2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Consensus Defenseman Rankings

Below are Fantrax’s 2026-27 fantasy hockey consensus defenseman rankings. The categories used to determine our rankings were Goals, Assists, Power-Play Points, Shots, Hits, and Blocks.

Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) remains the consensus number-one-ranked defenseman. His 1.125 points per game leads all defensemen over the past three seasons. Few players can match this level of consistency, with Quinn Hughes (Minnesota Wild) coming the closest at 1.09 points per game.

It’s hard to argue against Makar being the first defenseman off the board once again. He may not finish as the highest-scoring blueliner every season, but he remains the safest bet for elite point production. Hughes can challenge Makar in scoring, but multi-cat leagues aren’t based on single category scoring.

A small group of elite point-producing forwards follows Makar and Hughes and can threaten to lead the league in points by a defenseman each year: Zack Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), and Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens). However, projecting them over Makar requires a leap of faith.

Multi-cat pools are where someone like Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings) shines. He may not rival the aforementioned names in points, but they don’t compete with him in peripherals. He is the only defenceman ranked in the top-10 who provides 60 points, more than 150 shots, hits, and blocks, making him one of the safest multi-cat assets available.

2025-26 saw 22 defensemen score 50 points or more, the most since the 1993-94 season. With young defensemen like Luke Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals), and Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles Kings) ready to reach new heights, we could see that number grow.

The late rounds are where most of us hunt for defensemen who contribute hits and blocks. Sacrificing a few points to draft the few that provide full category coverage is a strategy worth considering. Someone like Darnell Nurse, San Jose Sharks, will get opportunities to provide more offence than in recent years. The Sharks lack a true power-play quarterback; Nurse could see a few looks alongside Macklin, Celebrini, & company.

Meet the Rankers:

In order to conserve space, the table below uses the initials of the analysts. They are as follows:

BA = Brandon Altomonte – @Brandon_Alto

LD = Logan Doyle – @doylelb4

JD = Julien D’Alessandro

Fantasy Hockey Defenseman Rankings 2026-27

The defenseman rankings below are based on the following scoring categories: Goals, Assists, Power-Play Points, Shots, Hits, Blocks.