NHL Top Players: Top 20 wings

The ability to score thrilling goals, make eye-popping passes, and go to the net with superb skating are the hallmarks of an elite wing. NHL Network producers and analysts on Wednesday revealed their list of the top 20 wings in the League right now in the second of a nine-part series. Here is the list:

20. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers

Konecny continued to be one of the most underrated and best two-way players in the game last season. He led the Flyers in goals (33), assists (35) and points (68) in 76 games while also leading the NHL with six short-handed goals. The 27-year-old right wing led Philadelphia forwards with 19:50 of ice time per game, including a team-high 2:59 per game on the power-play and 1:34 short-handed. A five-time 20-goal scorer, Konecny has had back-to-back 30-goal seasons

19. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Ovechkin had 31 goals last season, the 18th time in his 19 seasons he's had at least 30. With 853 goals, the 38-year-old left wing needs 41 to tie Wayne Gretzky for the most all-time. He had 65 points averaging 19:13 of ice time in 79 games, and his 13 power-play goals and 28 power-play points led Washington. Ovechkin, who ranks 13th all-time in points (1,550) and first in power-play goals (312), has a packed trophy case. In addition to winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2018, he has won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the League's leading goal-scorer nine times, the Hart Trophy as MVP three times, the Ted Lindsay Award as MVP chosen by the NHLPA, the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2005-06 and was voted one of the 100 greatest players in the NHL at the League's Centennial celebration in 2017.

18. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

The first-year captain for the Bruins, Marchand had 29 goals, the 11th straight season he's had at least 20. His 67 points ranked second on the team behind David Pastrnak (110). The 36-year-old left wing continued to be a factor on both offense and defense, with three short-handed goals. Since entering the League in 2009-10, Marchand's 36 short-handed goals rank first in the NHL and his 929 points (401 goals, 528 assists) rank 11th.

17. Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club

Keller had 76 points (33 goals, 43 assists) in 78 games last season averaging 19:15 of ice time per game in the Arizona Coyotes' final season before relocating to Salt Lake City. The 26-year-old was chosen for his fourth NHL All-Star Game, the only player in Coyotes history to be selected to at least that many since the franchise relocated to Phoenix from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 season. He also was first on the team in power-play points (30) and shots on goal (228) and tied for first with four game-winning goals. Keller has topped 28 goals and 63 points each of the past three seasons.

16. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning

The 29-year-old had 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games last season, including 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 17 games after he was acquired by the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7. Guentzel, who signed an eight-year contract with the Lightning on July 1, has at least 30 goals in three straight seasons and at least 20 in seven straight. He also is a proven playoff performer with 67 points (38 goals, 29 assists) in 69 games.

15. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets

Connor led the Jets with 34 goals and had 61 points despite being limited to 65 games because of injury. He was first with 10 game-winning goals and tied with Josh Morrissey for the team lead in power-play points (19). The 27-year-old left wing has scored 241 goals since 2017-18, ninth in the NHL.

14. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators

Forsberg led the Predators in goals (48) and points (94) last season, setting a franchise record for goals in a single season. His 11 game-winning goals tied for second in the NHL, his 347 shots on goal were fifth, and his three overtime goals tied for first. The 30-year-old left wing averaged 18:54 of ice time, second on the team behind Ryan O'Reilly (19:46), and his 32 power-play points were also second, behind Roman Josi (33). Forsberg was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team.

13. Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators

The 34-year-old was third on the Tampa Bay Lightning in both goals (40) and points (81) playing 79 games last season. Playing mostly right wing, he led them in power-play goals (19), had 39 power-play points, six game-winning goals in 18:14 of ice time. Stamkos, who signed a four-year contract with the Predators on July 1 after spending 16 seasons with the Lightning, is second in goals (555) and fourth in points (1,137) among all players since entering the NHL in 2008-09.

12. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators

Tkachuk continued to mix top-end scoring skills with physical play. He had an NHL career best in goals (37) to go along with 74 points in 81 games while averaging 19:09 of ice time. The 24-year-old left wing was fourth in the NHL with 357 shots on goal and had 12 power-play goals and 22 power-play points. He created those man-advantage opportunities by drawing 45 penalties, third in the NHL. Tkachuk was second in the NHL in penalty minutes (134) and third in hits (294).

11. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers

Hyman, who had an NHL career-high 36 goals and 83 points in 2022-23, didn't make this list last season but ranks just outside the top 10 this year after scoring 54 goals (third in the NHL). His 26 power-play points, seven game-winning goals, and 290 shots on goals were also NHL career bests. The 32-year-old left wing had 77 points in 80 games while averaging 19:30 of ice time per game. Hyman led the playoffs with 16 goals and had 22 points in 25 games to help Edmonton reach the Cup Final.

10. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

Marner was third on the Maple Leafs in points (85) last season and led them in assists (59). The 27-year-old right wing was a plus-21 and finished eighth in the NHL among forwards averaging 21:17 of ice time per game. He has scored at least 20 goals in four straight seasons and has had more than 50 assists in five of the past six seasons. Marner finished third in Selke voting as the top defensive forward in 2022-23 and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 2020-21 and 2021-22.

9. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers

Reinhart had a career year with NHL highs in goals (57), points (94), power-play goals (27), power-play points (34), plus-minus (plus-29), short-handed goals (five), game-winning goals (11) and shots on goal (11). The 28-year-old who played right wing, ranked second in the League in goals behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (69), was first in power-play goals and tied for second in short-handed goals and game-winning goals. He helped the Panthers win the Stanley Cup with 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in 24 postseason games and signed an eight-year contract to remain with them on July 1.

8. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

Nylander scored 40 goals for the second straight season while setting his career high with 98 points. He led the Maple Leafs with 35 power-play points and was second in power-play goals (11) behind Matthews (18). The 28-year-old right wing had his highest ice time per game in his career (19:55) and also led the Maple Leafs with three goals in four playoff games. Nylander has scored at least 34 goals and 80 points in each of the past three seasons while missing only one game over that span.

7. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild

Kaprizov led the Wild with 96 points (46 goals, 50 assists) in 75 games last season, averaging a career-high 21:35 of ice time per game. He also had bests in power-play goals (19) and points (41). The 27-year-old left wing set a Minnesota record with 47 goals in 2021-22 and is the first player in team history with three straight 40-goal seasons. Kaprizov's 133 goals the past three seasons are tied with Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche for fifth most.

6. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars

Despite being down 29 points from his 2022-23 totals, Robertson still led Dallas with 80 points and 51 assists last season, averaging 18:19 of ice time in 82 games. He also led them in power-play points (28), shots on goal (231) and was tied for second with four game-winning goals, The 25-year-old right wing also tied for the Stars lead with 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in the playoffs to help them reach the Western Conference Final. In his NHL career, Robertson is averaging 1.08 points per game (314 points in 292 games).

5. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Panarin has long been noted for his passing but last season, he took his goal-scoring to another level. His 49 goals were 17 more than his previous career high of 32 (set in 2019-20) and his 120 points were a career high and ranked fourth in the NHL. The 32-year-old left wing's 44 power-play points ranked tied for third in the NHL and his 303 shots were ninth. Panarin skated 20:07 per game, second among Rangers forwards behind Vincent Trocheck (21:27). In his five seasons with the Rangers, he has led them in scoring each time, including four times with at least 92 points.

4. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Pastrnak was seventh in the NHL with 47 goals last season and fifth with 110 points in 82 games, one year after he ranked second in the NHL with 61 goals and tied for third with 113 points. It was the seventh time in the past eight seasons he's scored at least 34 goals, something accomplished by one other active NHL player (Auston Matthews, eight). He finished eighth in voting for the Hart Trophy and was the right wing on the NHL Second All-Star Team. The 28-year-old averaged 19:56 of ice time per game and led Boston in power-play goals (12), power-play points (35), shots on goal (382) and was second with a plus-23 rating (behind Brandon Carlo, plus-23).

3. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

Rantanen had 42 goals and 104 points in 80 games last season, his fourth-straight season with at least 30 goals and third straight with at least 92 points. The 27-year-old played averaging an NHL-career high 22:54 of ice time. He had 40 power-play points and nine game-winning goals and was among the Avalanche's top scorers in the playoffs with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 11 games.

2. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers

One season after he had 109 points (40 goals, 69 assists) in 79 games and was third in voting for the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player, Tkachuk continued to show why he's one of the best in the NHL. He had 88 points (26 goals, 62 assists) in 80 regular-season games to go along with 32 power-play points while averaging 18:38 of ice time per game last season. The 26-year-old left wing helped Florida reach the Cup Final for the second straight season, tying Aleksander Barkov for the team lead with 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 24 games to help the Panthers win the Cup for the first time in team history.

1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Kucherov moves up to No. 1 on this list after being third last year. He led the NHL with 144 points (44 goals, 100 assists) in 81 games, the highest point total of his NHL career and the most in Lightning history, surpassing the 128 points (41 goals, 87 assists) he had in 2018-19. The 31-year-old right wing won the Art Ross Trophy, given to the player with the most points in an NHL season, for the second time (also 2018-19). Kucherov and Connor McDavid (also 100 assists) were the first players to have 100 assists in a season since Wayne Gretzky's 122 for the Los Angeles Kings in 1990-91. Kucherov also led the NHL with 53 power-play points (13 goals, 40 assists) also led the League. Since the 2016-17 season, he ranks third in points (746) and second in assists (472) despite missing the entire 2020-21 season because of injury.