As we inch closer to the start of the 2024-25 season, various rankings and lists have begun to emerge, evaluating players, teams, and management ahead of the opening night puck drop. The latest list dropped on Wednesday as the NHL Network highlighted who they believe are the top 20 wingers in the league right now.
Cracking the list are Toronto Maple Leafs stars William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
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The duo made it into the top 10, with Nylander ranking eighth and Marner in the 10th spot. Aside from Sam Reinhart, who ranked in between the two, the other players on the list are as follows.
1. Nikita Kucherov (44G, 100A, 144P)
2. Matthew Tkachuk (26G, 62A, 88P)
3. Mikko Rantanen (42G, 62A, 104P)
4. David Pastrnak (47G, 63A, 110P)
5. Artemi Panarin (49G, 71A, 120P)
6. Jason Robertson (29G, 51A, 80P)
7. Kirill Kaprizov (46G, 50A, 96P)
(8. William Nylander) (40G, 58A, 98P)
9. Sam Reinhart (57G, 37A, 94P)
(10. Mitch Marner) (26G, 59A, 85P)
While goals, assists, and points are important metrics, they don’t fully capture a player’s value. Based on those numbers alone, one could argue that Nylander should be higher in the top 10 considering he tallied more points than three players listed ahead of him. However, his eighth-place ranking is still reflective of his offensive prowess and high-scoring consistency in the 2023-24 season. From a bigger picture, Nylander has had improved numbers in goals, assists, and points over the last three seasons.
In 2023-24, he tied his career-high in goals, putting up back-to-back 40-goal seasons. He also found career-highs in assists (58) and points (98), nearly reaching the 100-point plateau. In the postseason, despite only playing in four games, he was effective. The Swede found the back of the net three times over Game 6 and 7 of their opening-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins – ultimately scoring the club’s final three goals of the season.
His strong play throughout the season granted him an eight-year, $92 million contract extension with a full no-movement clause and an average annual value of $11.5 million per season.
As for Marner, he scored his lowest amount of goals, assists, and points since the 2020-21 shortened season. In the regular season, he finished with 26 goals, 59 assists, and 85 points. In the postseason, he added a goal and two assists in seven games. However, despite finishing lower in production in 2023-24, the forward has maintained his role as a dynamic…