It’s countdown time and the NHL Network is digging through its annual rankings of players at various positions. They kicked things off with their top 10 goalies, with Andrei Vasilevskiy coming in third (up from last year’s top spot). Their latest list looks at the 20 best wingers in the game and a couple of Bolts made the cut.
Newly acquired Jake Guentzel comes in at No. 16, just ahead of Clayton Keller and behind Kyle Connor. The network points out that he has scored 30 goals for three straight seasons and has 67 playoff points (38 goals, 29 assists) in 69 games. Those are some good numbers that Lightning fans hope he will improve on next season.
His old friend Steven Stamkos shows up at 13th (he’s moved to the wing position for the second year in a row), but sitting above everyone else is Nikita Kucherov. The reigning Art Ross champion was third last season, but an MVP-worthy season catapulted him to the top spot above Matthew Tkachuk and Mikko Rantanen.
It’s doubtful that Kucherov particularly values such an honor, he would rather see another Stanley Cup on the trophy shelf, but it’s always nice to have the national media recognize his excellence on the ice. We may complain from time to time that the major media tends to overlook Lightning players, but when a player puts together a season like Kucherov did last year, it’s impossible to ignore.
Congratulations to Jake and Nikita on these preseason awards, and we hope they are back at the top of the list next summer.
Other hockey news
Lightning Top 10 Candidate Pool (Daily FaceOff)
Steve Ellis is not a fan of the Lightning’s talent pool. “There is no defenseman in the system that I like.” He backs this up by listing nine forwards and one goalie in his top 10 rankings. Newcomer Conor Geekie tops the list, followed by Ike Howard and Ethan Gauthier.
Arctos expected to give up its Lightning stake (Sports Business Journal)
As Jeff Vinik works to grow the ownership group, one of his newer partners is likely leaving the company. Arctos Partners, which bought a 20% stake in 2022 and added another 10% in 2023, is rumored to cash in on its investment. The private equity firm is still invested in the Devils, Wild and Penguins.
Getzlaf joins NHL Safety Department (TSN)
Ryan Getzlaf joins league operations as part of the player safety department. Getzlaf managed to go his 17-year career without suspension, but was fined $10,000 for using a homophobic slur during Game 4 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals.
NCAA sued over ban on junior hockey players (ESPN)
Rylan Masterson filed a class action lawsuit against the NCAA and several universities, claiming that the college association is violating antitrust laws by not allowing players who have played at least one major junior hockey game to compete at the collegiate level. Currently, the NCAA considers major junior hockey to be a professional league because there are players on the teams who have signed contracts with NHL teams.
How Auston Matthews became the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Toronto Star)
Brad Treliving knew he had to make a change after another playoff disappointment for the Maple Leafs. First he changed coaches, then he talked to his captain John Tavares about passing the captaincy from the veteran to Auston Matthews. After a brief consideration, Tavares agreed.
