trouba wants an AAV of $7 million and he will receive that in New York.

Gorton knew he needed to go out and get a defenseman that can play all aspects of the ice. Trouba is the go-to-guy now. Kevin Shattenkirk was thought as to be the number one defenseman when he was brought over to the Rangers. For reasons unknown, he hasn’t been the same player he once was with the St. Louis Blues.

The Rangers have one of the more exciting teams to look out for in a few seasons. They have great prospects in Fox, Chytil, Andersson, and Howden. Gorton deserves a ton of credit for his ability to improve this Rangers team without giving up young talent.

Adding Trouba may prove to be his best acquisition yet. Draft him relatively early as he will be playing in all formats of the game. Look for Trouba to break his career high and hit 60-points.

New Jersey Devils – Cory Schneider

2018-19 stats: 26 games played, 6 wins, 13 losses, 4 OT losses, .903 save percentage, 3.06 GAA, 1 shutout

For the last three seasons, New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider has struggled dramatically. From 2016-2019, Schneider has undergone numerous injuries hindering his ability to be at his best form. So why is Schneider on this list of being a breakout candidate? The reason is simple – when he is on, he’s on.

Schneider went on one of the most unforgettable runs for a goalie in recent NHL history. He snapped a 14-month winless streak that saw him go 0-17-4. Unlike most people, credit to Schneider for never pointing fingers, and remaining optimistic throughout perhaps the toughest span of his entire career.

I want to make one thing very clear. Schneider isn’t a bad goalie at all. Yes, his play for the last three seasons has been nothing short of disappointing, but he has battled through a list of injuries. The native from Marblehead, MA, owns a career .919% to go with a 2.40 GAA. Is that look bad to you?

It’s easy to harp on a player when they aren’t doing good, we have all fell victim to that. Schneider has looked good as of late, where he was named the starting goalie for the US at the 2019 IIHF Worlds. Schneider finished the tournament with a 2.49 GAA and a .920% in six games. With stats like that, it is a positive indication that he has regained his confidence.

With Keith Kinkaid traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils have shown they remain optimistic that Schneider is the starting goalie. As long as Schneider can remain healthy, they have every reason to believe he can turn his career around. In order for the Devils to push for a playoff spot they need Schneider to regain the form he once held.

In regard to fantasy hockey, Schneider will be the starting goalie for the Devils. I see him right now as a buy-low, high-reward option as it’s unclear if he will be able to return to prominence. He can serve as a steady number three goalie for the upcoming fantasy year.