The one Senators winger who managed to crack NHL Network's top 20 now plays somewhere else.
As the Senators prepare for a new season, they're a team with good depth at forward, but when it comes to elite wingers, they're a little shy on those.
NHL Network recently unveiled its ranking of the league's top 20 wingers entering the 2026-27 season, and not a single current Senator made the cut.
Well, technically, there is one familiar face.
Brady Tkachuk checks in at No. 18, but in Ottawa, he's nobody's concern after being traded to the Florida Panthers in June.
Beyond Tkachuk, whom Sens fans would happily argue against, they don't really have an elite winger right now they could argue for.
Nikita Kucherov tops the NHL list, followed by David Pastrnak, Kirill Kaprizov, Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen. Matt Boldy, Jason Robertson, Matthew Tkachuk, Cole Caufield and William Nylander round out the top 10.
In other words, it's basically an All-Star lineup.
And that's the problem for the Senators. They do have a deep stable of solid wingers, but it's difficult to make a convincing case that any of them belongs in that company right now.
That's why so many fans are clamouring for more help in the top six,
Drake Batherson is probably Ottawa's best established winger these days. He's been one of the club's most consistent offensive producers and remains an important part of that top six.
But would he look a little out of place on this list?
Probably.
Lucas Raymond grabbed the final spot at No. 20 after putting up 76 points for Detroit last season. Just ahead of him is Anaheim's Cutter Gauthier, who exploded for 41 goals. Tkachuk is 18th, followed by Utah's Clayton Keller and Tampa Bay's Jake Guentzel.
That's a pretty high bar just to get into the conversation.
Batherson is certainly capable of pushing closer to that level. But as things stand today, it would be tough to flick any of those players off the list to make room for him.
William Eklund is intriguing. As a former 7th overall pick, he has pedigree, and at 23, he still has time to grow. Perhaps he's the one guy who might have a chance to force his way into this type of discussion.
Veteran Claude Giroux once would have made a list like this. But he'll be 39 in January, so age has taken him out of contention.
And after them, the Senators don't have a single winger who even reached 40 points last season, let alone be thought of as a top 20 guy. The only guy who did just bailed on them.
So the Senators will have to settle for their good team depth at winger over individual excellence. And since it is a team game and always has been, that's not a bad thing.
Just ask the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, who didn't register a single winger on this list either.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News
This article was first published in The Hockey News. For more Sens coverage at The Hockey News, click on one of the Sens headlines below:
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