It's that time of year when the offseason is the most quiet so we start seeing these rankings lists for each position, and Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators still carries a lot of respect around the NHL as a top-20 winger.
Forsberg lands at No.18 on NHL Network's Top-20 wingers, dropping from No.14 the previous year. He's about to reach his 31st birthday but is still very much in his prime as he keeps padding his lead as the all-time Nashville Predators goal scorers with 318.
On NHL Network's Top-20 Wingers List, Forsberg comes in ahead of No.20 Adrian Kempe and No.19 Matt Boldy. Just ahead of Forsberg at No.17 is the ageless wonder Alex Ovechkin. Here's the top-5 wingers:
1. Nikita Kucherov
Tampa Bay Lightning
2. David Pastrnak
Boston Bruins
3. Kirill Kaprizov
Minnesota Wild
4. Mikko Rantanen
Dallas Stars
5. Mitch Marner
Vegas Golden Knights
Forsberg gets a fair ranking from NHL Network landing just barely in the top-20
It's a pretty fair landing spot for Forsberg at No.18. I don't really see anyone that glaringly stands out that Forsberg should be higher than. What makes Forsberg so deserving of being somewhere in the top-20 is his creativity with the puck to make the highlight reel on a regular basis.
Additionally, Forsberg hasn't enjoyed playing with an elite center for most of his NHL career. That means no offense towards Ryan O'Reilly who has been really good for Forsberg in the last two seasons, some of these other wingers on the list have much better situations around them than what Forsberg has had on the Predators.
Virtually the entire Nashville Predators roster had a down year in 2024-25, but Forsberg still somehow managed to rally for a 76-point campaign with all of the turmoil around him.
Forsberg cleared the rest of the Predators roster in points by 20 last season, with the next-closest point scorer being Jonathan Marchessault with 56.
This is going to be a difficult test for Forsberg in 2025-26. Can he rise to the level of elite status and make the team around him better despite not having the most elite talent to work with? The Predators didn't really upgrade their forwards in the offseason, and instead are leaning on the younger talent to take the next step.
Forsberg should easily lead the team in scoring again in 2025-26
Forsberg is slotted to most likely be on Nashville's top line with O'Reilly once again at center and Marchessault on the other wing. At least we know there will be instant chemistry with this line combination. Forsberg should be fine to at least post another 70-plus point season, but projecting over 80 points might be pushing it.
My caution with Forsberg taking the next step climbing up into the territory of the elite wingers of the NHL is not having the weapons around him. He's not a once in a generation talent that can carry a team on his back throughout an entire season, and to be fair that's not on him.
Forsberg has always been there to do his job, but he needs help and decoys around him. Maybe Marchessault can be that decoy to take pressure off of Forsberg, which wasn't really the case last season.
It's looking highly probable that Forsberg will be a lifelong member of the Nashville Predators and hold all of the major offensive records when he finally sees his No.9 sweater retired up to the rafters.
If you ask me, one day Forsberg will get a statue next to Pekka Rinne and probably Roman Josi as well. But you know he really wants the franchise's first Stanley Cup. This upcoming season Forsberg and company will be looking to start building that championship foundation again.
Now, who is Nashville's next top-20 winger that could make this list one day in the future? Unfortunately, I don't see anyone that gives me a lot of confidence, but ask me again this time next year after Luke Evangelista is re-signed and shows me what he's made of after getting a new contract.