There have been some notable defensemen on the move this offseason, so let’s take a peek at some early Fantasy Hockey Defensemen Rankings.
P.K. Subban was dealt to the Devils and Tyson Barrie to the Maple Leafs. This, of course, affects their value, as Subban should see a rise in production, while Barrie takes a hit as he’s no longer the main man running the power play.
Brent Burns earns the top spot after a career-high 83-point campaign. Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson round out the top three. This trio should easily be the first three defensemen off the board.
Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes make for a pair of rookies to watch. Both are poised to take on significant minutes and run their team’s power play. However, don’t expect them to produce like recent rookie Rasmus Dahlin — who could easily vault into the top 20 or higher with a strong sophomore season.
It will be interesting to see how Matt Dumba fares, after missing 50 games with a ruptured pectoralis muscle. His 12 goals and 10 assists through 32 contests had him as one of the top producers of his position at the time. While he may need a handful of games to get back up to speed, don’t let him slip too far in the draft.
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2019 Fantasy Hockey Defensemen Rankings
Rankings are based on the following categories: Goals, Assists, Plus/Minus, Shots on Goal, Power Play Points, and Hits.
| Rnk | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brent Burns | SJS |
| 2 | Victor Hedman | TBL |
| 3 | Erik Karlsson | SJS |
| 4 | John Carlson | WSH |
| 5 | Morgan Rielly | TOR |
| 6 | Kris Letang | PIT |
| 7 | Roman Josi | NSH |
| 8 | Seth Jones | CBJ |
| 9 | Mark Giordano | CGY |
| 10 | Dustin Byfuglien | WPG |
| 11 | Thomas Chabot | OTT |
| 12 | P.K. Subban | NJD |
| 13 | John Klingberg | DAL |
| 14 | Tyson Barrie | TOR |
| 15 | Torey Krug | BOS |
| 16 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | ARZ |
| 17 | Rasmus Dahlin | BUF |
| 18 | Dougie Hamilton | CAR |
| 19 | Alex Pietrangelo | STL |
| 20 | Rasmus Ristolainen | BUF |
| 21 | Matt Dumba | MIN |
| 22 | Keith Yandle | FLA |
| 23 | Jacob Trouba | NYR |
| 24 | Shea Weber | MTL |
| 25 | Cale Makar | COL |
| 26 | Erik Gustafsson | CHI |
| 27 | Quinn Hughes | VAN |
| 28 | Drew Doughty | LAK |
| 29 | Ryan Pulock | NYI |
| 30 | Darnell Nurse | EDM |
| 31 | Shayne Gostisbehere | PHI |
| 32 | Shea Theodore | VGK |
| 33 | Justin Faulk | CAR |
| 34 | Ryan Ellis | NSH |
| 35 | Aaron Ekblad | FLA |
| 36 | Charlie McAvoy | BOS |
| 37 | Zach Werenski | CBJ |
| 38 | Ryan Suter | MIN |
| 39 | Alex Edler | VAN |
| 40 | Jeff Petry | MTL |
| 41 | Justin Schultz | PIT |
| 42 | Nate Schmidt | VGK |
| 43 | Jake Muzzin | TOR |
| 44 | Ivan Provorov | PHI |
| 45 | Jaccob Slavin | CAR |
| 46 | Ryan McDonagh | TBL |
| 47 | Matthias Ekholm | NSH |
| 48 | Colton Parayko | STL |
| 49 | Mikhail Sergachev | TBL |
| 50 | Oscar Klefbom | EDM |
If you missed our Top 100 Fantasy Hockey Forward Rankings, check them out here.
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