NHL Network Top 20 wings entering 2026-27: 5 questions

NHL Network will unveil its list of Top 20 wings for the 2026-27 season Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

Before the Network reveals its picks, which were voted on by members of the Network, media and NHL.com, we take a look at possible additions, changes from last year’s top 20, answering five pressing questions in the process.

As a refresher, here were the Top 20 wings last season:

20. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings; 19. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild; 18. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators; 17. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals; 16. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars; 15. Clayton Keller, Utah Mammoth; 14. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators; 13. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning; 12. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils; 11. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning; 10. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers; 9. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; 8. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers; 7. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers; 6. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights; 4. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars; 3. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild; 2. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins; 1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning.

Which player from last season’s list will make the biggest jump?

I was torn between Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild, who was No. 19 last season, and Jason Robertson of the Dallas Stars, who was No. 16, and went with Boldy mostly because he has more room to climb. The 25-year-old set NHL career-highs with 42 goals and 85 points in 76 games last season and stood out for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics with four points (two goals, two assists) in six games, including his dazzling 1-on-2 goal that opened the scoring in the gold medal game against Team Canada. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

Which player will make this season’s forward’s list after missing out last season?

There are two names that I keep going back and forth between -- and they happen to be teammates. Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens. Caufield and Slafkovsky each made a huge jump last season. Caufield had 51 goals and 37 assists for 88 points, and Slafkovsky had 30 goals and 43 assists for 73 points. In Montreal’s 19 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Caufield had 13 points (six goals, seven assists) and Slafkovsky had 12 (six goals, six assists). This question asks for one player, but I’m going to double it with two. I think each of the Canadiens’ rising stars has earned his way onto the list. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

Will Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov remain No. 1 on the 2026-27 edition of the list?

This should be as close to a slam dunk as it gets. Upon further review, the Tampa Bay Lightning superstar improved in almost every statistical category in 2025-26 from the previous season, increasing his production in goals (37 to 44), assists (84 to 86) and points (121 to 130) on his way to being awarded the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. It’s the second time he’s won that prestigious award, the previous one coming in 2018-19. Of note: the next closest winger to the 33-year-old in terms of points last season was the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak, who had 30 fewer with 100 (29 goals, 71 assists). -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Which under-21 winger is closest to breaking into this group this season?

It’s a tough call for me between Ivan Demidov of the Canadiens or Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks, but I’m going with Demidov. The 20-year-old right wing finished second last season to New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer for the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s top rookie (Sennecke was third). Demidov was outstanding with 62 points (19 goals, 43 assists) in 82 games. He’s one of several young players who are very productive for the Canadiens and, as such, he doesn’t have to pull the bulk of the weight for the franchise. He just has to be him, and that’s pretty darn good as it is. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Which player will hold the top spot on this list five seasons from now?

There’s every argument in the world that Kucherov, at 38, could still be No. 1 when the Network performs this exercise five offseasons from now. He’s that good. But, what’s the fun in that? It says here that another Russian-born player will take over at the top of this list for the 2030-31 season. That player will be Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild. The 29-year-old is entering his seventh NHL season and his role continues to grow with the Wild. He already has shown the ability to top 100 points (108 in 2021-22) and he continues to add facets to his game. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial