NHL Network names Lightning right winger best in the league

The National Hockey League on Wednesday announced their top 20 right-wingers in the NHL and the player who topped out the list and earned the right to be ranked No. 1 plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning. The top right winger in the league is none other than No. 86 on the ice, Nikita Kucherov.

Kucherov, 32-years old has been a prominent player in Tampa Bay the last 14 years since he was drafted back in 2011.

Over the course of his career he has skated in 803 games, scoring 357 goals, recording 637 assists, and 994 points and has a career plus/minus of +157.

Kuckherov is one of the most decorated players in the NHL. He is a two-time Stanely Cup Champion with the Lightning (2019-20 and 2020-21), he has won the Art Ross Trophy three times including the last two years consecutively, He was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2018-19, and has won the Ted Lindsay Award twice as well, most recently being recognized by the NHL Players’ Association as last season’s “Most Outstanding Player in the NHL.” 

In 2024-25, he skated in 78 games, scoring 37 goals, recording 84 assists, 121 points, and was +22 on the season. His strength on this ice is shown by the fact that he had eight power play goals, yet 37 goals against a full defense.

He leads the league in power-play points with 46, scoring eight goals and recording 38 assists. He is tied for third in the league in game-winning goals with nine.

The left-hander from Maykop, Russia has been named to the NHL Second All-Star Team twice, is a four-time NHL First All-Star Team player, including in 2025, and has made five appearances in the NHL All-Star Game, most recently in 2024.

Kucherov isn’t just a prominent impact player on the ice, but outside of the arena and in the Tampa community as well. Though he started as a more quiet and reserved personality, he has since opened up more and become a player who is active in the community. He is involved in community initiatives and youth hockey programs, and young athletes in the community look up to him as a role model.

Kucherov is entering into the seventh year of his eight-season contract. He still has another two seasons left until the Lightning will have to decide if they are going to renew their star right-winger, which unless he retires, as long as he continues to stay healthy, you would expect that his contract will be extended.