Florida Panthers
NHL Network names Panthers’ Jonathan Huberdeau Top 10 winger
It has been a wild couple of seasons for high-scoring winger Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers.
Two seasons ago, Huberdeau scored a career-high 92 points as he and linemate Sasha Barkov (96) became the first duo in franchise history to have 90-plus points in the same season.
This past season, Huberdeau was named to his first All-Star team, representing the Atlantic Division in St. Louis as he became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer by surpassing Olli Jokinen.
He ended up leading the Panthers with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) in a pandemic-shortened season, his 1.13 points per game ranking best in his eight NHL seasons.
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Huberdeau averaged 1.12 points per night in 2018-19 which marked the first time he ever eclipsed the one-point per game average over the course of an entire season.
On Sunday, the NHL Network named Huberdeau one of the top wingers in the NHL, ranking him ninth — just ahead of Vegas’ Mark Stone and right behind Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen.
Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers, who came close to joining Huberdeau and Barkov as a free agent in 2019, was ranked the top forward in the league.
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Here is the list of the NHL Network’s Top 20 wingers — with their list of the league’s top centers coming next Sunday.
No Florida players made the list last week when the network ranked the NHL’s top defensemen.
The NHL Network’s Top 20 wingers
1. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers; 2. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins; 3. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning; 4. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals; 5. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks; 6. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins; 7. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche; 9. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers; 10. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
11. Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets; 12, Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; 13. Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames; 14. Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets; 15. Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights; 16. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames; 17. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks; 18. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers; 19. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues; 20. Jake Guentzel, Pittsburgh Penguins