NHL’s Top 10 Winger Cores for 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – Season Previews

Every team covets a dynamic center group, but wingers can be just as impactful. With most of the top wings on the market, apart from Patrick Kane, having a place to play in 2026-27, which 10 teams have the best winger cores entering the new campaign?

10. Vegas Golden Knights

There are some real depth concerns here, but the Vegas Golden Knights are as loaded as anyone at the top of their lineup. When healthy, Mark Stone impacts the game like a superstar—he had 73 points in 60 games last season with an elite defensive impact. It’s hard to get much better.

Mitch Marner had far from the most prolific regular season from a points standpoint last season, with 80 in 81 games, but he was the high-end two-way winger that he’s always been. The playoffs showed the best of him, where he led all players in points with 29.

Ivan Barbashev stepped up last season, too. He had a career-high 61 points in 82 games, improving his previously poor defensive impact in the process. Next, Brett Howden is coming off a 14-goal postseason run, but his 34.1% shooting clip during that stretch is most certainly unsustainable—he’s a fine middle-sixer, though. The depth specializes in defense, for the most part, and doesn’t provide much offensively, but there’s still a lot to like about this winger core.

9. Boston Bruins

Jeremy Swayman was unequivocally excellent in the Boston Bruins’ return to the playoffs last season, but the team wouldn’t have gotten there if it weren’t for the play of their wingers, either. David Pastrňák remains one of the best offensive players in the NHL, nearly operating at an assist-per-game rate with 29 goals on top of it.

Morgan Geekie, meanwhile, has become a very reliable finisher for Boston, with 39 goals in 2025-26. The loss of Viktor Arvidsson stings a little, but the addition of JJ Peterka can make up for it. The 24-year-old is coming off a disappointing showing, but the upside is immense.

Depth-wise, the Bruins are perhaps among the weaker teams on this list, but James Hagens—if he stays on the wing—could be huge for this club. Marat Khusnutdinov had somewhat of a breakout, and Casey Mittelstadt bounced back, so there are definitely positives lower in the lineup.

8. Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have stars at the top of their lineup and are simultaneously fairly deep. Tage Thompson is a prolific goal-scoring option, potting 40 of them in three of the last four seasons. Potentially joining him on the wing in 2026-27 will be standout 21-year-old Zach Benson, who signed a seven-year, $52.5 million deal this summer. He has the makings of the perfect winger: defensively sound, energetic, and skilled.

Josh Doan, 24 years old, is turning into a high-end top-six option, as well. The forechecking winger recorded 25 goals and 27 assists last season, and he should only improve in those areas with increased usage. The rest of the lineup, which includes Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, Noah Östlund, Jack Quinn, and Jason Zucker, can play its roles really well.

The Sabres are reminiscent of the Carolina Hurricanes in that, though they have their stars, depth is their X-factor. Another 50-win campaign may be tough to accomplish, but this team should come close.

7. Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are veteran-heavy on the wing, to be sure. Still, the talent can’t be ignored. On the top line, Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin are opposites in a sense. The former is speedy and primarily a goal-scorer, while the latter is known for his IQ, not his skating, and is more of a passer. Should they be united in 2026-27, they’ll be hard to stop.

Then, there’s Kevin Fiala and newly added Mats Zuccarello. After a scary injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Fiala will be looking to come back even stronger than before. Zuccarello, who could join him on the wing, remains a high-level playmaker even at age 38.

In the bottom six, Joel Armia, Alex Laferriere, Trevor Moore, and the relentless Corey Perry are a good group. The Kings are undoubtedly hurting from the recent retirement of franchise legend Anže Kopitar, but the winger core is in a promising spot.

6. Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals followed the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25 with a playoff miss in 2025-26. To bounce back, they added two of the best wingers on the market: Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch (albeit subtracting Connor McMichael to do so). When your projected bottom-six winger group is Anthony Beauvillier, Ryan Leonard, Alex Ovechkin, and Ilya Protas, you’re doing something right.

The Capitals’ top six doesn’t feature a prime Ovechkin-caliber scorer, but there’s a lot to like. Kyrou was arguably the best defensive winger in the NHL last season, and he’s had several 70-point seasons in his career. Tom Wilson has aged like a fine wine, posting elite impacts at both ends of the ice. Aliaksei Protas and Tuch, who are both capable of putting up 30 goals and 60 points, are also worthy top-sixers.

5. Montreal Canadiens

It was disappointing to see the Montreal Canadiens have such a quiet offseason, but they’re partially justified in that decision, seeing as their young winger core is one of the league’s best. Cole Caufield, 25 years old, just scored 51 goals and finished eighth in Hart Trophy voting. Juraj Slafkovský, who is poised to play alongside him on the top line, had a 30-goal, 73-point campaign as a 22-year-old.

But perhaps the most exciting player to keep an eye on is Ivan Demidov. Though his rookie-season usage was only decent at 15:30 of average ice time, he recorded 62 points with a strong defensive game. If he gets more opportunities, the Canadiens’ “Big 3” will be among the scariest in the NHL.

Alex Newhook saw his average ice time surge to over 17 minutes in the postseason, which could mean he’s a full-time second-liner in 2026-27. He’d be serviceable in that role, especially after that clutch playoff showing, where he registered the overtime-winning goal against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of the second round. Finally, Josh Anderson, Zachary Bolduc, Kirby Dach, and Alexandre Texier as a bottom-six winger group can work.

4. Minnesota Wild

Losing Zuccarello wasn’t ideal, but the Minnesota Wild were able to snatch Blake Coleman for cheap from the Calgary Flames. So, no harm, no foul, I suppose. He’s an elite defensive winger coming off a 20-goal campaign.

However, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy steal the show, of course. Kaprizov had a healthy campaign after missing half of 2024-25, and he put up 45 goals and 44 assists in 78 games. Boldy found another gear, recording 42 goals and 43 assists in just 76 games. These two might both be top-10 wingers in the NHL.

Bobby Brink’s two-way acumen could round out the top six nicely, though he’s been more of a third-liner in his career. Marcus and Nick Foligno should be solid defensive bottom-sixers, and the same can be said about Yakov Trenin. The addition of Max Shabanov is an interesting one, as he is skilled but struggled as a 25-year-old rookie for the New York Islanders.

3. Carolina Hurricanes

Now we get to the true juggernauts. The Hurricanes have both a lot of talent at the top of their lineup and depth that would likely be getting more minutes on other teams. Headlining things are Nikolaj Ehlers and an injured Seth Jarvis, who will be sidelined for some time after getting surgery in the summer.

There’s a case to be made that Ehlers is a top-15 winger in the NHL, but his ice-time restrictions lead to him being left out of those conversations for many. Jarvis has been playing hurt for over a year now, and despite that, his two-way results are great.

Jarvis can recover from surgery without worry, knowing that Andrei Svechnikov had a resurgence in 2025-26 and will be looking to build on that run. After recording 48 points with terrible defensive metrics the season prior, the 26-year-old was terrific offensively and rewarded with 70 points in 79 games.

On the second line, Taylor Hall and Jackson Blake formed something special in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were the wingers on maybe the best line of the postseason, each operating at a point-per-game pace. Blake is someone to keep a close eye on, as he’s just 22 years old.

In the bottom six, the Hurricanes are as strong as anyone, with William Carrier, Jordan Martinook, and Eric Robinson. Someone else will have to join them in the meantime as Jarvis heals, but there are plenty of internal options.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

Especially since Jarvis will be missing time for Carolina, putting the Tampa Bay Lightning at No. 2 on this list felt like the proper choice. When you have the best winger in all of hockey with multiple stars alongside him, a spot this high is warranted, even if there are some depth concerns.

Let’s start with Nikita Kucherov, who made NHL history last season by becoming the second player to register four consecutive 80-assist seasons (the only other is Wayne Gretzky). The 33-year-old also captured the Hart Trophy, the second of his career. He’s accompanied on the wing by Jake Guentzel and Brandon Hagel, who are stars in their own right.

Gage Goncalves was an analytical darling for the Lightning last season, though he only averaged 13:05 of ice time. The same can be said about Pontus Holmberg, whose defensive results were Selke Trophy-caliber. After those two, the depth tails off for me. Zemgus Girgensons and Jeffrey Viel are sub-replacement-level guys, and Ilya Mikheyev, even with 36 points and a fourth-place Selke Trophy vote last season, is probably closer to serviceable than good. That being said, this is an amazing group nonetheless.

1. Florida Panthers

At No. 1, there really couldn’t be anyone else. Having Brady and Matthew Tkachuk alone would have guaranteed a spot on this list, as they have a case as the best one-two winger punch in the NHL behind Hagel and Kucherov. But they are far from the only star wingers on this team.

Sam Reinhart can play elite defense and give you 60 goals across the regular season and the playoffs, and Brad Marchand unlocked his vintage offensive game in 2025-26. There’s also Carter Verhaeghe, who has had at least 50 points every season since 2021-22.

Next, Eetu Luostarinen is a quietly superb defensive winger who can play in the top six if necessary, and Garnet Hathaway brings grit and a true shutdown presence to the fourth line. Sandis Vilmanis sparkled in the American Hockey League (AHL) and could be a full-time NHL contributor in 2026-27. So, from top to bottom, this team is frankly absurd.

Is there any team you’d add to this list? Any team you’d bump up? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section if so!

Advanced stats courtesy of Evolving-Hockey (though not mentioned explicitly in this article, their data was used as a reference)