Last but not least, the forwards — the guys who get most the
goals and thus most the glory.
If you can’t score, you can’t win, so this position is as important
as any. It’s also as difficult to rank as any since there are 12 forwards in
the lineup compared to just six defencemen and only two goaltenders.
Depth is important but star power wins the day when it comes to forwards. Yes, teams have four lines, but they can lean on their top line or their top few forwards to prevail on any given night. However, to have success in the long run — to make the playoffs and have a chance at the Stanley Cup — teams typically need to roll four lines, so depth is definitely a factor in the big picture.
In the third of a four-part series ranking the NHL teams by position, here is how the forwards ranked after the 2019-20 season and 2020 postseason — counting down from No. 31 to No. 1.
31) Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Bertuzzi-Dylan Larkin-Anthony Mantha
Darren Helm-Valtteri Filppula-Dmytro Timashov
Brendan Perlini-Robby Fabbri-Luke Glendening
Justin Abdelkader-Frans Nielsen-Christoffer Ehn
Adam Erne/Joe Hicketts/Taro Hirose
UFAs: Sam Gagner, Turner Elson, Chris Terry, Matt Puempel, Kyle Brodziak
ANALYSIS: The Detroit Red Wings struggled to score goals this season and after trading Andreas Athanasiou to the Edmonton Oilers, they became even more starved for offence. They finished dead last in goals scored with 145 and posted a goal differential of negative-122. Their leading goal scorers were Bertuzzi with 21 goals and Larkin with 19 goals. Everyone else scored less than 16 and no one broke the 60-point plateau. That’s just not the recipe for regular-season success. If they hope to make any strides next season, they have to score more goals, period.
Fabbri and Zadina have the potential to score more and Mantha should rebound from an injury-riddled season, so there is a bit of a silver lining. Yzerman should be busy in the trade market and free agency because this team needs a jolt of offensive power from somewhere.
30) Los Angeles Kings
Alex Iafallo-Anze Kopitar-Dustin Brown
Trevor Moore-Gabe Vilardi-Jeff Carter
Adrian Kempe-Blake Lizotte-Martin Frk
Austin Wagner-Alex Turcotte-Michael Amadio
UFAs: Trevor Lewis, Tim Schaller
ANALYSIS: The Los Angeles Kings had a hard time scoring this season with only Kopitar breaking 20 goals and 60 points. The next forward up was Tyler Toffoli at 18 goals, but he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks around the trade deadline. After that only Carter, Brown, Iaffalo, and Kempe could break the 10-goal mark.
Basically goals were hard to come by for this team. Fortunately for them, they have a lot of solid prospects coming down the pipeline in Tyler Madden, Gabe Vilardi, Samuel Fagemo, and Rasmus Kupari. They also have the second overall pick in the upcoming draft and three second-round picks to help supplement them as well. Offence may be a struggle right now, but help is on the way very soon.
29) Columbus Blue Jackets
Liam Foudy-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Oliver Bjorkstrand
Nick Foligno-Boone Jenner-Cam Atkinson
Gustav Nyquist-Alexander Wennberg-Josh Anderson
Eric Robinson-Mikhail Grigorenko-Riley Nash
Nathan Gerbe/Devin Shore/Kevin Stenlund
IR: Brandon Dubinksy
ANALYSIS: After losing Artemi Panarin, Ryan Dzingle, and Matt Duchene to free agency, it was expected that the Columbus Blue Jackets would struggle to score goals. That’s exactly what happened as they finished 28th in goals for at the end of the season. They definitely have offensive talent with Dubois, Atkinson, and Nyquist, but they all did not produce a lot of goals.
Atkinson battled injuries and was only able to manage 12 goals after a 41-goal season and Wennberg only turned in which put pressure on Dubois to produce more, which he did not do. However he was a beast in the playoffs with four goals and ten points in ten games, so that should give fans hope for 2020-21. Other highlights included Bjorkstrand’s second straight 20-goal season and Foudy’s emergence as a speedy, offensive threat. So there is hope for offence in the future.
28) San Jose Sharks
Evander Kane-Logan Couture-Timo Meier
Marcus Sorensen-Tomas Hertl-Kevin Labanc
Joel Kellman-Noah Gregor-Alex True
Lean Bergmann-Antti Suomela-Dylan Gambrell
UFAs: Joe Thornton, Melker Karlsson, Stefan Noesen, Lukas Radil, Jonny Brodzinski, Anthony Greco
ANALYSIS: The Sharks are in need of a major overhaul in their forward ranks, especially in their bottom-six. Kane, Meier, Couture, Hertl, and Labanc produced well enough, but they got next to nothing from the bottom of their lineup this season.
In fact, no one broke 10 goals, and speaking of the top-six, their leading point-getter was Meier with 22 goals and 49 points. That’s just not good enough for a team that has aspirations of making the playoffs.
27) Anaheim Ducks
Sonny Milano-Ryan Getzlaf-Danton Heinen
Rickard Rakell-Adam Henrique-Jakob Silfverberg
Max Jones-Sam Steel-Troy Terry
Nicolas Deslauriers-Carter Rowney-David Backes
UFAs: Patrick Eaves, Blake Pietila, Kyle Criscuolo, Andrew Poturalski, Justin Kloos, Chris Mueller
ANALYSIS: The Anaheim Ducks’ days of being an offensive powerhouse are clearly over as they continue to rebuild their forward group. Their former leading man, Ryan Getzlaf, is on the decline with his second straight season under 50 points, Rakell turned in yet another campaign with less than 20 goals and only two players broke the 20-goal mark.
There were some bright spots as Henrique had his best season as a Duck and Silverberg posted his second straight 20-goal season. Late season acquisition Sonny Milano also showed some chemistry skating alongside Getzlaf, so that could be something to watch in 2020-21.
26) New Jersey Devils
Miles Wood-Nico Hischier-Kyle Palmieri
Nikita Gusev-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt
John Hayden-Pavel Zacha-Michael Mcleod
Jesper Boqvist-Travis Zajac-Joseph Anderson
UFAs: Kevin Rooney, Ben Street, Brandon Baddock
ANALYSIS: The Devils were supposed to be an exciting offensive team with loads of depth in 2019-20. That never happened, as Hall and Blake Coleman found new addresses by the end of the season, and first overall pick Jack Hughes struggled to grab a foothold in the league until later in the season and finished with only seven goals and 21 points.
Hischier had a career-low 14 goals and 36 points and their leading point-getter was Palmieri at 45 points. That’s how paltry the offence was in the swamp this season. Basically it was a disappointment all around after so much hope and excitement at the outset.
25) Arizona Coyotes
Lawson Crouse-Derek Stepan-Clayton Keller
Barrett Hayton-Christian Dvorak-Phil Kessel
Conor Garland-Nick Schmaltz-Christian Fischer
Michael Grabner-Michael Chaput-Vinnie Hinostroza
UFAs: Taylor Hall, Carl Soderberg, Brad Richardson, Markus Hannikainen, Beau Bennett
ANALYSIS: For a team that had the likes of Kessel and Hall, they sure didn’t do a lot of scoring. After coming over in trades with the Penguins and Devils respectively, everyone thought that they would push the Coyotes over the top offensively. That never really happened, as Garland finished as the leading goal scorer with 22 goals and no one else broke 20 goals.
The Coyotes did have eight players get into the double digits, but no one stood out as a premier goal scorer on this team. They were superb defensively and got great goaltending from Darcy Kuemper, but to make the playoffs and beyond, they have to get more consistent high-level scoring from at least a few of their forwards.
24) Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk-Colin White-Bobby Ryan
Rudolfs Balcers-Chris Tierney-Connor Brown
Anthony Duclair-Nic Paul-Drake Batherson
Artem Anisimov-Logan Brown-Jace Hawryluk
UFAs: Mikkel Boedker, Matthew Peca, Jordan Szwarz, Scott Sabourin, Morgan Klimchuk, Ryan Callahan, Clarke MacArthur
ANALYSIS: The Senators are a young team with a bright future, and despite being at the bottom in goal scoring, they have a lot of promising scorers either on the roster or in the pipeline. Tkachuk remained remarkably consistent with almost the exact totals as last season and Duclair re-emerged as a legitimate offensive threat with a career-high 23 goals, so there are some bright spots right there.
Throw in the fact that the Sens have three first-round picks in the 2020 Draft in October, the stable could be filled with even more talent in the coming months.
23) Buffalo Sabres
Jeff Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Dominik Kahun-Marcus Johansson-Victor Olofsson
Rasmus Asplund-Casey Mittelstadt-Kyle Okposo
C.J. Smith-Curtis Lazar-Jean-Sebastien Dea
UFAs: Wayne Simmonds, Michael Frolik, Jimmy Vesey, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Scott Wilson, Dalton Smith, Taylor Leier
ANALYSIS: The Sabres once again started the season like gangbusters, then fell off a cliff at the end. The offence was backed solely by Eichel, Reinhart, and rookie sensation Victor Olofsson after Skinner fell drastically from his 40-goal campaign in 2018-19, finishing with a measly 14 goals. After him, only Girgensons broke double digits.
The depth that was touted at the beginning of the season did not come into play as Vesey, Sheary, Okposo, and Johansson never got into any offensive rhythm. With five regulars entering free agency, the Sabres will have some work to do to rebuild the offence and make Eichel happy after missing the playoffs for the ninth straight season.
22) Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg-Ryan Johansen-Viktor Arvidsson
Calle Jarnkrok-Matt Duchene-Kyle Turris
Austin Watson-Nick Bonino-Rocco Grimaldi
Yakov Trenin-Colton Sissons-Michael McCarron
UFAs: Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith, Colin Blackwell, Daniel Carr, Frederick Gaudreau
ANALYSIS: Similar to the Stars and Devils, the Predators were expected to score a lot in 2019-20. With forwards like Turris, Duchene, Johansen, Arvidsson, Forsberg, and Granlund, how could they not? On paper, they should have been a strong, deep team steeped in goals. Unfortunately, the game is not played on paper. Every one of those forwards struggled, save for Forsberg as defenceman Roman Josi led the team in points and the aforementioned Forsberg paced everyone in goals with 21. With all that talent, they should have scored more.
The Predators may have had a high ranking at the beginning of the season, but they have dropped drastically in these rankings. If they hope to have success in 2020-21 and beyond, at least a few of these players have to step up their game and put the puck in the net.
21) Calgary Flames
Johnny Gaudreau-Sean Monahan-Elias Lindholm
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Matthew Tkachuk
Milan Lucic-Sam Bennett-Dillon Dube
Mark Jankowski-Derek Ryan-Glenn Gawdin
UFAs: Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo, Alan Quine, Buddy Robinson, Austin Czarnik, Byron Froese, Ryan Lomberg
ANALYSIS: The Flames were in the bottom half of the league in offence this season, mostly due to the decline in production from their top forwards. Monahan failed to hit 30 goals for the first time in two seasons and Gaudreau hit career lows in goals and points as well. Lindholm was the only bright spot on that line with a career-high 29 goals to his credit.
Mangiapane had a breakout season with 17 goals, and Dube had a strong postseason with four goals, but if the Flames are going to avenge the lack of a playoff appearance, their stars have to bounce back in a big way next season.
20) Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Kevin Fiala
Like Kunin-Joel Eriksson Ek-Mats Zuccarello
Jordan Greenway-Ryan Donato-Kirill Kaprizov
Ryan Hartman-Victor Rask-Marcus Foligno
UFAs: Mikko Koivu, Alex Galchenyuk, Kyle Rau, J.T. Brown, Sam Anas, Colton Beck, Michael Liambas
ANALYSIS: The Wild were a middle of the pack team offensively in 2019-20, but most of their goals came from some aging veterans in Staal, Parise, and Zuccarello. They accounted for 59 goals and they are all over the age of 30. Fiala emerged as a star with 23 goals and 54 points in the regular season and three goals and four points in the playoffs, but he’s going to need some help in the future.
Koivu is clearly on the decline and is approaching free agency in a couple of months, so they will need someone to step in for him. Kunin, Greenway, Hartman, Eriksson-Ek all have potential, so goal scoring could see an uptick if one or two of them break out in 2020-21. In addition to that, potential superstar Kirill Kaprizov could be coming over from Europe, so there’s that to look forward to as well.
19) Montreal Canadiens
Tomas Tatar-Phillip Danault-Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin-Nick Suzuki-Joel Armia
Artturi Lekhonen-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Max Domi
Paul Byron-Jake Evans-Alex Belzile
Jordan Weal/Charles Hudon
UFAs: Dale Weise
ANALYSIS: The Canadiens had obviously resigned themselves to the fact that they were missing the playoffs in 2020, however, the NHL pause and subsequent play-in round format had other ideas. They ended up getting a chance to make the playoffs as the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference, then ultimately did after dispatching the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games.
That gave players like Suzuki and Kotkaniemi an opportunity to shine, and shine they did. By the end of the first round, they had combined for eight goals and 11 points, and Suzuki had taken over the number one center spot from Daneault. Kotkaniemi also rebounded from an otherwise uninspiring season to give fans hope that he could still be that solid second-line center they were hoping for when he was drafted third overall in 2018. All in all, the Canadiens have a bright future with them leading the way.
18) Chicago Blackhawks
Dominik Kubalik-Jonathan Toews-Brandon Saad
Alex DeBrincat-Kirby Dach-Patrick Kane
Alex Nylander-Dylan Strome-Drake Caggiula
Matthew Highmore-David Kampf-Ryan Carpenter
LTIR: Andrew Shaw, Zack Smith
UFAs: Anton Wedin, Joseph Cramarossa
ANALYSIS: Just like the Oilers, the Blackhawks were led by a dynamic duo. The familiar twosome of Kane and Toews were prominent again with 33 and 18 goals respectively and helped lead their team to a surprising playoff appearance against the Vegas Golden Knights.
24-year-old rookie Dominik Kubalik also surprised with 30 goals of his own, while DeBrincat fell off a bit with a somewhat pedestrian 18 goals after posting 41 goals in 2018-19. Even though Kane and Toews are 31-years-old now, they are still the prominent figures of this team. However, the young guns are starting to show some pop as Dach, Kubalik, Strome, Nylander and DeBrincat have shown some promising growth recently.
17) Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Patrik Laine
Nik Ehlers-Blake Wheeler-Andrew Copp
Jansen Harkins-Adam Lowry-Jack Roslovic
Kristian Vesalainen-Mathieu Perreault-Mason Appleton
IR: Bryan Little
UFAs: Cody Eakin, Nick Shore, Gabriel Bourque, Logan Shaw, Mark Letestu, Andrei Chibisov, JC Lipon, Seth Griffith
ANALYSIS: The usual suspects of Connor, Scheifele, Laine, Ehlers and Wheeler led the charge on offence for the Jets as they combined for 142 goals on the season. They faced some early adversity losing Brian Little only seven games into the season but managed to recover and punch a ticket to the postseason, where they were dispatched quickly by the Flames after losing Scheifle to injury one game into the series. Despite all that, their forward group had a successful season and will be around next season, unless the rumours of Laine being moved are true.
16) Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Josh Archibald
Andreas Athanasiou-Leon Draisaitl-Kailer Yamamoto
James Neal-Jujhar Khaira-Zack Kassian
Tyler Benson-Gaetan Haas-Alex Chiasson
Patrick Russell/Cooper Marody
UFAs: Riley Sheahan, Tyler Ennis, Markus Granlund, Tomas Jurco, Brad Malone, Josh Currie
ANALYSIS: The Oilers were once again led by the dynamic duo of Draisaitl and McDavid as they combined for 77 goals and 207 points. Their offence was top-heavy though, as Nugent-Hopkins was the only other forward to have a 20-goal season. Neal appeared to be a good acquisition from the Calgary Flames but bottomed out towards the end of the season after scoring all 19 of his goals before the calendar turned to 2020. In fact, he scored 11 of them in October alone, so he was not a consistent threat throughout.
Yamamoto had a solid season overall with 11 goals and 26 points in 27 games, but he was shuttled between the Oilers and Bakersfield Condors all season long. If the Oilers want to make a dent in the postseason, they need more scoring from players not named McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins. They ultimately did not make it because of their lack of secondary scoring, as they only got three goals from them during their 3-1 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks.
15) Vancouver Canucks
J.T. Miller-Elias Pettersson-Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson-Bo Horvat-Loui Eriksson
Antoine Roussel-Adam Gaudette-Brandon Sutter
Tyler Motte-Jay Beagle-Jake Virtanen
Micheal Ferland/Zack MacEwen
UFAs: Tyler Toffoli, Josh Leivo, Tyler Graovac
ANALYSIS: The Canucks ended up being a formidable group on offence, especially in their top-nine. Pettersson put up similar numbers to his rookie season, Horvat continued his consistency with another 20-goal season, and newcomer J.T. Miller had a career season with 27 goals and 72 points. Gaudette and Virtanen also contributed with some offence as well as they both broke double digits. If the season had continued, they probably could have had 20-goal seasons as well.
The offence spilled over into the playoffs as Pettersson, Horvat, and Miller scored 23 goals and 48 points between them and showed everyone why the league should pay attention to the Canucks in the future. If they can somehow manage to re-sign Toffoli to a budget-friendly deal after getting him in a trade with the Kings, they will be a force next season as well.
14) Dallas Stars
Mattias Janmark-Joe Pavelski-Alex Radulov
Jamie Benn-Radek Faksa-Blake Comeau
Jason Dickinson-Tyler Seguin-Corey Perry
Joel Kiviranta-Roope Hintz-Denis Gurianov
Andrew Cogliano
ANALYSIS: Despite the plethora of talent on the Stars’ roster, they had a difficult time scoring goals. They may be in the Western Conference Finals right now, but it’s not on the strength of their offence. They only had one 20-goal scorer in Gurianov and star forwards Benn and Seguin struggled throughout the season. Radulov, Pavelski and Perry also didn’t generate their usual offence either. In the end, that put a lot of the onus on their goaltender and defensive system, which worked out pretty well as they avoided the qualifying round and are three wins away from the Stanley Cup Final.
Even though the Stars struggled to generate offence during the regular season, they are getting some production from their top players in the playoffs as Benn, Pavelski, and Radulov have 20 goals between them. That along with their solid system and the power of Heiskanen and Klingberg is why they are in the position they are right now.
13) New York Islanders
Anders Lee-Matt Barzal-Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier-Brock Nelson-Josh Bailey
Derick Brassard-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Ross Johnston
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck
Leo Komarov/Andrew Ladd/Tom Kuhnhackl/Michael Dal Colle
ANALYSIS: With the addition of Pageau from the Senators, the Islanders boast a deep lineup with four centermen that can produce offence. It was evident throughout the season, and it’s continued to be in the playoffs as they find themselves in the Eastern Conference Final against the powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning. Barzal continued his ascent into stardom with his second straight 60-plus point season and is a key reason why they are eight wins away from a Stanley Cup, as he already has 5 goals and 13 points in 16 games.
Nelson and Lee both posted their fifth 20-goal seasons and also have been key pieces in the playoffs as well with 14 goals between them. In fact, scoring has come from everywhere as seven players have three or more goals in the playoffs so far.
12) Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov-Sebastian Aho-Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Dzingel-Vincent Trocheck-Nino Niederreiter
Warren Foegele-Jordan Staal-Brock McGinn
Jordan Martinook-Morgan Geekie-Martin Necas
UFAs: Justin Williams, Max McCormick, Brian Gibbons
ANALYSIS: After signing an offer sheet with the Canadiens in the offseason, I’m sure many people wondered how Aho would perform this season with the Hurricanes. Judging by his stats, it never bothered him at all. He scored a career-high 38 goals in 68 games and was their best player once again. In four seasons in the NHL, he already has 121 goals and 263 points and he’s only 22-years-old. You can definitely see why the Canadiens took a chance at signing him.
As for the rest of the forwards, it was a young man’s game as the oldest player with 10 or more goals was Niederreiter at 27-years-old. Necas, Svechnikov, Teravainen, Foegele, and Wallmark are all under 25 and they all hit double digits in goals. They are clearly led by the fab-three of Aho, Svechnikov, and Teravainen, but they do have depth to spare as well.
11) St. Louis Blues
Jayden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Oskar Sundqvist
Zach Sanford-Ryan O’Reilly-David Perron
Sammy Blais-Tyler Bozak-Robert Thomas
Alex Steen-Ivan Barbashev-Jordan Kyrou
Jacob De La Rose/Mackenzie MacEachern/Niko Mikkola
IR: Vladimir Tarasenko
UFAs: Troy Brouwer, Jordan Nolan, Nick Lappin
ANALYSIS: The Blues were again a strong group offensively with two-way force Ryan O’Reilly leading the way with 61 points. They didn’t have Tarasenko for most of the campaign but still managed to finish just outside of the top ten in offence. Most of that had to do with the strength of their offence from the blueline, but they still ended with three 20-goal scorers and six players with ten or more tallies. They basically had four lines that could provide offence, even without the services of their top sniper.
10) Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Kasperi Kapanen
Jason Zucker-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Jaren McCann-Nick Bjugstad-Patric Hornqvist
Brandon Tanev-Anthony Angello-Teddy Blueger
IR: Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon
UFAs: Conor Sheary, Patrick Marleau, Philip Varone, Adam Johnson, Riley Barber, Thomas DiPauli, Kevin Roy
ANALYSIS: Even though the Penguins bowed out in the qualifying round to the Canadiens, they still are the envy of the league when it comes to their forward group. With the recent re-acquisition of Kapanen from the Toronto Maple Leafs, they could be even more potent offensively. He will probably slot in where pending UFA Sheary used to be on the top line with Crosby and most likely score at least 25 goals. Though that’s next season, let’s get back to 2019-20. Crosby battled injuries again, but still managed to put up 47 points in 41 games, so he’s still producing at 32-years-old. Malkin posted his 11th season with 70 or more points, so no issue there either with him approaching his 15th season in the NHL.
As for the rest of the forwards, McCann had a solid second season with the Pens posting 14 goals and 35 points and even though Guentzel didn’t put up 40 goals, he still had his third straight 20-goal season. Overall, this group is still a threat to score and should be again in 2020-21.
9) Vegas Golden Knights
Max Pacioretty-Paul Stastny-Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault-William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
Nick Cousins-Chandler Stephenson-Alex Tuch
William Carrier-Nicolas Roy-Ryan Reaves
ANALYSIS: The Golden Knights probably boast one of the more lethal top-sixes in the NHL. They may not have someone who will put up 90-100 points, but they have multiple players who can easily hit 50-60, and that can sometimes be even more dangerous in the end. They also have speed throughout their lineup and a top-six that can score at least 20 goals every single season. Pacioretty paced them with 32 goals, but each of them is capable of doing the same damage every single season.
Their bottom-six doesn’t score a bunch, but they can forecheck you to death and wear you down so that their top forwards can score at will. It’s a pretty sound system, and it’s one that has got them to the Conference Finals against the Stars. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, this team is not going anywhere anytime soon.
8) Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-Ondrej Kase
Nick Ritchie-Charlie Coyle-Karson Kuhlman
Anders Bjork-Sean Kuraly-Chris Wagner
UFAs: Joakim Nordstrom, Ryan Fitzgerald
ANALYSIS: The Bruins have arguably the best top line in the league, and they proved it once again in 2019-20. Pastrnak led the NHL with 48 goals and the entire unit accounted for 107 goals and 238 points. I would say that’s pretty good for a top line.
They also got solid production from Debrusk, Coyle, and Krejci during the regular season and playoffs as they accounted for 11 goals in the postseason. With the perfection line going strong and the depth they have throughout the lineup, offence was not a problem in 2019-20 and will not be in 2020-21 either.
7) Philadelphia Flyers
Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
Joel Farabee-Kevin Hayes-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk-Scott Laughton-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Oskar Lindblom-Morgan Frost-Michael Raffl
UFAs: Tyler Pitlick, Derek Grant, Nate Thompson, Chris Stewart, Kurtis Gabriel
LTIR: Nolan Patrick, Samuel Morin
ANALYSIS: The Flyers were projected to have a strong top-six at the beginning of the season, and they did not disappoint. Konecny led the way with 24 goals and 61 points and Couturier was not far behind with 22 goals and 59 points of his own. Giroux declined a bit from the 85 points he generated last season, but still posted a solid 21 goals and 53 points. Overall, the offence flowed pretty freely for Vigneault in his first go-around in the City of Brotherly Love.
By the end of the season, Vigneault had eight players hit double digits in goals. He even had 19-year-old Joel Farabee contribute with eight goals in the regular season and three goals in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he could not get the same production from his top players as he only saw Giroux, Couturier, and Konecny score three goals between the three of them. Ultimately I think that’s why they could not get by the Islanders and into the Eastern Conference Finals.
6) Florida Panthers
Jonathan Huberdeau-Aleksander Barkov-Frank Vatrano
Dominic Toninato-Noel Acciari-Brett Connolly
Dryden Hunt-Lucas Wallmark-Colton Sceviour
Aleksi Saarela-Eetu Luostarinen-Owen Tippett
UFAs: Mike Hoffman, Evgeni Dadonov, Erik Haula, Brian Boyle, Danick Martel, Jack Rodewald, Joel Lowry, Paul Thompson, Ryan Haggerty
ANALYSIS: The Panthers did not have any trouble scoring this season as they boasted five 20-goal scorers and three others who hit double-digits. They were led by pending-UFA Mike Hoffman’s 29 tallies and another solid season from Huberdeau who put up 78 points. Barkov also continued to climb the ladder of elite centers with his fifth-straight campaign with 20 or more goals.
The Panthers also had some pleasant surprises with Acciari hitting 20 goals for the first time in his career and Connolly fitting in nicely after spending the last three seasons with the Capitals. Overall, they were a pretty lethal group offensively. However, with Hoffman and Dadonov entering free agency, they will have to make some tough decisions quickly or risk losing 54 goals out of their lineup.
5) New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin-Mika Zibanejad-Pavel Buchnevich
Chris Kreider-Ryan Strome-Kaapo Kakko
Phil Di Giuseppe-Filip Chytil-Julien Gauthier
Brendan Lemieux-Brett Howden-Tim Gettinger
UFAs: Jesper Fast, Greg McKegg, Micheal Haley, Steven Fogarty, Vinni Lettieri, Danny O’Regan, Matt Beleskey
ANALYSIS: Panarin was everything and more for the Rangers this season, and was full value for the contract he signed in the offseason. He led them by a wide margin with a career-high 32 goals and 95 points in 69 games and was their best player night in and night out. Not far behind was Zibanejad, who also put up career numbers with 41 goals and 75 points in 57 games. They were quite the dynamic duo for the Blue Shirts.
Beyond them, they had five more players with ten or more goals and even though highly touted prospect Kaapo Kakko didn’t have the best rookie season, he still has the potential to be an impact player down the road. Throw in the fact that Alexis Lafreniere will most likely join the team next season, the Rangers will not have any problems scoring for the foreseeable future.
4) Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana-Nicklas Backstrom-T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin-Lars Eller-Travis Boyd
Richard Panik-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway
UFAs: Ilya Kovalchuk, Liam O’Brien
ANALYSIS: The Capitals boast one of the league’s better top sixes and have for years now. They displayed their firepower yet again this season with Ovechkin posting his third straight season with 40 goals or more and eclipsing 700 goals in his career. Oshie, Vrana, and Wilson put up 20-goal seasons, and Kuznetsov and Eller could have done the same if the season had finished with its usual 82 games. That’s how dominant their offence was again this season.
Kovalchuk joined the team later in the season to further supplement the offence, but couldn’t help them get over the hump that was the Islanders in the first round of the playoffs. Despite the disappointment of not making it past the opening round for the second straight season, this team remains an offensive juggernaut capable of beating any team on any given night.
3) Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen
Andre Burakovsky-Nazem Kadri-Joonas Donskoi
Tyson Jost-J.T. Compher-Valeri Nichushkin
Matt Calvert-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Logan O’Connor
UFAs: Vladislav Namestnikov, Matt Nieto, Colin Wilson, Jayson Megna
ANALYSIS: The Avalanche can also put in a claim for the league’s top line as the dominant trio put up 75 goals and 178 points with MacKinnon leading the way with 35 goals and 93 points. They also got much-needed depth scoring from newcomers Kadri and Burakovsky who scored 39 goals between the two of them. Overall they actually got a lot of help from the rest of the forwards as six players eclipsed the 10-goal mark.
The scoring continued in the playoffs with MacKinnon, Rantanen and Landeskog combined for 18 goals and 59 points while Kadri and Burakovsky stepped up with 16 goals and 35 points of their own. Unfortunately, they hit a wall with the Dallas Stars as they were eliminated in seven games after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit. Regardless, their offensive power remains strong going into next season.
2) Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
Andreas Johnsson-John Tavares-Mitch Marner
Nicholas Robertson-Alex Kerfoot-Ilya Mikheyev
Pierre Engvall-Frederik Gauthier-Denis Malgin
UFAs: Kyle Clifford, Jason Spezza, Miikka Salomaki, Garrett Wilson, Tyler Gaudet, Matt Lorito
ANALYSIS: The Maple Leafs were a powerhouse offensively yet again with Matthews, Tavares, Nylander, and Marner leading the way. They finished third in goals for and boasted a 47 goal scorer in Matthews and a 31-goal scorer in Nylander. Tavares didn’t dominate, but he still put up his 11th straight campaign with 24 or more goals.
Next season the Maple Leafs will be without Kapanen, but solid debuts from Robertson and Mikheyev made that trade possible since one of them will be taking his spot in the lineup. Overall, this team is just a defence core away from contending for the Stanley Cup every season.
1) Tampa Bay Lightning
Ondrej Palat-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov
Alex Killorn-Anthony Cirelli-Tyler Johnson
Barclay Goodrow-Yanni Gourde-Blake Coleman
Mitch Stephens-Cedric Paquette-Pat Maroon
Carter Verhaeghe/Mathieu Joseph/Alex Volkov
IR: Steven Stamkos
ANALYSIS: The Lightning remain the toast of the NHL when it comes to offence. They started the 2019-20 campaign first in offence, and end it the same way. Kucherov didn’t dominate the league, but he still put up a respectable 33 goals and 85 points.
Stamkos didn’t play every game and remains out in the playoffs, but he still put up 29 goals in 57 games. Beyond him, Point, Killorn, Cirelli, Palat, Gourde, Coleman and Johnson all eclipsed the 10-goal mark and were thorns in every team’s side throughout. The point is, this team just knows how to score from their top line, all the way to their fourth line. That’s why they are well on their way to punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
Recapping Forward Rankings
1) Tampa Bay Lightning
2) Toronto Maple Leafs
3) Colorado Avalanche
4) Washington Capitals
5) New York Rangers
6) Florida Panthers
7) Philadelphia Flyers
8) Boston Bruins
9) Vegas Golden Knights
10) Pittsburgh Penguins
11) St. Louis Blues
12) Carolina Hurricanes
13) New York Islanders
14) Dallas Stars
15) Vancouver Canucks
16) Edmonton Oilers
17) Winnipeg Jets
18) Chicago Blackhawks
19) Montreal Canadiens
20) Minnesota Wild
21) Calgary Flames
22) Nashville Predators
23) Buffalo Sabres
24) Ottawa Senators
25) Arizona Coyotes
26) New Jersey Devils
27) Anaheim Ducks
28) San Jose Sharks
29) Columbus Blue Jackets
30) Los Angeles Kings
31) Detroit Red Wings
Feel free to disagree with those rankings and share your own in the comments below.
All depth charts taken from CapFriendly.com as of Sept 8, 2020