When it comes to drafting wingers, the guys you want in your lineup are the ones who personify the "new" NHL — skill, speed, and slick playmakers. There may be a handful of power-forwards out there who still register points, but most just tend to dig around in the corners and create space on the ice for the players you want to have in your lineup. Jarome Iginla and Alexander Ovechkin bring a complete game to the table, and if you have a chance to draft either of them, you should, but otherwise there aren't many other players who bruise and rack-up points the way you want them to. Don't worry though. UPDATE! is there for you. Here are our top picks:


Ottawa Senators
Comment: Dany Heatley has 208 points in his two campaigns with Ottawa; and 39 of last season's 105 points came on the powerplay. He is the No. 1 source of offense on a Senators team brimming with guys that know their way around the net. He'll have Jason Spezza as his center, and Spezza is getting better every year. Dany Heatley should be the first player you take on the wing — and if your pool specifies which wing, he plays both.

New York Rangers
Comment: Talk about giving a guy juice when he's already super-sized! The New York Rangers made a big splash in the free agent pool when they added both Scott Gomez and Chris Drury. Gomez should start the season with Jagr on his wing, good news for the five-time Art Ross winner. Gomez is a pass-first kind of player — he had 47 assists last season. That should help Jagr exceed last season's 96-point output for sure.

Washington Capitals
Comment: Ovechkin made regular appearances on the highlight reel last year — partly because he was on the ice for almost 40 percent of Washington's goals. Caps' general manager, George McPhee found him a center that will inflate those totals when he inked Michael Nylander. With Nylander on the top line, Ovechkin will have more space on the ice and somebody loading his gun on a regular basis.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Comment: After a slow start last season, Marty St. Louis returned to form, gelling beautifully with Vincent Lecavalier. Lightning coach John Tortorella leans on St. Louis in key situations, and from a fantasy stand-point that's great news: he had 30 powerplay points, 11 when Tampa was short-handed, and scored seven game-winning goals. Tortorella wants St. Louis on the ice when it matters and you should too.

Atlanta Thrashers
Comment: Hossa has increased his point total in each of the last four seasons, and the trend should continue this year as he lines up with Ilya Kovalchuk or Yvacheslav Kozlov on the opposite wing. If Atlanta started the season with a top-tier center, then Hossa would rank higher on our list.

Philadelphia Flyers
Comment: Simon Gagne's patience with Flyers' management paid off in spades this off-season. Not only did he receive a bona fide No. 1 center when Philly signed Daniel Briere, but Scott Hartnell can play either wing, and his addition to the top line could make Philly (and Gagne) truly dangerous.

Calgary Flames
Comment: Mike Keenan is the new boss behind the Flames bench, and history has shown that he leans on his leaders to get the job done. Fantasy owners who have Iginla will directly benefit from his increased ice-time. Iginla should at least repeat last season's 94-point season.

Atlanta Thrashers
Comment: Kovalchuk had an off year last season, but he should return to form. He may be left to do more on his own this season, especially if separated from Marian Hossa. Kovalchuk is still very young at age 24; if he can integrate his linemates into the action, he will close in on 100 points.

San Jose Sharks
Comment: Cheechoo's rise to superstar status hit a bump last season when his production took a 20-point hit — all in the form of goals. But he should bounce back to his 2005-06 form, hammering Joe Thornton feeds into enemy nets. The Cheechoo train is en route to a 90-point season.

San Jose Sharks
Comment: Michalek has inked a generous six-year extension as an integral part of the Sharks immediate and future plans. He found a great deal of offensive success alongside Patrick Marleau on the second unit last year, doubling his output to 66 points, and he should increase that total by at least 20 more this year playing with Marleau as well as regular shifts with Thornton and Cheechoo.

Calgary Flames
Comment: Alex Tanguay is an assist-machine who plays in a higher gear than most other players in the league. The Flames will keep him attached to Jarome Iginla so he can take the puck into the opposition zone and set up the captain, and he will do it often.

Ottawa Senators
Comment: Alfredsson has scored 190 points over the last two seasons, and — when this season is over — will average at least 90 over the three combined. Rumours continue to creep out of Ottawa that the Sen's are looking for a right winger to complete the top line. Whether they find somebody from outside the organization or not, Alfie will rack-up the points alongside Spezza and Heatley or on the second line with the freshly extended Mike Fisher.

LA Kings
Comment: The Kings are building a fast and talented team with youth, and Frolov is a cornerstone. He has filled his frame since getting his first taste of NHL hockey, and that's led to him filling the net on a more regular basis. Frolov, Anze Kopitar, Mike Cammalleri and Ladislav Nagy are four young players with huge futures in this league — especially if they continue to play together.

Buffalo Sabres
Comment: There's a reason the Oilers dangled a massive contract in Vanek's face during the off-season, and there are 132 reasons the Sabres made sure he stayed in the Queen City. Vanek produced better than a point-per-game last season in the Sabres high-velocity offense, and though some key bodies have moved out of town, Vanek’s production should not tail off. There's still a lot of speed in Buffalo, and Vanek will have a solid chance at cracking the 50-goal plateau.

Detroit Red Wings
Comment: Back problems slowed Zetterberg last season, but he has still fired up better than point-per-game production in each of the last two seasons. The Red Wings are poised to make a run at the Cup with Zetterberg as their top left winger. Zetterberg should see some time taking face-offs as well, adding to his versatility.

Vancouver Canucks
Comment: Daniel has turned out to be the Sedin brother with a better nose for the net. His production has improved each season since he was drafted second overall in 1999. Sedin will again lead the Canucks in goals and points this season.

Colorado Avalanche
Comment: The Colorado Avalanche added a boatload of tenacity on the left side with the off-season signing of Ryan Smyth. Hejduk will be a direct beneficiary of Smyth's addition to the team, as he will be lined up with Joe Sakic or Paul Stastny at center and Smyth or Wojtek Woslki on the opposite wing. Any combination will lead to goals for Colorado and points for Hejduk.

St Louis Blues
Comment: Three of the last four NHL seasons have seen Paul Kariya shine as a speedy winger who can put the puck in the net from anywhere on the ice. The big difference for Kariya this year: he has lost much of the talent that once surrounded him in Colorado and Nashville. Still, look back at his early days in Anaheim when he was hovering around the 100-point mark, aside from his pal Teemu, the talent pool was rather thin on those teams too.

New Jersey Devils
Comment: Elias returned to regular action after dealing with a bout of Hepatitis two seasons ago. He bounced back readily, and should return to his offensive ways, regardless of whom he plays with.

Washington Capitals
Comment: Semin tallied 73 points in 77 games as a rookie. And with the confidence this kid carries, there won’t be a sophomore slump.

Florida Panthers
Comment: Horton has improved his numbers in each of his NHL seasons (points have gone up by an average of 20 per season). Much of his growth has been due to increased playing time and responsibility in Florida. At age 22, Horton should get close to a point-per-game production.

Edmonton Oilers
Comment: Hemsky missed some games last season due to shoulder issues, but a healthy season will lead to big point totals as Craig MacTavish's first choice on the right side. The Oilers' loss of Fernando Pisani to health issues should mean even more ice time for the 24 year-old.

LA Kings
Comment: Cammelleri's talent is a very real part of the Kings' blueprint for success. Their achievments depends on his continued productive play. See No. 13 Alexander Frolov for more.

New York Rangers
Comment: Shanahan helped "redesign" the NHLs style of play during the lockout, and the new game has played right into his style. With both Scotty Gomez and Chris Drury centering the top two lines, it doesn’t matter who Shanahan lines up with — he will continue to score.

Nashville Predators
Comment: With Steve Sullivan out of the lineup after back surgery until at least December, Erat has been handed a big boost in ice time as a Predators left-winger. If he's healthy, he'll be the man in Music City.

Colorado Avalanche
Comment: Wolski is a natural-born playmaker. He proved it in junior, where he averaged better than 2.25 points per game in his final season, and then again last year where he went at a clip of almost .7 points per game. And that was on a talent-rich Avalanche team. Here's the determining factor that goes beyond Wolski's talent: he's 6'3, but hasn't included his size in his game-plan yet. That will change this season, and as a Top 6 forward for the Av's, he will drive the net more often and become a genuine star.

Boston Bruins
Comment: They were hyping Bochenski big-time in Ottawa two years ago, but the talent-laden Sen's didn't have space for this gifted goal-scorer. The Bruins, who are not exactly stocked in talent on the wing, will give Bochenski lots of opportunity to make regular deposits in enemy territory. Bochenski should be available in the later rounds of your draft, and he's a definate add.

Edmonton Oilers
Comment: The off-season hoopla around Dustin Penner's move to Edmonton will make one of two things happen: he will either be taken too early, or avoided entirely. Penner is the real deal and should be taken mid-to-late in your draft. If he's available, then scoop him up. He will be highly utilized by the Oilers.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Comment: The Penguins have the NHLs best threesome of top-end young centers with Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin. Who will be in on all of their points on the wings? Does it really matter? Petr Sykora says yes, he has consistently hovered around the 50-point mark through his career. And now that he's matched-up with centers who can skate with him, he'll increase his numbers this year.

Anaheim Ducks
Comment: Corey Perry is on the rise with Anaheim, and the addition of Todd Bertuzzi (see NOT THESE GUYS below), Perry's value will only be more obvious. His ice-time will increase as the Ducks try to replace Teemu Selanne's scoring touch. With Perry getting lots of time, Selanne's absence may not be so obvious.




Anaheim Ducks
Comment: Back spasms, herniated disk and neck injury — not exactly conducive to regular ice-time, and because of those injuries last year, Bertuzzi played just 15 games with Florida and Detroit. There's no reason to believe he'll log a full season in Anaheim. Add to that that the game has changed since he dominated in Vancouver, and there's no reason to draft Bertuzzi, (unless your pool awards points for orneriness).

Minnesota Wild
Comment: There is no question that Gaborik should be an absolute fantasy stud. He has averaged better than a point-per-game since the lockout (123 points in 113 games), but he hasn't played a full season since 2002-03. If you don't mind spending the season regularly checking Gaborik's IR status, pickhim up, but there should be plenty of players who will give you regular service that you can take instead of Gaborik.

Calgary Flames
Comment: Do you remember all the excitement in Florida when they finally brought this slick playmaker over from Sweden? Rememebr how he never amounted to much in Mike Keenan's system with the Panthers? Oh yeah, and then he found a consistent game that made him a popular waiver pick-up for fantasy owners last season as a Flame. Well Keenan's his coach again, and Iron Mike doesn't forget the players who struggle under him, and the players never forget the stern coach. Huselius will have confidence issues as long as he's in Calgary (which may not be for very long).

Phoenix Coyotes
Comment: Shane Doan plays a gritty, aggressive, never-say-die style of hockey. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of right-now talent around him on the Coyotes. Without somebody to play with, Doan will continue to miss the mark in the point-production department.

New York Islanders
Comment: Many fantasy players may be tempted to draft Fedotenko because he'll be on the Islanders' first unit. But he's only there because the team let a lot of the offensive talent go in the off-season (Smyth, Blake, Yashin, Zednik, Kozlov and Asham are all off the roster). Fedotenko has never been a big producer, and that won't change on the Island.