Metro Division offense, Rankings talk and more …

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One of the nice things about this gig is not jumping out of the fantasy hockey thought process or loop. Typically during the summers, I’m full-time baseball coverage with a dash of NFL.

As I’ve started editing and posting content at TheFakeHockey.com, a particular bust blurb got me thinking.

In his Metropolitan Division Busts article, Ben Benwell noted the high-scoring offenses within the division were a concern for Steve Mason‘s fantasy stock. After all, you play teams within your division more than those outside it.

Stick tap, Ben, it is a nice point and something worth considering during draft preparation and while preparing rankings.

Last season, the Central Division was the highest scoring in five-on-five goals per team, and it was an easy lock for the best division. Five of seven teams made the playoffs, and the Dallas Stars likely would have, if they played in the Eastern Conference.

Interestingly, three of the top-10 goalies (Devan Dubnyk, Pekka Rinne and Corey Crawford), according to ESPN’s Player Rater, were from the Central Division.

The Metropolitan Division finished second in five-on-five goals per team, and six goalies from the division finished inside the top 15 of ESPN’s Player Rater. Braden Holtby, Cory Schneider, Henrik Lundqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury, Steve Mason and Cam Talbot all cracked the mark.

For comparison sake, the Atlantic Division had five goalies inside the top 15, and the Pacific Division had just Jonathan Quick.