NHL Network Ranks Mikko Rantanen Top Five At Wing; Still Too Low?

Just like they did last week for centers, the NHL Network put together their list of the top 20 wingers in the league.

And yes, Mikko Rantanen made it into the top five. Was there even any question? He’s coming off a monster 55 goal season and the first 100 point year of his career. He was obviously going to make the list, but it was just a matter of how high he ranked.

As you can see below, he was ranked pretty high…

Here are the Top 20 Wingers in the NHL right now!

What do you think of this list? #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/2ceyRuyWHv

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 13, 2023

There you have it. NHL Network says that Rantanen is the fourth best winger in the NHL, behind only David Pastrnak, Matthew Tkachuk, and Nikita Kucherov.

It’s an interesting list. Alex Ovechkin is obviously an incredible goal scorer, but at this point in his career, I probably have him a little bit lower. On the flip side, Mark Stone sits at 19, and if he’s healthy, I’m taking him over a lot of the guys above him, simply because of the impact he makes all over the ice.

And don’t get me started on Patrick Kane somehow still making the top 20…

As for Rantanen, does he have a case to be higher than #4?

Pastrnak comes in at #1 after a huge 61 goal season, but Rantanen scored at a much higher rate the previous two seasons, and really wasn’t that far off last year. All I know is that the contract extension Pastrnak just signed isn’t going to help the Avalanche when it comes time to negotiate Rantanen’s new deal next summer. Still, seeing as he just scored 61 goals, I’ll give Pasta the edge for now.

Then you have Matthew Tkachuk, and, well, I’d take him over Rantanen. This is coming from someone who loves the big Finn, but Tkachuk is just a total pain to play against, and absurdly skilled on top of that.

At #3, you’ve got Kucherov, who is not slowing down at all. He only scored 30 last year, but finished with a whopping 83 assists, topped only by Connor McDavid. I think there’s a debate to be had here between Kucherov and Rantanen, but it comes down to preference.

So what do you all think? Did the NHL Network get this one right? I’d have to imagine a healthy Gabriel Landeskog makes this list, but let’s not talk about that right now.