The Metropolitan Division. Eight teams. Eight hidden gems to help you win your league.
The Metropolitan Division is the most chaotic and unpredictable division in hockey heading into 2026-27. The defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes are the toast of the division, Washington and Philadelphia are battling for the two and three seeds, and New Jersey is poised for a significant bounce-back season. Buried inside all of that noise are eight fantasy assets that are being systematically overlooked on draft boards across the country. Here is one sleeper from every Metropolitan Division team for 2026-27.
Carolina Hurricanes — Logan Stankoven | C
The relentless, high-energy centre had one of the most talked-about performances of the Stanley Cup run. With Seth Jarvis expected to miss the first month of the season with injury, Stankoven steps into an expanded role immediately. More ice time, more power play exposure, and more responsibility on a Hurricanes team that is built to go deep in the playoffs again. He plays with a compete level that is impossible to coach and impossible to stop, and his offensive instincts are sharper than his current average draft position suggests.
Projection Tier: 50 to 59 Points
Floor: 45 Points
Expected: 55 Points
Ceiling: 62 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Medium
Opportunity: 5/5 Trend: Trending Up
Columbus Blue Jackets — Kirill Marchenko | LW
Marchenko is quietly one of the most productive young wingers on a rebuilding Blue Jackets roster that is still at least a year away from playoff contention. ESPN listed him in their fantasy rankings as a player with significant upside, and the case is straightforward: He is the best offensive talent on a Columbus team that needs him to carry the offensive load, he plays on the first power play unit, and he is being drafted well outside the top 100 in most leagues. When a team is rebuilding, someone has to produce. Marchenko has already demonstrated he is that player.
Projection Tier: 70 to 79 Points
Floor: 65 Points
Expected: 74 Points
Ceiling: 80 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Stable
New Jersey Devils — Anthony Mantha | LW
NHL.com flagged Mantha as one of their top sleeper picks of the entire offseason, and the numbers behind that endorsement are staggering. He posted career highs of 33 goals and 64 points with Pittsburgh last season, quietly tied for fifth in the entire NHL in high-danger goals with 24, and ranked in the 98th percentile among forwards in shot speed. He signed a two-year deal with New Jersey this offseason and steps into a top-six role alongside either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier, two of the most elite distributors in the Eastern Conference. A player playing on a line with Jack Hughes is a fantasy asset that most managers are drastically undervaluing.
Projection Tier: 60 to 69 Points
Floor: 55 Points
Expected: 65 Points
Ceiling: 72 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Trending Up
New York Islanders — Bo Horvat | C
In news just announced, Bo Horvat has been named the 16th captain in New York Islanders franchise history…and that timing could not be more relevant for fantasy managers. Captaincy on an NHL team does not arrive without earned trust, expanded responsibility, and the kind of organizational commitment that translates directly to ice time and top-six deployment. Horvat has reached the 30-goal mark in four of the last six seasons and has been one of the top scorers on the Islanders since arriving from Vancouver in 2023. With Matthew Schaefer, last season’s Calder Trophy winner, developing around him, the offensive environment in New York is improving. Horvat is a reliable, durable, and criminally undervalued centre in most fantasy formats.
Projection Tier: 60 to 69 Points
Floor: 57 Points
Expected: 65 Points
Ceiling: 72 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Low
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Stable
New York Rangers — Alexis Lafrenière | LW
CBS Sports called Lafrenière the single most obvious sleeper in the entire league heading into 2026-27, and the reasoning is compelling. The former first overall pick has spent five seasons developing on a Rangers roster where the offensive hierarchy left him in a supporting role he was never quite able to escape. That changes in 2026-27. The Rangers added Pavel Dorofeyev this offseason, a proven 37-goal scorer from Vegas, and the reshuffling of the forward group around him creates space for Lafrenière to operate in a featured role with elite distribution around him for the first time in his career. He has the shot, the skating, and the instincts of a 35-goal scorer. The situation is finally catching up to the talent. This is his year.
Projection Tier: 60 to 69 Points
Floor: 58 Points
Expected: 65 Points
Ceiling: 75 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Medium
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Breakout
Philadelphia Flyers — Matvei Michkov | RW
Michkov is the most polarising player on this list and also the one with the highest ceiling by a considerable margin. The offensive tools are not in question, they have never been in question. His skating, his creativity, his ability to make plays in tight spaces are among the most elite in the league for a player his age. What has always been in question is consistency and deployment, and both of those variables improve meaningfully in 2026-27. Porter Martone’s arrival gives Michkov a legitimate power play partner who commands defensive attention in a completely different way. The Flyers are building something real, and Michkov is the most dangerous piece of it. His average draft position still does not reflect his ceiling. That is the opportunity.
Projection Tier: 70 to 79 Points
Floor: 65 Points
Expected: 75 Points
Ceiling: 85 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Trending Up
Pittsburgh Penguins — Yegor Chinakhov | RW
Chinakhov set NHL career highs last season with 42 points in 72 games and is entering 2026-27 as one of the most intriguing offensive pieces on a Pittsburgh roster in the middle of a significant transition. With Evgeni Malkin potentially playing his final NHL season and Sidney Crosby’s role evolving, the offensive load needs to be redistributed, and Chinakhov is the young, high-energy winger best positioned to absorb it. His speed and shot quality make him a legitimate scoring threat every time he touches the puck, and a full season of expanded deployment in Pittsburgh projects toward a 55-plus point campaign that his current ADP does not account for.
Projection Tier: 50 to 59 Points
Floor: 50 Points
Expected: 58 Points
Ceiling: 65 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 5/5
Trend: Trending Up
Washington Capitals — Aliaksei Protas | C
Washington is one of the most fascinating fantasy teams in the league heading into 2026-27. A roster loaded with players carrying 20-goal potential, multiple of whom are being drafted well below their value. Protas is the most undervalued of all of them. The 25-year-old Belarusian centre is entering what many consider his breakout season, with expanded top-six minutes on a Capitals team that added Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch to complement Ovechkin and Dubois. The offensive infrastructure around Protas is the best it has ever been, and his combination of size, skating, and two-way ability gives him a floor that makes him a safe late-round pick with genuine upside.
Projection Tier: 60 to 69 Points
Floor: 50 Points
Expected: 60 Points
Ceiling: 68 Points
Fantasy Risk Rating: Moderate
Opportunity: 4/5
Trend: Trending Up
The Central Division sleepers are coming next. Stay tuned.
Statistics and analyst insights sourced from NHL.com, CBS Sports, ESPN Fantasy, DobberHockey, Yardbarker, and FantasyAlarm, September 2026.
— The Add List +