The case for Zach Hyman being ranked higher in NHL Network top 20 wingers

Even allowing for this being an Edmonton Oilers site, we pride ourselves on being as objective as possible. We make this point, before stating our humble opinion that Zach Hyman is one of the best wingers in the NHL today.

Of course it helps when others share this opinion, particularly when it's a reputable sports media outlet. We assume the majority of hockey fans will agree this is the case, when mentioning the NHL Network.

Along these lines, said NHL Network has released their rankings for the top 20 wingers in the league as of right now. As per NHL.com, Nikita Kucherov is first, followed by Matthew Tkachuk and Mikko Rantanen at number two and three respectively.

David Pastrnak and Artemi Panarin round out the top five, but of most significance to Oilers fans specifically is Zach Hyman. He is the only Oilers winger to make the top 20, ranking at number 11.

Is 11th fair or not for Hyman?

The question is, does this represent a fair ranking for Hyman, or should he have been placed higher? Before delving into this, let's at least note he wasn't even in the NHL Network's top 20 this time last year, so that he's even included full stop is a positive in and as itself.

The argument for the 32-year-old being ranked higher, is mainly based around how many goals he scored this past season. His career-high regular season 54 goals were third-highest in the NHL, and most among all wingers. (Panarin was next, with 49 goals.)

This goal-scoring success extended to the playoffs, with Hyman leading all players with 16 more, five ahead of anyone else. For more context, consider that his 16 goals were just three short of the all-time record for a playoff run, while also being the most of the salary cap era, which began in 2005-06.

The polarising +/- rating

Continuing the case for the 2010 fifth round draft pick being ranked higher, consider that he led all forwards -- never mind just wingers -- with a +36 rating in 2024-25. This was fifth-best in the entire NHL during the regular season campaign.

As for the playoffs, Hyman's +12 rating was ranked tied second-best among all players along with a certain Connor McDavid, with their rating also being tied first among all forwards. As much as opinion on the +/- rating is split, it still has to count for something in the grand scheme of things.

Where the Toronto native's case begins to go against him ranking higher, is when looking at his total points during this past regular season. Of the top 20 wingers ranked by the NHL Network, his 77 overall points were only tied 13th-best.

Further, for all of Hyman's goal-scoring prowess, there's a strong cast of rivals who can make the case for being better overall wingers. Aside from the aforementioned top five, we're talking about the likes of Jason Robertson, Kirill Kaprizov, William Nylander, Sam Reinhart and Mitch Marner respectively, rounding out the top 10.

Overall, you might be able to make a case for Hyman squeezing into the top 10, but that would be about it. Ultimately though, being ranked at number 11 among the top 20 wingers is a pretty damn good accomplishment for a player who could have only dreamed of such things prior to signing with the Oilers three seasons ago.

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