We move onto blueliners now, starting with the top 20 defenseman for fantasy hockey. I’d argue this is the best overall group of defensemen since I’ve been writing for Razzball over a decade ago. This is surely going to be a long post, so let’s get to it!
1) Cale Makar
2) Quinn Hughes
3) Rasmus Dahlin
4) Zach Werenski
5) Evan Bouchard – These defensemen were covered in the Top 20 overall. You can put 2nd through 5th in any order and I’m not going to find any fault in it. It really does come down to personal preference and what categories you want to target in the early going.
6) Matthew Schaefer – Schaefer’s rookie season was one of the best we’ve ever seen from a defenseman, let alone an 18 year old. Schaefer scored 23 goals and added 36 assists, putting on almost three shots on goal per game. Driving play at the level he did is virtually unheard of. There’s easily room to grow in terms of power play production, and quite frankly, he’s not that dependent on his teammates for improvement because we’re talking about a superstar. Maybe he doesn’t get to Makar level, but he’s not going to be far off eventually. This is a tier below the guys in the top five, but I think Schaefer is already the best of the rest.
7) John Carlson – Carlson quietly had a big bounce back year, putting up 60 points in 71 games. He now moves to Tampa, which is the dream spot for fantasy production. Carlson is going to step right into the spot Raddysh vacated, and Raddysh was just the #2 overall fantasy defenseman last year. Carlson just had 14 PPP, a number that could easily double being on the point feeding Kucherov, Guentzel, etc. To be blunt, I’m not concerned about Hedman taking that spot either. I’m buying all of the Carlson stock in redrafts.
8) Jakob Chychrun – Chychrun was an absolute monster in his second year in Washington, putting up 26+34 with almost three shots per game. I don’t see Cole Hutson being a threat to Chychrun’s role at this time, and the Capitals forwards have greatly improved with the arrival of Tuch, Kyrou, Jenner, and the younger Protas brother. The 34 assists were a career high, so I’m not expecting a huge bump, but it’s so good otherwise that I’d rather take a big plus at every other category.
9) Lane Hutson – I’m sure people will be mad about this, but so be it. If you can remember the beginning of Quinn Hughes’ career, I always had him ranked in this range because of the shot rate. The points are incredible, but if you’re putting up under two shots per game, it’s very difficult for someone to crack the top five defenseman. Same goes with Fox even when he was a Norris contender (and winner). I have no doubt that Hutson will put up 70 points again with plenty of power play points. The plus-minus should be strong as well, although +36 is difficult to repeat. However, you just can’t get higher than this range when you’re at 1.5 shots per game. Maybe we see a huge leap like Q. Hughes did eventually, but that’s not really Hutson’s style. He’s a true superstar, but he’s better in real life than he is in fantasy. Here, he’s a bottom end #1.
10) Adam Fox – Despite the turmoil in New York and a major injury, Fox played elite hockey last season, putting up 53 points in 55 games. Fox has been right around the same level for six years now, and that puts him right in this range. If you wanted to look at it negatively, you could say the departure of Panarin is going to hurt Fox. I think it will marginally, but I do like that the Rangers really improved their blue line behind him. M. Pettersson and Durzi can take some tougher matchups, and Fox did crush with Gavrikov last season. I’m still buying Fox as a bottom end #1.
11) Moritz Seider – In banger leagues, this is far too low for Seider, who is a monster in hits and blocks. Seider has played every game in all five seasons of his career, making him incredibly safe. Everything is trending in the right direction as far as Seider himself goes. My concern is that Kane is gone, who was a huge plus on the Detroit power play, and the turmoil around Larkin is rough for the organization. It’s hard to see Detroit being anywhere near the playoffs this time around, and offensively, Seider doesn’t dictate things like all of the guys above him. Until last season, Seider was in the 42-50 point range. I think it’s more likely he drops back down than sustains 60 points. He fits all team builds, making Seider an ideal #2 on your team, but keep expectations in check.
12) Jake Sanderson – Last season was very impressive from Sanderson, putting up 54 points in 67 games. The shot rate did trend the wrong way towards average, but it’s hard to find any faults in his season. The contributions outside of points are rough, unlike Seider, but there’s a path to Sanderson putting up 65-70 points if things break right. As covered a bunch in the forward posts, Ottawa has a lot of question marks offensively, so there’s a bit of variance in Sanderson’s production, but I believe he’s good enough that they’ll be fine when he’s on the ice. In an ideal world, he’s a #2, and this tier goes down to the end of this post because any of these guys could end up being a #1 if things break right. I put Sanderson at the top because on the right side of the age curve, and he only needs to repeat last season over 82 games to get there.
13) Mikhail Sergachev – Sergachev is the perfect #2 in 12’ers. You’re going to get around 10 goals and 50 assists, with very good power play points. The shot rate is respectable now, and with the Mammoth losing a bit of depth on the blue line, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an extra minute or two of ice time. He was the #14 defenseman last season and I see no reason to doubt a repeat.
14) Miro Heiskanen – Heiskanen was 13th last season, putting up a massive 63 points in 77 games. After how poorly 24-25 went, it was great to see Heiskanen thrive again. Part of that was because Harley struggled so much, but regardless, Heiskanen should have PP1 locked in to start the season. The Stars are absolutely loaded, and he’s a great bet for 50+ assists. You’re not getting the all-around contributions of some of the other guys though.
15) Darren Raddysh – Raddysh had one of the most stunning seasons that came completely out of nowhere. His preseason career high in points was 37 points and 6 goals. Last season? 22 goals and 70 points! He leaves Tampa Bay to go to Toronto, who also has a lot of top end talent. The only season comparable to Raddysh’s breakout was Montour in Florida when he came out of nowhere to finish as the #1 defenseman. The year after, he fell back down, and then went to Seattle and settled in as a #2/3 in 12’ers. I don’t doubt Raddysh’s slapshot or playdriving ability, but it’s incredibly difficult to project a repeat of a breakout at 30 years old. If you believe, you can put him in the Top 10, but I’m hedging a bit. I don’t think the Toronto power play needs his slapshot as much as it needs a playmaker like Marner, but time will tell.
16) Roman Josi – Last season was somewhat of a bounce back for Josi, with the points remaining very good. The problem is that his shot rate, which was right there with Burns for best in the league, is down to above average instead of elite. Josi is 36 years old now, so I think the recent Josi is the guy that we’re getting going forward. That can be pretty rough at even strength at times, but very good on the power play. I still like him, but he’s a #2 now.
17) Josh Morrissey – Assist totals for Morrissey in the last four seasons: 60, 59, 48, 41. Not what we want to see. Add in a shot rate trending in the wrong direction and a team with a lot of question marks, and I think Morrissey’s days of being a top ten defenseman are over. That said, the points are good enough that he’s still a solid #2.
18) Charlie McAvoy – McAvoy is coming off the best offensive season of his career, scoring 11+50 in 69 games. A lot of that came from improvement on the power play. There are two concerns with McAvoy, which is why I put him towards the bottom of this tier. One, the shot rate is quite poor. After one season of being around two per game, he went back down to 1.5. That’s a pretty big negative. The other is that he pretty much always misses time with injury. Add in that he starts the season with a six game suspension for his disgusting slash on Benson as the Bruins were about to be eliminated, and there’s a fair bit of risk in the amount of games McAvoy plays.
19) Brandt Clarke – I’m staying stubborn in my projections of Clarke. Despite his ice time being limited because Hiller was awful, Clarke was quietly the #22 defenseman last season. That’s what happens when you’re solid across the board. Now what happens if he plays 3-4 more minutes per game, and he’s the PPQB from the start as he should be? Given that Panarin is there too, that PPQB role is worth a ton. Shockingly, Clarke is still only 23 years old, and I’m expecting career highs across the board.
20) Erik Karlsson – Like all of the Penguins, I’m a bit skeptical of last season, but damn, Karlsson was good in 25/26. He was a fringe #1 last season, putting up 66 points in 75 games. Perhaps the Pens prove last season wasn’t a fluke, making Karlsson too low on this list. He’s also 36 years old, and a pending UFA. If the Penguins are out of the picture, I could see Karlsson being traded, and that will almost certainly hurt his value. With the possible exception of the Sharks, I don’t see a potential playoff team where Karlsson can walk onto their first pair and get the big minutes he receives in Pittsburgh.
