Wake Me Up It's Hockey Season Part 4 By: Jennifer Kate

Well, we made it part four of my blog extravaganza. This is the Final Division we have to get through, and if I'm being biased here, this is my favorite Division, but let's get to it.

We have made it to the best Division if you ask me, and if you guys know, I'm a huge New York Rangers fan. I will get right to telling you the teams in the Metropolitan Division. The teams are as follows: The Carolina Hurricanes, The Columbus Blue Jackets, The New Jersey Devils, The New York Islanders, The New York Rangers, The Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and last but not least, the Washington Capitals. This lineup is going to be a little different. I will save the New York Rangers for last, so I'll do every team first, then them.

But let's jump right into the first team, The Carolina Hurricanes. The Carolina Hurricanes are always a threat and are first or second in the Division alongside the New Jersey Devils, which we will discuss later. The Canes will make it to the playoffs without question. They have so many talented players; we've seen them be sneaky good. Let's talk about a few of the big-name players on this team, and they are as follows: Brent Burns, Frederik Andersen, and last but not least, Jordan Staal.

Moving on to The Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets are not a good team and are in an extremely close and competitive division that they stand no chance of making it to the playoffs. They are the Arizona Coyotes of the Metropolitan Division. Let's get into the big-name players of this team, and they are as follows: Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine, and, last but not least, Boone Jenner.

Next up is The New Jersey Devils. I have some beef with this team, but that's neither here nor there. The Devils are an incredibly talented team, and they got a lot of good players during the off-season. And they will give the Carolina Hurricanes a run for their money this season. The Devils are making it to the playoffs. There is no question in my mind. Let's talk about some of the big-name players on this team, but there are multiple. But likewise, to keep it fair, I'm only picking three, and they are as follows: Jack Hughes, Former Rangers Brendan Smith, and Keith Kinkaid.

Up next is The New York Islanders. It was another team that had so much potential and wasted it on not signing many people in the offseason and signing their older guys to long-term contracts. If the Islanders had used their talent correctly, they would have been an enormous threat, but now they are bottom-feeders. They have zero shot at making it to playoffs and will be the laughingstock of the Metropolitan division. Let me name a few of the big names on this team, and they are as follows: Mathew Barzel, Bo Horvat, and Ilya Sorokin.

Moving on to The Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are not a bad team per se, but they aren't the best team, so they are mid. They must pull it together to make it to the playoffs this year. Let's talk about some of the big names on this team, and they are as follows: Carter Hart, Travis Konecny, and, last but not least, Sean Couturier.

Moving on to The Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins are another good team, and I'm sure they will be toward the top of the Division this year. And once all their older guys start to retire, they will go downhill fast, but the next one or two years will be the last time they make a big run or run out of time. Now, onto this team's big-name players, they are as follows: Erik Karlsson, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin.

Moving on to the Washington Capitals. The Capitals are in the same boat as the Penguins, and I mean that they kept the same core and built around them, and their core is getting older, so they also have a limited window to make another run. I don't see them making the playoffs this season. I think they fall just short. They are good, but as I said, they don't have a chance between the Hurricanes, Devils, and Rangers, who we will get to here in just a minute. Let's talk about their big-name players before moving on and the big-name players are as follows: Alexander Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, and Evgeny Kuznetsov.

And, of course, I saved the best for my last favorite team in the NHL: The New York Rangers. The Rangers have an excellent chance to make the playoffs if they work together. The Rangers made some big moves during the off-season and had a complete staff change and a coaching change on top of that, so with the addition of some new players and a new coach, it should be an exciting season for the New York Rangers. Let's talk about some big names for the Rangers before going ahead and wrapping this final blog up. The big names are Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad.

Well, that wraps it up for this blog and extravaganza. I hope you guys enjoyed this series of blogs, and as I said in the last one, please let me know your thoughts about your takes for this upcoming season for all you hockey fans out there, I hope you enjoy the beginning of hockey season, and I promise I will be back with more hockey content soon. But thank you so much for reading, and I will catch you guys in the next one.