Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!

It’s your guy, MarmosDad, back for another preseason rundown of aggregate rankings and additional information for 2026-2027 Fantasy Hockey.

Last week I shared that the tentative plan was running an aggregate of rankings from various sources around the internet, and giving some input as to which ones made sense to me or, more likely, which players were going to be underdrafted in your fantasy drafts this year. 

Last week, I wrote up  The Top 50(ish) Forwards. You can click there to peek at that one if you missed it.

This week, we’re headed to my personal favorite position, and the one where I spent most of my games when I was playing. 

Looking back at that first article of the series will give you the full explanation of the format and plan for the upcoming weeks, so have a look at that if you have any questions. If you’re still not sure, you can drop questions or comments in the section below.

As an additional reference point, NHL dot com doesn’t rank past the Top 50 at each position, so some of the guys we have here have a dash in that column because they didn’t make the NHL’s Top 50 D-men list.

Got all that? Ok, then. Let’s get to it!

NHL 2026-2027 AGGREGATE DEFENSEMEN RANKINGS

RANK	NAME	PROJECTED POINTS	AGGREGATE	NHL  (DOT COM) RANKING	MULTI- CATEGORY FORMAT BOOST
1	Cale Makar	87	1	1
2	Quinn Hughes	86	3	2
3	Evan Bouchard	86	2	4
4	Zach Werenski	83	4	3
5	Rasmus Dahlin	75	6	6
6	Matthew Schaefer	72	7	7
7	Moritz Seider	65	8	11	*
8	Lane Hutson	80	5	5
9	Adam Fox	74	9	12
10	Jake Sanderson	65	12	9
11	Jakob Chychrun	63	11	10
12	Darren Raddysh	66	10	8
13	Roman Josi	72	15	16
14	Erik Karlsson	70	18	15
15	John Carlson	65	14	18
16	Jackson LaCombe	65	13	14
17	Josh Morrissey	59	17	27
18	Miro Heiskanen	65	16	13
19	Brandt Clarke	55	19	24	*
20	Charlie McAvoy	65	20	21	*
21	Victor Hedman	55	30	22
22	Luke Hughes	45	29	39
23	Vince Dunn	46	28	34
24	Bowen Byram	50	24	31
25	Mikhail Sergachev	66	21	20
26	Shayne Gostisbehere	52	22	23
27	Brock Faber	57	23	17
28	Shea Theodore	57	25	28
29	Noah Dobson	55	26	25	*
30	Thomas Harley	49	27	33
31	Dougie Hamilton	46	33	26
32	Zayne Parekh	35	43	45
33	Seth Jones	52	32	32
34	Simon Nemec	40	36	37
35	Thomas Chabot	44	40	41
36	Rasmus Andersson	49	31	38
37	Cole Hutson	51	34	19
38	Zeev Buium	33	69	50
39	MacKenzie Weegar	47	41	30	*
40	Philip Broberg	45	42	35
41	Filip Hronek	50	35	36
42	Brandon Montour	48	38	29
43	Mattias Samuelsson	43	39	40	*
44	Jacob Trouba	34	44	42	*
45	Jamie Drysdale	38	45	—
46	Olen Zellweger	35	37	—
47	Artyom Levshunov	31	53	49
48	Mattias Ekholm	40	46	–
49	Sam Malinski	43	49	47
50	Travis Sanheim	44	47	–	*

MARMOS DEFENSEMEN PICKS (or at least explanations about their rankings here)

Moritz Seider – Wait, what?! You’re putting a guy with 65 projected points above other guys who were in the conversation for the Norris Trophy and 80-point producers last year?!

Ah, hello once again, Mr. Italics. It’s good to see you again.

Yes, I know that Moritz Seider isn’t going to lead the league in points anytime soon. So why is he all the way up at #5 in my D-rankings, then? The easy answer is he’s a multi-category beast.

Scroll through NHL stats from last year, sorted by blocked shots. Of the 20 defensemen who recorded 150+ blocks, Seider is the only one who scored more than 47 points. 

If you sort by hits, it’s even more jarring. Seider’s 128 hits were good for 23rd best in the defense rankings last year. And you don’t need me to tell you the 22 guys ahead of him were not racking up points at the same clip as Moritz.

Even Filip Hronek’s 49 points and 133 hits came with the stain of a -23 rating.

I’ll take Moritz Seider’s 60 points, +15 rating, 189 shots, 180 blocks, 128 hits, and 25+ minutes of ice time every night in those multi-category leagues before I reach for a powerplay specialist or a guy with a less extensive resume.

Lane Hutson – I’ve seen more than a few folks arguing over the order of the Top 5 defensemen around the Internet over the past week or so. I know I’ll make more than a few Habs fans salty with this one, but let me explain myself before you start screaming “Tabarnac!”

First and foremost, in straight points leagues I would move Hutson up a few spots. The kid is an unbelievable talent, and I think he might pick up more points than anyone outside of the top four blueliners I have listed here. In fact, if plus/minus is a category in your points leagues, it would solidify his spot at #5.

His rank today has less to do with his future point production, and more to do with value in those multi-category leagues. 

When it comes to shots on net, nearly everyone in the Top 20 here outshot Hutson by a large margin. His 124 shots in 82 games was the lowest total from any defenseman who played in every one of his team’s games, and it wasn’t close.

Others who played in all of their team’s games and posted higher shot totals? Evan Bouchard (221), Moritz Seider (187), and fellow rookie Matthew Schaefer (222).

None of our top guys will give us lots of penalty minutes, but in those leagues with a PIM or HIT category, our #5-7 guys get a boost here. If Rasmus Dahlin gives you around the same point total as Hutson does this year, but chips in twice as many penalty minutes and hits? Give me the Sabre.

Hutson’s 137 blocked shots were good for 32nd best in the league last year (tied with Jared Spurgeon), so if you have that as a category in your league, it gives you ammunition in an argument about moving the Montreal rearguard up. 

All that said, I wouldn’t draft him ahead of the Top 4 here no matter what format my league uses. And depending on the extra categories in head-to-head leagues, I’d consider pushing him down to the 8th spot as I do in this list, especially if it’s in a redraft league.

Bowen Byram and Artyom Levshunov – It’s a bit of a hedge here with both Byram and Levshunov. The power-play quarterback job is a wide-open battle between these two guys, and it’ll be something to keep a close eye on during those preseason games. 

Connor Bedard is expected to be out until early November, so there may be room for both of these guys with the man advantage. But if the other Chicago forwards pick up the early slack, and the Blackhawks opt to run Patrick Kane out on one of the points, it’ll come down to which guy is more productive early on.

Draft Byram first, but don’t forget about Levshunov, especially if the preseason numbers are there.

Darren Raddysh – He’s not much lower in my rankings than he was in the aggregate or the NHL ones. This is a classic, “Great year. Now prove it wasn’t a fluke” kind of pick if there ever was one. 

When a guy averages 35 points for two years, then DOUBLES his point total in one year, there should be some room for caution.

He’s a Leaf now, so that will drive his price up. Add in that it looks like he’ll be the team’s go-to PP1 defenseman, pushing Morgan Reilly to the second unit, and it’s time to push him ahead of some more proven veterans.

We all know how much those Leaf fans are rooted in reality, and never, ever put the cart in front of the horse, so let’s just say that if everything goes “right” for Raddysh, he’s going to be a heck of a pick this year. Just know that if you have any Leaf fans in the draft room, you’re going to have to pull the trigger very early to get yourself a share.

John Carlson – Darren Raddysh? We don’t need no stinking Darren Raddysh!

Well, that’s what Tampa fans are hoping is their new truth for the 2026-2027 season. Although I’m unconvinced we’ve seen the last of a productive Victor Hedman (more on that below), it sounds like John Carlson will get every opportunity to run the PP1 with the Lightning. 

If you’re looking for upside, snagging a 36-year-old defenseman ain’t it. But if you’re looking for a defenseman who is slated to open the season on the man advantage, feeding pucks to Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Brandon Hagel? Yep. This is your guy. 

To be honest, I was going to rank Josh Morrissey ahead of him, but when I saw the projected PP lines, it sealed the deal and pushed Carlson up a bit.

Brandt Clarke – I’m fully on Team Clarke here with Viz, and I was equally disappointed when our guy from the Kings didn’t produce as well as we’d hoped. I know Viz had Clarke down as a bold prediction last year with a projected Top 10 finish in defense points.

Something interesting here was the hiring of Phil Housley in late June. If anyone can teach this kid how to flourish as a risk-taking, point-producing defenseman, it’s the former superstar Sabre. Slotting Clarke in on the PP1 is an even bigger indication that they’re ready to see this kid do some damage.

40 points in 82 games last year wasn’t exactly a dog-water season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Clarke took that next step and pushed for that Top 10 defenseman scoring spot that Viz predicted last year. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he finished with 60+ points and a healthy plus/minus rating. 

Charlie McAvoy – Ah, Chuckie Bright Lights. This one is a tough one to recommend for a few reasons, so stick with me here.

First, McAvoy is on an ‘extended rest’ to start the season with a press box reservation for the first 6 games. That was the punishment handed down from the league after he turned Zach Benson’s head into a piñata after the latter slew-footed the former into the end boards on an icing play.

If you want to see that one again…here it is!

Well, for a guy who hasn’t played a full season in ANY of his 9 years in the league, starting with a 6-game suspension isn’t going to help us in leagues where every game counts.

If you’re looking for hits, blocks, and a power-play guy, McAvoy is worth a look. But if it drives you crazy when a player misses a handful of games due to suspension, and another then misses a handful of games due to miscellaneous injuries? He’s probably best left to your league mates.

Luke Hughes – This one was surprising. After pushing for the 50-point mark in his first two full seasons, Hughes took a step back in both the points and games played columns. A major shoulder injury was the culprit, but Hughes had offseason surgery to fix it and is expected to be ready to go for opening night. 

Dougie Hamilton is expected to run the first power play in New Jersey, at least to start the year, so that’s one reason why the NHL rankings have the youngest Hughes brother pushed all the way down to #39.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes early in the season, and Hughes pushes his way into his old PP1 spot. If he does, he’s going to put up a ton of points feeding his brother from the point with the man advantage.

Victor Hedman – If you’re looking for a bounceback candidate for this year, this is your guy.

Sure, Hedman isn’t a spring chicken anymore (he’s 35 years old), but he’s already said in various interviews that he is feeling close to 100% again and ready for the upcoming season.

When a player takes time off for physical injuries AND mental health struggles, it’s always difficult to know just how much he’s ‘turned it around’. If Hedman is as good as he says he is, I’d bank on a floor of 45 points if he can stay healthy, with the potential to get back to an even higher point total if he can get back on that first power-play line (with or without John Carlson). I’m buying in on the bounceback.

Zayne Parekh – KID BREAKOUT ALERT!

First and foremost, skip this whole thing if your league counts plus/minus as a category. The last thing you want to deal with on your fantasy roster is a young defenseman who will log serious minutes on a seriously terrible hockey team.

BUT, if you’re in a points-only or dynasty league, this kid is one to keep an eye on in the preseason.

He was my rookie breakout pick from last year’s Western Conference previews. The link to that one is there, but if you’d rather not click it, here’s what I said!

“One of the good parts of rolling these divisional previews out after the season starts is getting to see some of the kids play in NHL games that matter. I had to kill some time between my kid’s friend’s birthday party and our late-night plans, so I ended up going next door to the trampoline park for a 12-oz beverage. They had the afternoon Flames game on, and Calgary had Parekh patrolling the power play. To say Parekh looked comfortable might be an understatement. He was smooth under pressure and walked the blue line like a seasoned veteran. Some fantasy players might be panicking about the zero points in four games this year, but I’d want to lock in a young defenseman who scored 33 goals and had 107 points in 61 games in the OHL last year if I had a keeper league roster spot open.”

And that’s me quoting me! I’d lock this kid in if I were in a dynasty league, and expect a considerable boost in games played and points this year.

Zeev Buium – I saved the best for last! Or, at least the best contract for a young defenseman until last…(if we don’t count the $20 million AAV extension that Cale Makar signed in August).

Buium doesn’t need much of an introduction. The Vancouver Canucks made Buium the centrepiece of their request in the Quinn Hughes deal, and for good reason. Whenever you see things like “dynamic skater, impactful puck mover, elusive skater, and excellent agility” on a player analysis, he deserves more than just a highlighter or a dog-ear in the rookie notebook.

The Canucks thought the 20-year-old wunderkind was worth locking up with an 8-year extension worth $75.04 million. Yep, that’s an AAV of $9.38 million for a kid who has played just 76 TOTAL games in his NHL career.

He’s slotted in to run the PP1, and unless you think Filip Hronek will push him out of the role, he should get every chance to prove he deserves the gig.

I know one thing: I’m going to be staying up late for that first month of games to watch Buium and Parekh show what they’ve got as two up-and-coming star defenders who could bloom as early as this year.

That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave some questions or comments in the chat here, and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. 

And if you’re looking for some pitcher notes from the baseball side, you can always click over to my weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers column.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you next Wednesday!

Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social