As the 2026-27 NHL season rapidly approaches, hockey enthusiasts and fantasy managers are gearing up for draft season. The Hockey News is continuing its comprehensive positional rollouts by counting down the top 10 fantasy players at each position, and today’s spotlight shifts squarely to the right wing.
While the rise of dual-position eligibility across major fantasy platforms has slightly altered how managers build their rosters, the right wing position remains a relatively thin commodity compared to the abundance of depth found elsewhere. Finding elite production on the right side is often the ultimate differentiator in competitive leagues.
When evaluating these players, rankings are determined primarily by the position they played most frequently during the previous campaign. Furthermore, evaluations factor in traditional fantasy scoring categories, ensuring a holistic view of a player’s value. Managers must weigh traditional offensive outputs—such as goals, assists, and power-play points—alongside peripheral contributions like shots on goal, penalty minutes, blocked shots, and hits.
At the very top of the ledger, a pair of superstars manage to distinctly separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Nikita Kucherov and David Pastrnak combine elite, high-end scoring with massive shot volume and relentless power-play production. While several other right wingers boast the raw potential to eclipse the 100-point plateau, none quite match the status of being the undisputed focal points of their respective team offenses in the same manner as Kucherov and Pastrnak.
Tier 1
1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
There is virtually no debate at the top of the board. Nobody is better than the three-time Art Ross Trophy winner at this position in fantasy hockey. Since missing the entire 2020-21 regular season due to major hip surgery, Kucherov has been an absolute machine. In that span, only Connor McDavid has produced more total assists and maintained a higher points-per-game average than the dynamic Tampa Bay Lightning superstar. Kucherov remains the gold standard for right-wing fantasy managers, providing an unmatched floor and ceiling combination driven by his orchestrating role on the Lightning power play.
2. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Nobody does more with less supporting cast than David Pastrnak. The prolific sniper has scored at least 100 points in four consecutive seasons, a remarkable feat considering no other Boston Bruins skater has managed to crack more than 68 points in any single year over that same stretch. Though analysts have noted a curious decline in his overall shot volume over recent campaigns, it has done little to stunt his elite production. Pastrnak’s ability to drive Boston’s offense single-handedly cements his status as a Tier 1 elite cornerstone.
Tier 2
3. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
Fantasy managers are still waiting to see a fully healthy Mikko Rantanen play out a complete season with the Dallas Stars. Following his high-profile arrival via trade from the Colorado Avalanche, Rantanen’s point-per-game averages did not decline as sharply as many skeptics anticipated. The towering Finnish forward is fully capable of pushing for the 100-point mark. However, the reality of playing on a deep Dallas roster means there are many mouths to feed on a nightly basis, which slightly dampens his standalone fantasy ceiling compared to the Tier 1 elite.
4. Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche
While an elevated 18.4 shooting percentage from last season might raise a few eyebrows among analytics-minded managers, stepping into significant minutes on arguably the best offensive team in the league substantially raises Martin Necas’ baseline floor. Superstar teammate Nathan MacKinnon either scored or assisted on a staggering 42 of Necas’ 100 points last season. The pair are expected to drive the bulk of the Colorado Avalanche’s high-octane offense once again this year, making Necas an immensely valuable commodity on the right side.
5. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild stand out as the only team from last season to feature a pair of wingers who each crossed the 40-goal threshold, and Matt Boldy is finally receiving widespread recognition following his stellar breakout campaign. The raw offensive ability and underlying metrics always suggested that Boldy possessed this kind of elite upside. With a full season of Quinn Hughes running the power-play unit—and potentially an incoming upgrade down the middle at center—a 100-point campaign is firmly within the realm of possibility.
6. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
Not many right wingers offer a reliable 40-goal, 100-point potential package, which explains why William Nylander comfortably rounds out this second tier even as the supporting cast surrounding him in Toronto has experienced some roster turnover. Nylander has been remarkably consistent over the years, ranking fifth in total points with 428 and sixth in points per game at 1.09 among all right wingers featured on this list. His pedigree keeps him locked in as a premier fantasy asset.
Tier 3
7. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
While his memorable 57-goal campaign stands as a clear offensive anomaly—bolstered heavily by a scorching 24.5 shooting percentage that year—Sam Reinhart remains the Florida Panthers’ most reliable and consistent goal scorer. In a reasonable base-case scenario, fantasy managers can confidently expect Reinhart to deliver around 30 goals and 80 points. Furthermore, his durability is a massive asset; he played in at least 95 percent of his possible regular-season games right up until last year. Alongside Aleksander Barkov, Reinhart is heavily relied upon in all game situations, ensuring he will continue to receive ample ice time and high-leverage scoring opportunities.
8. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
Overall ice time and sustained health will be the primary determining factors in whether Matthew Tkachuk can return to the 100-point tier, a milestone he has not reached in three seasons. An interesting quirk regarding Tkachuk’s fantasy profile is his variance in physical categories. He delivered fewer hits per game than his career average of 1.38 in six of his 10 professional seasons, demonstrating notable year-to-year volatility. For instance, he recorded 68 hits during the 2022-23 season before exploding for 151 hits the very next year, making him a complex player to project across peripheral categories.
9. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights
There remains a realistic pathway for Mitch Marner to flirt with the 100-point mark again, but doing so would require him to drastically increase his shot volume and log heavier minutes. Neither of those demands are strictly necessary for him within a deep Vegas Golden Knights forward group. Marner remains an exceptionally consistent point producer, but his relative lack of high shot volume, penalty minutes, blocked shots, and hits prevents him from evolving into a truly elite, all-around multi-category fantasy asset.
10. Dylan Guenther, Utah Mammoth
Dylan Guenther established himself as one of just three 40-goal scorers under the age of 23 last season—joining elite company alongside Macklin Celebrini and Wyatt Johnston—and his breakout performance was no fluke. According to data from Natural Stat Trick, Guenther ranked third among all forwards with 1.64 goals per 60 minutes and 11th with 9.79 shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 play, with a minimum of 500 total ice time minutes. One can only imagine what Guenther might accomplish once his average ice time creeps past 17 minutes per game. Among all players slotted into this third tier, Guenther arguably carries the highest upside to leap into Tier 2.
Beyond the top 10, several honorable mention candidates loom as intriguing targets for deep leagues or late-round fliers, including Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens, Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings, Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings, and Kirill Marchenko of the Columbus Blue Jackets.