We’ve taken care of the Metropolitan Division’s top centers and the left wings… moving right along, our list of the top-ten right wings.
Honorable mention: Cam Atkinson, Matt Read, Joel Ward
10. Troy Brouwer, Washington Capitals
Last year’s rank: HM
In the three seasons since arriving in Washington, Brouwer has seen his goal totals steadily improve, and has become a guy upon whom the team has relied to provide some secondary scoring behind (and sometimes alongside) Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Some of that owes to making the most of opportunity – getting loads of time on the League’s top power-play unit will certainly goose those stats – but Brouwer has turned into a solid complementary player, with 101 goals in his last five seasons (368 games), including a career-high 25 in 2013-14.
9. Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Last year’s rank: Not ranked
A late-season signing for the Rangers back in the spring of 2012, Kreider is something of a strange case – of the 130 games he’s played at the NHL level, almost a third of them have been playoff games. Caps fans will remember his game-winning goal in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Rangers shortly after making his NHL debut, and Kreider has since made a habit of stepping up his game in the postseason; in his 41 playoff games, he’s registered 22 points, compared to his 40 regular-season points in 89 games. That’s not to say his work in the regular season has been lackluster – he had the second-highest even-strength Fenwick percentage among Ranger forwards last season, and had the sixth-highest point total on the team, despite missing 16 games.
8. Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers
Last year’s rank: 8
A decent player with the Kings early in his career, it was after his trade to the Flyers that Simmonds found his scoring touch and began putting up truly impressive numbers. In his first season with Philadelphia, he demolished his previous career-high in goals and points and has continued to maintain that torrid scoring pace. Not the strongest in terms of possession (his Fenwick and Corsi percentages lie just about middle of the pack among Flyers forwards), he nonetheless has been one of the Flyers’ top scorers in each of his three seasons with the team, and his 15 power-play goals not only led his team last season (by a healthy margin) but also ranked third in the League, trailing only Joe Pavelski and some guy named Ovechkin.
7. Nathan Horton, Columbus Blue Jackets
Last year’s rank: 7
Any review of Horton’s abilities as a player has to be accompanied by the “if” that has hung over him for the past few seasons – he’s a very good player, if he can stay healthy. Unfortunately that hasn’t exactly been the case in recent years, and Horton has played just 124 games in his last three seasons – and just 36 games for Columbus after signing a lucrative long-term deal there last summer. Still, his talent is enough to bump him up this particular list, as he’s been a consistent scorer over the course of his career (averaging around .32 goals per game) and was one of the Blue Jackets’ top possession players in his limited time with the team. If he can return to health, he’s another weapon on an up-and-coming team… although that’s not looking so good these days.
6. Kyle Okposo, New York Islanders
Last year’s rank: HM
He’s had some injuries over the course of his young career, and his 2012-13 season was a forgettable one from a statistical standpoint, but that doesn’t take away the fact that Okposo is one of the bright spots for an Islanders team on the rise. The 26-year-old appears to have hit his stride after last season, finishing the year atop his team in scoring (although if John Tavares had not been injured at the Olympics, that’s likely a second-place finish) and establishing new career marks in goals, assists and points. Heading into the 2014-15 campaign, he sits just one goal shy of 100… and here’s betting it’s just the first of many milestones he hits over the course of his career.
5. Jaromir Jagr, New Jersey Devils
Last year’s rank: 9
The word “ageless” almost seems like an understatement when talking about Jagr. Because while he may have slowed a step or two in recent years, the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer is still producing at a pretty incredible rate. His 67 points in 2013-14 were 14 more than anyone else on the Devils, his 24 goals second on the team behind only Adam Henrique – all while sporting an even-strength Corsi percentage of close to 60%. He’s also played all but 12 games in the last three seasons since returning from the KHL, and has been at least a point-per-game player (and often well over that) nearly every season. He’s recently said he wants to play until he’s 50 – the way he’s going, is it hard to imagine him doing just that?
4. Alexander Semin, Carolina Hurricanes
Last year’s rank: 3
Semin has become pretty well-known around his division during his career, whether that division is the dearly-departed Southeast or the current Metropolitan. And even through the ups and downs in production he’s always been one of the more dangerous snipers in the League. 2013-14 was a bit of an off season for Semin, with injuries limiting him to just 65 games and 42 points – but that was still good enough to put him in the top-three in scoring on the Hurricanes (second in goals), and he led all Carolina forwards in even-strength Corsi percentage. Add in the fact that his shooting percentage was the second-lowest of his career, and that he’s got an insane amount of talent at his disposal, and it’s entirely possible that Semin has a big bounceback season this year.
3. Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
Last year’s rank: 4
Like Simmonds, Voracek is a player who had moderate success before arriving in Philadelphia, only to find his groove in the City of Brotherly Love. He’s nearly doubled his goals-per-game rate since leaving Columbus, and only Claude Giroux has more points for the Flyers in the three years since Voracek’s arrival. He’s helped drive the Flyers’ even-strength play (an area in which they’ve struggled at times) but has also been a big part of the reason for the Flyers’ recent success on the power play – 16 of his 22 goals with the extra man scored in the orange and black, and his 23 power-play points last season put him in the League’s top-20.
2. Martin St. Louis, New York Rangers
Last year’s rank: Not ranked
With the Southeast Division going the way of the dodo, we all thought that meant no more division matchups against one Martin St. Louis… alas. He’s back. And while it took him a bit of time to get his bearings on his new team (it took him 15 games to pick up his first and only regular-season goal with the Rangers), he more than made up for it with his performance in New York’s somewhat surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final – while dealing with immense personal tragedy, no less. As he enters his 17th season, the 39-year-old doesn’t appear to have lost a step, continuing to produce at a consistently-high level, and sits just 19 points shy of 1000 in a career that has defied the odds.
1. Alex Ovechkin
Last year’s rank: 1
Okay, so we’ve already ranked him as the top left wing in the Metro… but let’s face it, whether it’s on the left side or the right, Alex Ovechkin is the best winger in the division and it’s really no competition. Chances are he’ll line up on both sides at some point this season anyway. And if he was awesome enough to make the post-season All-Star team at both positions, he’s certainly awesome enough to top two of our lists.