The Vancouver Canucks should have one of the deepest sets of wingers in the NHL this season. On top of having players like Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, the organization went out and added Jake DeBrusk, Daniel Sprong, Danton Heinen, and Kiefer Sherwood, who should make Vancouver one of the deepest teams in the Pacific Division. To solidify this point, let’s take a look at how high the rest of the division’s wings may fly.
Dailyfaceoff.com has Anaheim icing a set of wings that relies on more experience over youth, which is expected when your oldest center is only 24. Their group of wingers is led by veteran Alex Killorn and 2024 All-Star Frank Vatrano. They also could see a big boost in offensive production from 20-year-old Cutter Gauthier, who was acquired in exchange for defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Killorn registered 36 points last season, with 18 goals and assists, while Vatrano notched a career-high 60 points, permeated by an impressive 37 goals. As for Gauthier, he played one game for the Anaheim Ducks the past season but garnered the most attention from his performances in the 2024 World Junior Championships and 65-point season with Boston College in the same year.
Anaheim can also expect to see returning forwards Troy Terry and Ryan Strome flanking their young core of centers (if Strome doesn’t play as a center). The 2023–2024 regular season was a down year for Terry, whose 20 goals and 34 assists were the lowest totals he’d registered since the 2020-2021 season. However, being only 26 years old and playing with centers such as Trevor Zegras (if he does end up playing center) and Mason McTavish means that Terry will likely pick up the production in the coming seasons. Strome, a consistently over 40-point scorer in the past five years, turned 31 over the offseason and is unlikely to repeat his 59-point campaign from the 2019–2020 regular season. However, with his steady contributions, he’s a solid top-nine winger who will likely chip into the Ducks’ offence with another 40 points.
The Ducks’ wings are rounded out by Sam Colangelo (1–0–1, 3 GP), Robby Fabbri (18–14–32, 68 GP), Ross Johnston (1–3–4, 68 GP), Brett Leason (11–11–22, 68 GP), Brock McGinn (1–2–3, 24 GP), and Pavol Regenda (0–0–0, 5 GP).
The Calgary Flames’ offence on the wings will be headlined by the player most looking for a redemption arc, Jonathan Huberdeau. It’s no secret that Huberdeau has had his struggles while in Calgary…