The National Hockey League is full of flying wingers and ice-hot action. We look at NHL.com’s top 20 wingers and break down the numbers behind the numbers.
- Patrick Kane, free agent
The 34-year-old free agent sneaks in the top 20 with the former New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks star scoring an impressive 21 goals and 36 assists in his last 37 games. He only recently had hip surgery that was to keep him out for up to six months, but according to his agent Pat Brisson, expectations are high for him to still play this season.
19: Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Goldan Knights captain Mark Stone missed half of last season with a back injury but impressed in the first 43 games picking up 38 points in half a season, with 17 goals and 21 assists. The 31-year-old recovered from surgery in time to take up his place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and finished with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists). This was enough to see his team win its first Championship.
18: Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Keller recovered from a horrific fractured left femur and a long stint in rehab, and this fighting spirit and a hatful of points (86) saw him a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy – a fitting tribute as it exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The 25-year-old scored 37 goals in 82 games, to go along with 49 assists.
- Johnny Gaudreau, Colombus Blue Jackets
‘Johnny Hockey’ shocked many in the sport when he signed for the Blue Jackets, with more money left on the table in Calgary and similar deals in New York and New Jersey, but it is a decision that has come to fruition. Gaudreau was a phenom, leading the team with a franchise season high of 74 points (21 goals and a whopping 53 assists). This was the 5th time in 10 NHL seasons the 30-year-old has scored at least 70 points in a single campaign.
- Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins
The 28-year-old Guentzel enjoyed another giant season at the Penguins, leading the team on the goalscoring charts with 36. This followed up his previous season tally of 40 (76 goals in two seasons makes him tied 14th in the NHL), and there is nothing stopping the flying winger to adding more records. He has banged in 36 goals in three of the past five seasons, one of only seven NHL players to reach that feat.
- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers charging winger, in his 12 NHL season, produced some scintillating numbers and set career highs in points (104), goals (37), assists 67) and powerplay goals (15). Ranking third in the NHL with 53 power-play points, Nugent-Hopkins enjoyed a stellar season. His assist against the San Jose Sharks saw him move into 8th spot on the Oiler’ all-time points list with 632. This could be another number-shattering season, with the winger only one point shy of 400 NFL assists.
- Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
The Senators hardman mixed physicality with skill to set his NHL best of 35 goals, 48 assists and 83 points. Bets news of all for Senator’s supporters, he played all 82 games for the first time in 5 years. The 23-year-old hit a franchise record 347 shots on goal. Smart, strong and young, he drew 40 penalties to give him a plus-1 penalty differential.
13: Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
Connor put out some crazy numbers on the ice last season with an NHL-best 49 assists while also showing he is no slouch in the scoring department, scoring at least 30 goals in five of the past six seasons. Impressive enough to make the top ten, mmm, not quite there yet. The 26-year-old has notched up 207 goals in six seasons, placing him seventh in the NHL.
12: William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
With 87 points last season and a Toronto-tying 40 goals (Auston Matthews), he became only the second Swede to score 40 goals for the Maple Leafs (Mats Sundin 1996/7). Add in 10 play-off points and one can see why the 27-year-old has such a growing reputation.
- Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Just missing out on a top ten spot, last season was milestone one for Stamkos. He scored his 500th NHL goal, got his 500th assist and became the first player with 500 goals and 1.000 points for the Lightning. The 33-year-old was also the second player to partake in 1,000 games (Vincent Lecavlier, 1,037). With 84 points and four in the play-offs, Stamkos is testament to his landmark achievements.
- Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Cracking the top 10 is 35-year-old Brad Marchand, who seems to be like some kind of Benjamin Button (getting better with age), scoring at least 20 goals for the 10th straight season. See what we did with the tens there. He scored 67 points but missed the first two weeks of the season after hip surgery.
9: Artemi Panarin
The only New York Ranger in contention for a top ten spot, Panarin scored a sensation 92 points (29 goals and 63 assists) in 82 games. With two assists in the playoffs, the Rangers star reached 90+ points for the third time in four seasons. Mind-blowing stats for the 31-year-old.
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
The 37-year-old enjoyed another eye-busting season, scoring his 822-nd goal along the way, putting him a mere 72 away from Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894. Father time will see how this plays out, but with 42 goals last time out, two more seasons could see him there, and become an all-time legend. With a league-record 13th 40-goal season he has already passed the Great One on that milestone. He also, unsurprisingly, led the Capitals with 75 points.
7: Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
The 26-year-old became the first Wild player to score back-to-back 40-goal seasons. With 87 goals in the past two seasons, the Russian has averaged 1.15 points per game in his past three seasons. He is the second placed all-time Russian, behind Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins with a 1.16 average. He only played 67 games, so imagine how many he would have got in an 82-game season.
- Mitchell Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
The second Maple Leafs player in the top 20 of this list, Marner led the team with 99 points (30 goals, 69 assists), and follow that up with 14 in the playoffs and one can say why the 26-year old is so highly rated. A finalist in the Selke Trophy he led the NHL with 104 takeaways. He is now one of 4 active players with successive seasons of at least 897 points.
- Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars
The best Stars player by a Texan mile, Robertson scored 109 points, with 46 goals and 63 assists. Named as left-wing for the NHL First All-Star team, he scored the most points since Bobby Smith (1981/82). There was plenty of playoff success for Robertson as well with the 24-year-old scoring 24 points in a run to the Western Conference final.
- Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche
The 26-year-old picked up career best stats with 55 goals and 105 points. With 50 assists he is the fourth ever franchise player with a 50-50 season (Joe Sakic, Michel Goulet, Jacques Richard). Rantanen scored the most goals in almost four decades for the franchise since Goulet scored 55 for the Nordiques. Leading the Avalanche in the playoffs with 10 points, he is one winger to look out for this season.
3: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
The second Lightning player on the list and cracking a top three spot, Kucherov tied third in the NHL with 113 points (30 goals, 83 assists in 82 games). He nearly beat his own record of four years back as a Lightning player (128 points). 50 power-play pointers was a Tampa Bay single-season record. He reached 100 points for the third time in six seasons and at 30-years-old there could more glory beckoning.
2: Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
His first season at the Panthers was eye-popping with 61 goals (second in NHL) and 113 points. He was named third in voting for the Hart Trophy. The playoffs showed his real class, setting a Panther’s record of 11 goals and 13 assists. At only 25, he scored four game-winning goals in the postseason. This included a series-clincher in game 4 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
1: David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
And then there was one. The Bruins’ star finished second in the NHL with 61 goals and earning 113 points, which placed him third last campaign. The growing legend has now past 34+ goals in six of the last seven seasons. This feta is only bested by one other player, Auston Matthews with seven). He almost won the Hart Trophy, finishing second and the right-wing for the NHL All-Star team. He is the first player since Phil Esposito to score 60 goals in a season, breaking a 48-year-old franchise record since Esposito did it for the last of his four times.
