Is the impact of #1 Winger criminally underrated?

[Miro4Norris]

People are always putting down the winger's values because of their position, and saying that for example #1 defenseman is much more important piece than #1 Defenseman. However, I was thinking of Cup winning teams from the time i have followed NHL closely and here is who I found more important part of the cup winning teams in playoffs:

2024 Forsling over Tkachuk?
2023 Marchessault(mvp) (and Stone) over Pietrangelo
2022 Makar(mvp) over Rantanen
2021 Kucherov over Hedman
2020 Hedman(mvp) over Kuch?
2019 Pietrangelo over Tarasenko
2018 Ovi(mvp) over Carlson
2017 Kessel over Schultz
2016 Kessel over Letang
2015 Keith(mvp) over Kane
2014 Williams(mvp) over Doughty?
2013 Kane(mvp) over Keith

With these cup winning teams, more times (7-5 here) the best winger of the team plays bigger role on the success than the best defenseman of the team imo. Are we all undervalueing wingers because of their position?

Click to read more...

 

[Crow]

I think it depends too much on the makeup of the team and the quality of the winger or alternative player you are citing to draw much of a conclusion from that.

I agree that a winger can be the best player on the team quite easily and the best player in the NHL at times even.

 

[SEALBound]

I think you have to be a BIG time impact wing to be more impactful than a 1C. An equal level 1C > 1W. But obviously, Ovechkin > Backstrom and Panarin > Zibs.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Probably a bit yeah, I dunno about 'criminally' though. Wingers generally have the least defensive responsibilities of all positions but a really good 1st line W that can carry an offense and consistently create chances can definitely have as much or more impact as a 1C, 1D, or 1G. A great center that doesn't have any other top line fwds to work with is going to struggle to produce.

 

[NotCommitted]

Maybe I'm wrong but I'm under the impression in Canada winger is seen more of a left over position and all the best forwards play center, even if if they were naturally more suited to wing? I might be off, but my gut feeling is talent like Kurri, Jagr or even Selänne, arguably the most natural winger of the bunch, would've been developed as centers in Canada. Or Rantanen as a more recent example. Likewise if McDavid or MacKinnon were euros, I think there's a good possibility they would've ended up as wingers.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

People are always putting down the winger's values because of their position, and saying that for example #1 defenseman is much more important piece than #1 Defenseman. However, I was thinking of Cup winning teams from the time i have followed NHL closely and here is who I found more important part of the cup winning teams in playoffs:

2024 Forsling over Tkachuk?
2023 Marchessault(mvp) (and Stone) over Pietrangelo
2022 Makar(mvp) over Rantanen
2021 Kucherov over Hedman
2020 Hedman(mvp) over Kuch?
2019 Pietrangelo over Tarasenko
2018 Ovi(mvp) over Carlson
2017 Kessel over Schultz
2016 Kessel over Letang
2015 Keith(mvp) over Kane
2014 Williams(mvp) over Doughty?
2013 Kane(mvp) over Keith

With these cup winning teams, more times (7-5 here) the best winger of the team plays bigger role on the success than the best defenseman of the team imo. Are we all undervalueing wingers because of their position?

Reinhart was the Panthers best winger in 2024. Chucky in 2023.

 

[Chet Manley]

People are always putting down the winger's values because of their position, and saying that for example #1 defenseman is much more important piece than #1 Defenseman. However, I was thinking of Cup winning teams from the time i have followed NHL closely and here is who I found more important part of the cup winning teams in playoffs:

2024 Forsling over Tkachuk?
2023 Marchessault(mvp) (and Stone) over Pietrangelo
2022 Makar(mvp) over Rantanen
2021 Kucherov over Hedman
2020 Hedman(mvp) over Kuch?
2019 Pietrangelo over Tarasenko
2018 Ovi(mvp) over Carlson
2017 Kessel over Schultz
2016 Kessel over Letang
2015 Keith(mvp) over Kane
2014 Williams(mvp) over Doughty?
2013 Kane(mvp) over Keith

With these cup winning teams, more times (7-5 here) the best winger of the team plays bigger role on the success than the best defenseman of the team imo. Are we all undervalueing wingers because of their position?

Pretty much take any of those 1D off of the team and none of them make it past the 2nd round. The game is about more than counting points but most awards are just that.

 

[BKarchitect]

People are always putting down the winger's values because of their position, and saying that for example #1 defenseman is much more important piece than #1 Defenseman. However, I was thinking of Cup winning teams from the time i have followed NHL closely and here is who I found more important part of the cup winning teams in playoffs:

2024 Forsling over Tkachuk?
2023 Marchessault(mvp) (and Stone) over Pietrangelo
2022 Makar(mvp) over Rantanen
2021 Kucherov over Hedman
2020 Hedman(mvp) over Kuch?
2019 Pietrangelo over Tarasenko
2018 Ovi(mvp) over Carlson
2017 Kessel over Schultz
2016 Kessel over Letang
2015 Keith(mvp) over Kane
2014 Williams(mvp) over Doughty?
2013 Kane(mvp) over Keith

With these cup winning teams, more times (7-5 here) the best winger of the team plays bigger role on the success than the best defenseman of the team imo. Are we all undervalueing wingers because of their position?

I mean some of those are debatable - defenseman value can be a bit harder to quantify than a winger who goes on a scoring binge.

Some of it is contextual. A certain star winger may be valued as a bigger star than a team’s non-superstar 25 minute per night bedrock defenseman…but often that same team may be better equipped to make-up for that winger being out of the line-up than replacing that #1 defender and having to shift every other defenseman up into a higher role.

There are inherently 12 forwards and often guys who are depth but can score are stuck in lesser roles. There are only 6 blueliners and the way minutes are usually distributed, losing that #1 guy can just have a monumental cascading effect.

There are maybe a few cases where a team’s overwhelmingly most important forward and offensive engine is a winger (Kucherov in Tampa, Pastrnak in Boston, Kaprizov in Minnesota) - where certainly you can argue the opposite but that has less to do with winger vs blueliner and more to do with who drives the offense.

 

[Dumais]

It's the extra responsibilities as a center position that makes it more valuable. Faceoffs (meaning PK/PP time), supporting dmen, pivot guy etc. a total team player. The fascinating part (to me at least) is how a center can have an average shot, average playmaking, average d and if he's good in the faceoffs; coaches will pair them with higher skilled wingers. In some cases, wingers (shooters/playmakers) can make up for weak centers.

 

[Miro4Norris]

Pretty much take any of those 1D off of the team and none of them make it past the 2nd round. The game is about more than counting points but most awards are just that.

Well, the only case I can remember of these winners winning without their #1D or #1W is actually when Letang got injured in 2017 before the playoffs and Pens ended up winning it all so that doesn’t support your claim

 

[Pablo El Perro]

It's the extra responsibilities as a center position that makes it more valuable. Faceoffs (meaning PK/PP time), supporting dmen, pivot guy etc. a total team player. The fascinating part (to me at least) is how a center can have an average shot, average playmaking, average d and if he's good in the faceoffs; coaches will pair them with higher skilled wingers. In some cases, wingers (shooters/playmakers) can make up for weak centers.

A scoring winger who can pk and take faceoffs is a bonus.