Fantasy hockey sleepers: Metro Division: Penguins and Capitals

With the calendars getting close to the end of September and training camps underway, fantasy hockey leagues have started to schedule their drafts. Hopefully, you have been keeping up with the off-season moves, rookies added, and players looking to take a step forward, while some may be regressing in other cases. To help you plan, this series of columns will focus on fantasy hockey sleepers, one per team in each division.

Fantasy hockey sleepers mean different things to each person. For some, it’s the hot rookie. For others, it’s those who will take a step forward. Some view them as prior year players or acquisitions in new situations, enabling that individual to exceed projections or their initial role. For purposes of this series of columns, the focus will mainly be on the latter – those who have a chance to surpass expectations or prior production. I welcome feedback, criticism, thoughts, etc., as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, and your view may differ vastly from mine.

We kicked off this series by looking at the Atlantic Division and then we discussed the Central Division, each of which was completed. This column finishes the Metro Division review which will be followed by the Pacific. As noted, in each column, two teams are covered. To simplify it, we are going alphabetically by first team name rather than by nickname. The Penguins and Capitals are the focus of this column, as we complete the Metro Division review.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are a veteran-laden club made even older by the acquisition of Erik Karlsson. Finding a sleeper candidate is a mild exercise in futility, given the age, experience and prior production of the roster. But that is why you are reading this column.

Karlsson was brought in from San Jose to help Pittsburgh take one more kick at the Stanley Cup trophy can. His arrival likely moves Kris Letang to the second pair, at least at even strength. The question then becomes who lines up opposite Karlsson and tries to the Robin to his Batman.

Ryan Graves, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2013 by the Rangers and was dealt to Colorado in an ill-fated deal for Chris Bigras, played four years for the Avs before he was traded to the Devils. Graves spent two solid years in NJ, but cap reasons helped pave the way for him to sign a six-year, $27 million deal in Pittsburgh. As of now, Graves looks to be pencilled in opposite Karlsson, which could result in him posting 30+ points for the first time in his career, despite the lack of power-play time on the ice.

Washington Capitals

Like the Penguins, the Capitals are a veteran team. Washington has several excellent prospects in their pipeline, led by Ryan Leonard, but none look to be difference-makers this season. This means I need to choose someone from the current team population for this column.

Max Pacioretty is most certainly a candidate. Pacioretty had two Achilles surgeries within a year, but when healthy, which is the big question, he has more than shown in the past he can light the lamp. Patches is expected to be back for the start of the regular season, though that is not set in stone, and likely will line up as the second-line right winger.

Like Pacioretty, Nicklas Backstrom is still working his way back from a major operation. Backstrom had hip resurfacing surgery but returned to play 39 games, tallying 21 points, adding to his already impressive totals. Backstrom, a year-plus removed from the operation, should see an uptick in production, maybe not to the 2013-14 through 2018-19 level when he tallied at least 70 points in six straight years. But 50+ points, as he posted in 2019-20 and 2020-21, certainly looks attainable.

Atlantic Division:

Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres

Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers

Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs

Central Division:

Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars

Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators

St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets

Metropolitan Division:

Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets

New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders

New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers