Ranking the top-10 wingers in the Metro Division

Artemi Panarin tops the list following a remarkable 120-point season. Where do the Devils representitives slot in?

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Every summer I like to rank the best Metro Division players by position and see how the New Jersey Devils stack up in each grouping.

I have already ranked the six best goaltenders and eight best centers. Up next are the wingers.

1. Artemi Panarin (Last year: 4)

I admittedly thought the 32-year-old was going to take a bit of a step back on an aging Rangers team. Boy, was I wrong.

Panarin served as the spearhead of a truly elite offensive line alongside Alexis Lafreniere and Vincent Trocheck.

He scored 49 goals (by far a career high) and piled up 120 points (by far a career high) while facilitating everything for a very good Rangers team.

Negative defensive impacts don’t much matter when you create close to as much offense as Panarin did.

He is as terrifying as any winger in the league when he has the puck in the final third of the ice.

2. Jesper Bratt (LY: 3)

I have all the time in the world for Jesper Bratt. He is such a complete hockey player.

He’s as dynamic as they come with the puck on his stick. He has the speed and agility to weave around defenders and make them look silly in the process. He’s lethal on breakaways. He has a sneaky good shot that can beat goaltenders from range. He is an elite playmaker – only Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov had more primary assists at 5v5 – and he can effortlessly do the heavy lifting through the neutral zone.

Bratt’s defensive impacts are also strong and, this past season, he fared very well while taking on a regular penalty-killing role.

The production is there, the sky-high GAR is there, and his ridiculous skill level is evident every time he touches the puck.

3. Timo Meier (LY: 2)