With NHL 19';s official release right around the corner, it seems appropriate to start looking through each team';s roster and seeing which teams appear to be the strongest and which appear to be the weakest in the newest installment of this legendary video game franchise.Related: NHL 19 - A Refreshing Twist on
the Classic Game

To kick things off, the Atlantic Division - a division that should see another top-heavy race to the finish in 2018-19, will be looked at and briefly analyzed. The ratings presented are from the Aug. 31 2018 rosters for NHL 19 - ratings that could change when the game is officially released on Sept. 14 2018.Boston Bruins:

Patrice Bergeron - 90Tuukka Rask - 90Brad Marchand - 88David Pastrnak - 87Zdeno
Chara - 85Charlie McAvoy - 85Torey Krug - 84David Krejci - 83John Moore - 82Jake DeBrusk - 82

When looking at the Bruins initial roster ratings, it';s clear that the perception of the Bruins as a top-heavy team with an average supporting cast is
shared by those at EA Sports. The Bruins did have arguably the best line in hockey last season and the ratings reflect as much in this year';s game.Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins, Dec. 2, 2017 (Amy
Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

While Tuukka Rask should likely be rated lower and Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have legitimate cases to be rated higher, the general placement of most players on this list doesn';t seem to be too off the mark.Buffalo Sabres:

Jack Eichel - 87Rasmus Ristolainen - 86Jeff Skinner - 84Kyle Okposo - 83Sam Reinhart - 83Carter Hutton - 82Marco Scandella - 81Vladimir Sobotka - 81Conor Sheary - 81Zach Bogosian - 80

The Buffalo Sabres are a team that is looking to finally put it all together in
2018-19. While the competition is fierce in the Atlantic Division, the Sabres have compiled one of the very best prospect pools in the NHL - a prospect pool that should lead to many new faces in the Sabres lineup this season.Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres, Dec. 14, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

For one reason or another, Rasmus Dahlin was nowhere to be seen on the Sabres';
roster and a deeper dig found him as an 82 overall player on the Frolunda Indians in the SHL - the team he was drafted out of in Sweden. Based on that, Dahlin would fall at around No. 6 in the Sabres ratings with Zach Bogosian being knocked off entirely.Detroit Red Wings:

Henrik Zetterberg - 84Dylan Larkin - 84Jimmy Howard - 83Gustav Nyquist - 83Anthony Mantha - 83Danny DeKeyser - 82Jonathan Bernier - 82Mike Green - 82Andreas Athanasiou - 81Thomas Vanek - 81

Once the gold standard in the NHL with over two decades of consecutive playoff appearances, the Detroit Red Wings have become one of the NHL';s worst teams. This was reflected in their NHL 19 counterpart as well with their top-rated player receiving a score of only 84 - far and away the worst top-rating in the Atlantic Division.Detroit';s Zetterberg (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Red Wings did have a very good draft in 2018, however, and things could start looking up for the Red Wings in a few years when their high-end prospects
help alleviate cap pressure put on the team by some of the more abysmal contracts on the team (and across the league).Florida Panthers:

Aleksander Barkov - 88Aaron Ekblad - 86Vincent Trochek - 86Jonathan  Huberdeau
- 86Evgeni Dadonov - 85Roberto Luongo - 85Mike Hoffman - 84Mike Matheson - 83Keith Yandle - 83Nick Bjugstad - 83

The Florida Panthers late-season burst last season didn';t happen by accident. With a young team filled with first-round talent and a solid supporting cast of
veterans, the Panthers are one of the better teams in the Atlantic Division heading into the 2018-19 season. This remains true in NHL 19 as well as the Panthers lowest rated player in their top-10 still has an impressive rating of 83.(Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports)Montreal Canadiens:

Carey Price - 92Shea Weber - 87Brendan Gallagher - 84Jonathan Drouin - 84Max Domi - 82Jeff Petry - 82Simon Despres - 81Joel Armia - 80David Schlemko - 80Phillip Danault - 80

Due to the official rosters last being updated on Aug. 31 2018, the Canadiens roster still featured Max Pacioretty on the list as an 87-overall player. To make this list more accurate, Pacioretty was removed and the next highest-overall player was selected in Danault.Carey Price (Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports)

The Canadiens are going to experience a lot of lows in 2018-19 with their current roster and that should be no different in NHL 19. Only two teams in the
Atlantic Division of their 10th-best player ranked as low as an 80 this season.
The Ottawa Senators ninth-ranked player is also an 80-overall but with the Canadiens 8th, 9th and 10th players all ranked as 80-overalls to start the season, things are likely to get worse for Montreal before they get better.Ottawa Senators:

Erik Karlsson - 90Mark Stone - 87Matt Duchene - 85Bobby Ryan - 81Craig Anderson
- 81Thomas Chabot - 81Ryan Dzingel - 81Mikkel Boedker - 81Mike Condon - 80Zach Smith - 80

It';s entirely possible that this list will be outdated before the official release of NHL 19 ever even occurs. With the Karlsson sweepstakes reportedly picking up steam again, the Senators'; captain and cornerstone player could very likely be on the move, giving them even less talent to work around, both in reality and in NHL 19.Erik Karlsson #65, Ottawa Senators - February 3, 2018 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Fast-forward to the 2019 offseason and it';s also a possibility that the Senators will be without Stone and Duchene as well as they are both set to be unrestricted free agents. The Senators have done a good job at drafting and while they have some high-end prospects on the way, the team will likely be among the league';s worst teams in 2018-19. Unfortunately, that won';t do them any good as their first-round pick in 2019 belongs to Colorado as a result of the Duchene trade.

Tampa Bay Lightning:

Steven Stamkos - 91Nikita Kucherov  - 91Victor Hedman - 91Andrei Vasilevskiy -
88Ryan McDonagh - 87Brayden Point - 85Antoine Stralman - 84Ondrej Palat - 84Mikhail Sergachev - 84J.T. Miller - 83

The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of the NHL';s very best teams. Whether it';s their real-life team or their NHL 19 version, the fact that Steve Yzerman (prior to stepping down as the general manager of the Lightning) was able to construct this team, pay the players and even add more through trades is a testament to how good he was at his job.Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is greeted by forward Steve Stamkos and defenseman Anton Stralman (Dan
Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)

With three players ranked at 91 overall, the Lightning promise to be one of the
most feared teams in NHL 19. Their supporting cast also received a very solid set of ratings and their prospect pool also appears to be in good shape in the game - an accurate reflection of their real-life situation.Toronto Maple Leafs:

John Tavares - 90Auston Matthews - 89Frederik Andersen - 88Mitch Marner - 86Morgan Rielly - 86William Nylander - 85Nazem Kadri - 85Jake Gardiner - 83Patrick Marleau - 82Nikita Zaitsev - 82

After acquiring John Tavares through free agency in 2018, the Toronto Maple Leafs quest to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967 is alive and well. Their video-game version also got rated favorably as well with their seventh-best player ranked at 85 overall.Nylander and Matthews both reached the 100-point plateau this past week. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

The Atlantic Division will feature some of the best and some of the worst teams
in all of hockey this season. While the race at the top will likely feature three or four teams vying for supremacy, the race at the bottom may be just as interesting with the Canadiens, Senators and Red Wings all appearing to have a rough season in store for them.

The post NHL 19: Top 10 Player Ratings By Team - Atlantic Division appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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