- NHL Network reveals its Top 20 wings for 2026-27 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET
- Nikita Kucherov led all wingers with 130 points and won a second Hart Trophy
- Read below for who rises, who breaks in and where last season’s list landed
NHL Network hands out its Top 20 wings for 2026-27 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, and the top spot looks settled before the show even airs.
The voting panel of Network staff, media and NHL.com writers was asked whether Nikita Kucherov keeps No. 1 for another year. Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com left almost no room for debate, calling it “as close to a slam dunk as it gets.”
His numbers say the same thing. Kucherov climbed from 37 goals to 44, from 84 assists to 86 and from 121 points to 130, then collected the second Hart Trophy of his career. David Pastrnak was the next winger on the scoring list at 100 points, a full 30 behind.
Tom Gulitti went with Matt Boldy as the biggest riser from last year’s No. 19 slot, mostly because there is more room above him than anywhere else. Boldy set career highs with 42 goals and 85 points in 76 games.
He was also one of Team USA’s best players at the Winter Olympics, putting up four points in six games in Milan. Watch the 1-on-2 goal that opened the scoring in the gold medal game against Canada:
Two names missing a year ago have a real case now. Amalie Benjamin picked both Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal teammates who each took a big step. Caufield finished with 51 goals and 88 points, Slafkovsky with 30 goals and 73.
Neither one cooled off in the spring. Caufield had 13 points in 19 playoff games during the Canadiens’ run, and Slafkovsky had 12.
Tracey Myers landed on Ivan Demidov as the under-21 winger closest to breaking into the group. The 20-year-old posted 62 points in 82 games and finished second to Matthew Schaefer for the Calder Trophy, with Anaheim’s Beckett Sennecke third.
Shawn P. Roarke looked five seasons out and skipped right past Kucherov, tabbing Kirill Kaprizov to own the top spot by 2030-31. Kaprizov is entering his seventh NHL season and has already cleared 100 points once, with 108 in 2021-22.
Here is how the top 10 shook out on last season’s list:
- 1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- 2. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
- 3. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
- 4. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
- 5. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights
- 6. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
- 7. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
- 8. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
- 9. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets
- 10. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Kucherov has already been penciled onto projected all-world rosters this summer. Nineteen spots on this list are genuinely up for grabs Sunday night. His is not one of them.
