Last week we dissected the Atlantic Division, ranking each team based on expected finish in the upcoming 2024-25 NHL campaign with this week's Eastern Edge featuring the same process but for the Metropolitan. No disrespect to the Central or Pacific divisions, but there are a lot of improved young clubs on the rise in both Eastern Conference divisions, meaning, a few really good teams will be left on the cutting room floor come the end of April. To help fantasy GMs hone in on the top teams with some of the best targets for impending drafts, we're taking a look at the Metro and how it stacks up for the upcoming season.

8) Columbus Blue Jackets

Out of respect and to honour the tragically tough times this franchise and fan base is still going through, we will omit the section on the Blue Jackets and wish their community, players, fans, and staff well for the upcoming season.

7) Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers punched above their weight class for most of the previous year, holding down the third and final playoff spot for a good portion of the second half before ultimately losing 10 of their final 13 games and missing out on the postseason altogether. There's no denying the intrigue Philly's forward group serves up with the likes of such tantalizing fantasy targets as Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, and Travis Konecny, but the blue line is a work in progress and the hole in the blue paint left by Carter Hart is still gaping. Say what you will about John Tortorella and his coaching style, the bottom line is Philly will be in tough to crack the postseason once again with too many teams to topple.

6) Washington Capitals

This Washington club is one of the more difficult to project in the entire league in terms of what the 2024-25 season has in store. Solid moves on the blueline and between the pipes to bring in Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, and Logan Thompson round out an underrated backend that should anchor the Caps and protect a forward group that gained some risky pieces in Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The real issue with this team is going to once again be where does the bulk of the offense come from should Alex Ovechkin struggle? Washington was a really bad team at the offensive end only a year ago, only registering more goals (216 overall) than the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Seattle Kraken. On paper, Washington is a much-improved group that should have a rejuvenated Ovi at the focal point of its success, but games still need to be played on the ice and when push comes to shove, Washington likely won't have enough firepower to go on a sustained run. After their top two or three fantasy targets, buyers beware.

5) Pittsburgh Penguins

Seemingly intertwined in the Metro division since both Ovi and Sidney Crosby were the newly-minted faces of the league and sport back in the mid-2000s, the Penguins and Capitals are likely locked into yet another battle for postseason positioning as wild-card teams hoping to squeak into the playoffs and make some serious noise after doing so. In terms of the Pens, specifically, a relatively quiet offseason of moves leaves the burden for success squarely on 87's shoulders. Fresh off inking yet another team-friendly deal while leaving a ton of money on the table, Crosby heads into 2024-25 as nothing short of a fantasy darling on the heels of a stellar 94-point season. Hits, penalty minutes, shots on net, power-play production, you name it, Sid covers it while also bringing 90-point potential to cement himself as a top-two-round fantasy draft target. He will once again need to be the hero if Pittsburgh wants any shot at punching a playoff ticket for the first time since 2022 when they bowed out in the first round to the Rangers in seven games.

4) New York Islanders

We're keeping this one short and sweet: a team that perennially under achieves in offensive metrics and on special teams is basically running back the exact same roster hoping it will work out. What could possibly go wrong? No offense intended toward Anthony Duclair, a player who actually turned it on in a major way after joining the Tampa Bay Lightning at the deadline last year to the tune of 15 points in 17 games, but he won't be nearly enough to take this team from bubble-spot obscurity into top-three limelight. Patrick Roy is a really good coach who clearly got the most out of his roster down the stretch last season and Ilya Sorokin, when on his game, can be a game-changing netminder, but after that, we just don't see it for an Isles team that finished dead last in penalty-killing percentage and 19th in power-play proficiency only a year ago.

3) Carolina Hurricanes

Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, and Teuvo Teravainen are four important players whom Carolina will sorely miss during this upcoming season. However, even with the stop-gap-type additions of Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jack Roslovic, and William Carrier, the Canes have then enough talent in the blue paint and on their number one forward line to return to a top-three spot in the Metro. Keep all eyes peeled on Seth Jarvis and his deployment, should he slot back in with Sebastian Aho on the Hurricanes top line then he's the prototypical breakout target to consider. If he gets shifted to the second-line centre role to balance out Carolina's attack then his value takes a bit of hit. Either way, this group will go as far as Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov take it.

2) New Jersey Devils

We've been saying it all summer long: The New Jersey Devils are going to be a force to be reckoned with. Luke Hughes' injury throws a bit of a wrench in what was shaping up to be one of the most balanced and dangerous blue lines in the entire league, but he'll be back before long, meaning double-circle Dougie Hamilton's name as a defenseman just outside the top-five targets on the blue line who should explode this season with New Jersey on the come up. If newly-acquired netminder Jacob Markstrom finds his game from a couple seasons ago that saw him lead the league in shutouts with nine while posting a 2.22 goals-against average and .922 save percentage, don't be surprised if the Devils are the last team standing when the dust settles on this campaign. As for fantasy, regularly plundering this roster for elite options is a good look, New Jersey is stacked with attractive targets at seemingly every position and should be considered a fantasy hockey goldmine.

1) New York Rangers

When you have the best goaltender in the fantasy game, a few elite-level offensive pieces, and a blue line stacked with bruisers you get the respect the New York Rangers do. The reigning Presidents' Trophy winners will undoubtedly be one the best teams in the league once again who can be counted on for fantasy hockey beasts. Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, three players, arguably, who are the best at their position and we haven't even talked about another player primed for a breakout season in Alexis Lafreniere. The Rangers are deadly on special teams and are one of the toughest teams to play against at both ends of the rink who will be heard from before all is said and done.