The Ottawa Senators can call themselves deep on the wing, but NHL Network’s latest ranking made one thing clear: they don’t have a current player who belongs in the league’s top 20 at the position.
That list, unveiled for the 2026-27 season, didn’t include a single active Senator. The only familiar name attached to Ottawa was Brady Tkachuk, who landed at No.
- Of course, that doesn’t help the Sens much now that Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers in June.
At the top of the rankings sits Nikita Kucherov, with David Pastrnak, Kirill Kaprizov, Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen following behind him. Matt Boldy, Jason Robertson, Matthew Tkachuk, Cole Caufield and William Nylander filled out the rest of the top 10.
For Ottawa, the issue isn’t lack of bodies. It’s lack of a winger who can credibly hang with that kind of company right now.
Drake Batherson is probably the closest thing the Senators have to a proven top-end winger. He’s been one of their most reliable offensive players and remains a key part of the top six. Even so, he would have a hard time squeezing onto this list as it stands.
The final spots show just how steep the bar is. Lucas Raymond came in at No. 20 after a 76-point season for Detroit, while Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier checked in just ahead of him after scoring 41 goals. Tkachuk sat at No. 18, with Utah’s Clayton Keller and Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel also in that neighborhood.
That’s the kind of company Ottawa would need to crack before it could make a real argument here.
Batherson has the skill to move closer to that level, but not enough to force anyone out of the ranking today. William Eklund is the more intriguing long-term bet. The former seventh overall pick is only 23, and there’s still room for his game to climb.
Claude Giroux is no longer in that conversation either. At 39 in January, age has pushed him out of top-winger territory.
Beyond that, the Senators simply don’t have a winger who reached 40 points last season, let alone one who can be seriously discussed among the NHL’s best 20. The one guy who did make the list is already gone.
So Ottawa will have to lean on depth instead of star power on the wing. That’s not exactly glamorous, but it can still work - as the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes showed by not having a single winger on the list either.
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Blue Jackets Summer Left Fans With The Same Frustrating Questions
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What makes the Senators situation especially tricky is how much of their outlook still depends on the margin for error, both in the lineup and in the front offices long-term plan. The articles broader point is that Ottawa remains in the mix of teams judged harshly for the way this summer unfolded, with expectations now riding on whether the current group can turn an uneven offseason into something more convincing once the season begins. [Read more 🡒]