Ranking a defence core is difficult especially after a season has been completed. Some teams have underachieved despite having star defencemen on their roster and some have gone a long way because of the depth throughout their lineup. So I have endeavored to look at the team’s overall core rather than looking at the glamour of the names.
In the second of a four-part series ranking the NHL teams by position, here is how they stack up on defence going into the 2021-22 season — counting down from No. 32 to No. 1.
32) Arizona Coyotes
Jakob Chychrun – Conor Timmins
Shayne Gostisbehere – Ilya Lyubushkin
Anton Stralman – Victor Soderstrom
Vladislav Provolnev
ANALYSIS: The Arizona Coyotes will have a new-look defence this season with 23-year-old Jakob Chychrun leading the charge. Following the trade of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, he is now their number-one defenceman and will be counted upon to fill the shoes of the veteran Swede. Unfortunately for him, the supporting cast around him is full of unknowns.
Gostisbehere had a relatively strong 2020-21 campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 41 games, but he’s not usually that strong defensively. The big x-factor on this defence core is 35-year-old Anton Stralman. If he can provide a stabilizing presence as he did with the Tampa Bay Lightning, they might turn into a very underrated core.
31) Buffalo Sabres
Rasmus Dahlin – Henri Jokiharju
Will Butcher – Colin Miller
Robert Hagg – Mark Pysyk
Jacob Bryson
ANALYSIS: After recording his second straight 40-point campaign, Rasmus Dahlin had another strong season with five goals and 23 points in 56 games. If the season had been its normal 82 games, he likely would have hit 40 points again. If the Sabres ever get their house in order, he and 2021 first-overall pick Owen Power will lead this team on the backend for the next decade.
The rest of the core was just average, just like their team overall. If they want to take the next step, Dahlin needs some help, preferably before Power turns pro. That could come in the form of Butcher who once was a rising star with the New Jersey Devils. If he can rebound from his worst season in the NHL, the Sabres will be better for it. If anything, he will become a great piece to deal at the trade deadline when they are inevitably out of the playoff race.
30) Columbus Blue Jackets
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist
Vladislav Gavrikov – Dean Kukan
Jake Bean – Andrew Peeke
Scott Harrington
ANALYSIS: Without the towering presence of workhorse Seth Jones and the underrated defence of David Savard, the Columbus Blue Jackets are not the same team defensively. Zach Werenski is still a massive stud, but beyond him, the core is a work in progress. Boqvist and Bean join the fight from the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes respectively, but they definitely won’t fill the shoes of Jones and Savard right away.
Gavrikov, Peeke, and Kukan will all be pressed into more minutes which could prove costly depending on how much they’ve developed over the offseason. All in all, the 2021-22 season will be a long and frustrating one for the boys in union blue.
29) Los Angeles Kings
Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Alex Edler – Sean Walker
Tobias Bjornfot – Matt Roy
Olli Maatta
ANALYSIS: The Kings still have Drew Doughty — one of the league’s elite — but the rest of L.A.’s defence leaves a lot to be desired in this rebuilding state. Youngsters Walker and Roy had solid seasons with 18 and 10 points respectively, so the future looks good. Anderson also looked very good in his first full campaign in the NHL recording a goal and 11 points in 54 games. He regularly played over 20 minutes and will most likely be playing the entire season beside Doughty in 2021-22.
Alex Edler also joins the fray from the Vancouver Canucks and will be minute muncher 5-on-5 and the penalty kill after leading the league in shorthanded ice time last season. If all the young guys hit their stride and Doughty and Edler stay healthy, the Kings might be darkhorse in the Pacific. Though, that’s a big if.
28) Ottawa Senators
Thomas Chabot – Nikita Zaitsev
Michael Del Zotto – Artem Zub
Nick Holden – Erik Brannstrom
Josh Brown – Victor Mete
ANALYSIS: Similar to the Red Wings, the Senators are rebuilding their defence at the moment. Chabot regressed a bit after his career season in 2018-19 but still posted a 31-point campaign. He is still the clear-cut number one defenceman, but he’s going to need a bit more help next season from his young cohort. Brannstrom got into 30 games and has loads of potential, so look for him to keep progressing this season.
The addition of Nick Holden from the Golden Knights might turn out to be the best move general manager Pierre Dorion made this offseason. Since coming over from the Boston Bruins in 2018, he has become a very reliable two-way defenceman in the NHL. Even though he’s projected to be on the bottom-pairing with Brannstrom, it probably won’t be too long before he’s lined up beside Chabot.
27) Chicago Blackhawks
Calvin de Haan – Seth Jones
Jake McCabe – Connor Murphy
Riley Stillman – Ian Mitchell
Caleb Jones
ANALYSIS: Replacing Duncan Keith with Seth Jones is a definite upgrade, but the rest of the defence will have to step up big time if they hope to make any noise this season. The top four is okay with de Haan, McCabe and Murphy, but they are no Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Duncan Keith. Jones will have to be the same workhorse he was in Columbus, but without the added benefit of another two-way force in Werenski. As good as he is, that may be too much to ask from the 26-year-old stud.
26) Anaheim Ducks
Cam Fowler – Jacob Larsson
Hampus Lindholm – Kevin Shattenkirk
Jamie Drysdale – Josh Manson
Josh Mahura
ANALYSIS: The Ducks aren’t as deep as they once were, having traded away Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore in recent seasons, but Fowler, Lindholm, and Manson are still in their prime. Those three, on paper, are still a very solid group going forward, but Anaheim is no longer icing a top-10 defence in the present. Larsson and Drysdale have top-four potential, but they are definitely not in that realm yet. They need some help in the future to become a deep blue line again.
25) Detroit Red Wings
Nick Leddy – Filip Hronek
Danny DeKeyser – Moritz Seider
Marc Staal – Troy Stecher
Jordin Oesterle – Gustav Lindstrom
ANALYSIS: The Red Wings have some sexier names on defence in Leddy, Staal, and Stecher, but they are still a lower-ranked defence core overall. Two-way stud Moritz Seider will be joining the team this season, so that could change when these rankings are released again at the beginning of the 2022-23 campaign. They are no longer a last-place core though, especially with the additions of Leddy and Seider.
24) San Jose Sharks
Mario Ferraro – Brent Burns
Nikolai Knyzhov – Erik Karlsson
Radim Simek – Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Brinson Pasichnuk
ANALYSIS:
Despite having three of the best defencemen in the NHL with Vlasic, Karlsson, and Burns, the Sharks allowed the third-most goals and generally underachieved in their own end during the 2020-21 campaign. With a top-three like that, you really shouldn’t be missing the playoffs.
Karlsson and Burns both turned in good seasons offensively but were adventures in their own zone. For two guys that eat up over $19 million in cap space, they have to be the leaders on the blue line, not only in production but in defensive play too. With the Sharks going through a transition period, they have to be the motor that pushes the team forward, not the anchor that drags them down. Now with a new goaltender in the young and inexperienced Adin Hill, they have to be better or he’s going to be in for a long and frustrating season in the crease.
23) Calgary Flames
Noah Hanifin – Chris Tanev
Juuso Valimaki – Rasmus Andersson
Connor Mackey – Nikita Zadorov
Oliver Kylington
ANALYSIS: The Calgary Flames added Chris Tanev in free agency last offseason, but his presence on the blueline couldn’t lead them to the playoffs. As a unit, they were okay defensively but had to be bailed out by the brilliant goaltending of Jakob Markstrom way too often.
Hanifin, Valimaki and Andersson had good seasons statistically, but this unit is far from the Dougie Hamilton, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Jay Bouwmeester led core of the past. Now without the veteran leadership of Giordano, who was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft, they will have to shoulder more responsibility as GM Brad Treliving only added Nikita Zadorov to replace him.
22) Pittsburgh Penguins
Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Michael Matheson – Chad Ruhwedel
Juuso Riikola
ANALYSIS: The Penguins’ defence core was led once again by Letang, who just finished his 15th season in the NHL. He is also closing in on the 600-point mark in his career, despite battling injuries for the last few seasons. He is still hands down one of the best defencemen in the NHL. The rest of the defence lacks name recognition, but overall they are a pretty good mix of mobility, physicality and two-way play.
21) Vancouver Canucks
Quinn Hughes – Tyler Myers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Travis Hamonic
Olli Juolevi – Tucker Poolman
Luke Schenn – Jack Rathbone
ANALYSIS: The Canucks lost a huge piece of their defence when Edler signed with the Kings. Without him, they will have to lean on a committee of defencemen to replace his shotblocking and shorthanded minutes. Not to mention his veteran leadership. Ekman-Larsson will help their transition game and Poolman will help with the defensive minutes, but there’s not one defenceman that will replace Edler and his long-time service with the team. Hughes is still the leader of this core, and will have to clean up his defensive game if he wants to step into the realm of Cale Makar and become a true number-one defenceman in this league.
20) Edmonton Oilers
Darnell Nurse – Tyson Barrie
Duncan Keith – Cody Ceci
Kris Russell – Evan Bouchard
Slater Koekkoek
ANALYSIS: The Oilers have two of the best forwards in the game today with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but their defence, unfortunately, is still a sore spot. Nurse has developed into a bonified top-pairing defenceman, but he still needs some help. If this was five years ago, Keith would definitely help with that, but at 38-years-old they might be asking too much of the three-time Norris Trophy winner at this point in his career.
Ceci will attempt to fill the skates of the recently departed Adam Larsson, but again like Keith, could be overmatched in that role. Remember, he has not been the most consistent defensive presence over the last few seasons. Their only saving grace could be Bouchard and the hopeful strides he made during the offseason. If he starts playing to his potential in 2021-22, the Oilers might finally have a somewhat formidable core to get them past the first round of the playoffs.
19) Florida Panthers
MacKenzie Weegar – Aaron Ekblad
Brandon Montour – Markus Nutivaara
Gustav Forsling – Radko Gudas
Kevin Connauton
ANALYSIS: 2014 first-overall pick Aaron Ekblad will once again lead the Florida Panthers’ defence this season. After pacing all blueliners in average icetime with 25:05 a game and helping his team to the playoffs, he will have mostly the same core in 2021-22. Weegar, Nutivaara and Forsling are three of the most underrated two-way defencemen in the league and Montour has been great since coming over from the Ducks. Overall, a very solid group for a team that will be expected to take the next step in the playoffs this season.
18) New York Rangers
Ryan Lindgren – Adam Fox
K’Andre Miller – Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth – Nils Lundqvist
Jarred Tinordi
ANALYSIS: The Rangers have a formidable top-two with Trouba and Fox anchoring the defence. Fox eclipsed 40 points for the second-straight season and won the Norris Trophy and Trouba was a physical force and shot-blocking machine posting 111 hits and 84 blocked shots. Lindgren and Miller are ready to take the next step in their development after solid campaigns and they are getting a future star this season in Nils Lundqvist. Needless to say, the future is bright on Broadway.
17) Washington Capitals
Dmitry Orlov – John Carlson
Michal Kempny – Justin Schultz
Trevor van Riemsdyk – Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin
ANALYSIS: John Carlson is still one of the NHL’s best all-around defenceman and will continue to lead the Washington Capitals’ defence this season. Without Brenden Dillon, they will take a step back defensively and on the penalty kill, but should see a boost with the return of Michal Kempny. After sitting out the entire 2020-21 season due to an achilles injury, he will be a welcome sight back on the blue line. Before he was injured, he was one of the Capitals’ best two-way defencemen.
16) Nashville Predators
Roman Josi – Alexandre Carrier
Mattias Ekholm – Dante Fabbro
Matt Benning – Philippe Myers
Mark Borowiecki
ANALYSIS: Even without Ryan Ellis, the Predators still boast a formidable top-three of Josi, Ekholm, and Fabbro. The latter in particular had a solid season in an increased role. He has loads of potential at 23-years-old and could have a breakout season in 2021-22, especially with Ellis gone from the top four.
Josi had another strong season, leading the entire team in scoring with 33 points while Ekholm continued to produce as well. The defence was definitely not the reason for the Predators’ first-round exit, that’s for sure.
15) Montreal Canadiens
Joel Edmundson -Jeff Petry
Ben Chiarot – David Savard
Brett Kulak – Alexander Romanov
Chris Wideman
LTIR: Shea Weber
ANALYSIS: Unfortunately, the Canadiens will be without Shea Weber for the foreseeable future. The last game of the Stanley Cup Final might have been his last appearance in the NHL, that’s how bad his injuries are. Fortunately, they still have a solid enough defence core without him. Savard, fresh off a Stanley Cup championship with the Lightning will help fill the void, and Romanov is already the real deal. Petry is coming off a career-high 42 points in 55 games and Edmundson and Chiarot proved to be amazing pickups from the Blues and Winnipeg Jets last offseason. All in all, a great core moving forward. That’s not saying they won’t miss Weber though.
14) Winnipeg Jets
Josh Morrissey – Nate Schmidt
Brenden Dillon – Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley – Dylan DeMelo
Nathan Beaulieu – Sami Niku
ANALYSIS: The Jets really struggled to defend, as Hellebuyck again faced a lot of rubber and high danger chances this past season. Despite that, there were some bright spots with Pionk and Morrissey forming an effective top pairing and Pionk having another great season with 32 points. Dillon and Schmidt were added in the offseason to try and seal some of those defensive holes, so if they play to their strengths, Hellebuyck might be spared some hurt for the first time in a long time.
13) New Jersey Devils
Ty Smith – Dougie Hamilton
Ryan Graves – P.K. Subban
Jonas Siegenthaler – Damon Severson
Christian Jaros
ANALYSIS: After another disappointing season in the Meadow City, the New Jersey Devils added two significant pieces to their defence core this offseason in Hamilton and Ryan Graves. Hamilton takes over as their number-one defenceman and will hopefully fulfil the excitement that was promised when P.K. Subban was traded there a couple of seasons ago. He has been a Norris-calibre defenceman with the Hurricanes and will probably lead the team in ice time and points when all is said and done.
Graves adds a great two-way presence beside the overpaid Subban and Ty Smith will look to take the next step in his development. Overall, a much-improved group that should help the Devils finally make their way out of the basement.
12) Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Rielly – TJ Brodie
Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin – Travis Dermott
Alex Biega
ANALYSIS: Despite the overall strength of this blue line, the Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t make it past the first round for the fifth-straight season. They didn’t make any changes in the offseason, so GM Kyle Dubas must feel that the core is still good enough to make a sixth attempt at getting over the hump that is the opening round of the playoffs. Leading the way again will be Morgan Rielly, who is surprisingly starting his ninth season in the NHL.
Joining him will be T.J. Brodie, who turned out to be a masterful addition to the roster by Dubas last offseason. He was a stablilizing force all season long and even though he’s not an offensive dynamo anymore, he still provided mobility and a great first pass out of the zone. Overall, this season’s defence will live and die on the backs of Rielly, Brodie and Muzzin. If Holl, Sandin and Dermott can continue to be serviceable defencemen, this group should get them to the playoffs again. Except, getting there hasn’t been a problem, it’s capturing that fourth win and moving onto the second round.
11) Carolina Hurricanes
Jaccob Slavin – Brett Pesce
Brady Skjei – Ethan Bear
Brendan Smith – Ian Cole
Anthony Deangelo
IR: Jake Gardiner
ANALYSIS: The Hurricanes lost a huge piece of their defence when Hamilton signed with the Devils. Now with Jake Gardiner gone for the entire season, they will need the trio of Slavin, Pesce and Skjei to pick up the slack. Luckily for them, they should be up to the task. Next to Hamilton, Slavin has been their best defenceman over the last few seasons, and Pesce has turned into a very consistent and reliable blueliner as well.
Skjei had a good first full season in Carolina in 2020-21 and the new additions of Ethan Bear, Ian Cole and Brendan Smith should be able to offset the loss of Gardiner. However, if the injury bug hits, the Hurricanes might struggle with keeping the high-danger chances to a minimum when they are pressed into higher minutes.
10) Seattle Kraken
Mark Giordano – Adam Larsson
Jamie Oleksiak – Vince Dunn
Carson Soucy – Haydn Fleury
Dennis Cholowski – Connor Carrick
Cale Fleury
ANALYSIS: For a team just starting out in the NHL, the Kraken have a great group of defencemen to start their inaugural season with. Led by the ageless Mark Giordano and the underrated duo of Adam Larsson and Vince Dunn, defence will be the least of their problems going into 2021-22. Add in Soucy and Oleksiak and you have a pretty solid core to build around, even if Giordano moves on or retires next season.
9) Minnesota Wild
Jonas Brodin-Matt Dumba
Alex Goligoski – Jared Spurgeon
Dmitry Kulikov – Jon Merrill
Calen Addison
ANALYSIS: For the first time since 2011, the Minnesota Wild will not see Ryan Suter patrolling the blue line. The veteran defenceman was bought out by the team in the offseason and will now be providing his services to the Dallas Stars. He finished his career with 55 goals and 369 points in 656 games, all while averaging a gaudy 27:02 of ice time per game. He was the definition of a workhorse. He also rarely got injured as he played six full seasons and only had two where he played less than 82 games (in a normal 82-game season). Luckily for them, they still have the trio of Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon to fill his enourmous shoes.
The Wild also added Goligoski, Kulikov and Merrill to offset the losses of Suter and Soucy (who was selected by the Kraken). They all have had their moments in the NHL and should be able to replace at least the presence of Soucy. Suter, on the other hand, will take a collective effort as he did everything for them when he was in the lineup. He was not only their matchup defenceman, but also a high-minute man on both special teams. It will be interesting to see how the core adjusts to not having him around this season.
8) St. Louis Blues
Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella – Colton Parayko
Niko Mikkola – Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Walman
ANALYSIS: Even without Alex Pietrangelo, the St. Louis Blues were a good defensive team last season. The only player they lost from their core in the offseason was Dunn, who was selected and eventually signed by the Kraken. This season, they will run with a formidable top-four of Krug, Faulk, Scandella and Parayko, which rival some of the best in the league.
7) Dallas Stars
Esa Lindell – John Klingberg
Ryan Suter – Miro Heiskanen
Andrej Sekera – Jani Hakanpaa
Joel Hanley
ANALYSIS: The Stars defence core is without a doubt led by the dynamic duo of Heiskanen and Klingberg. They play the lion’s share of the minutes and drive the offence from the blue line. Basically, it’s where Heiskanen and Klingberg go, the Stars go. They will get help in the form of high-minute man Ryan Suter this season though, so maybe with some luck and great goaltending, they can wash the dirty taste of missing the playoffs last season after making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020.
6) Boston Bruins
Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy
Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo
Derek Forbort – Connor Clifton
Jakub Zboril
ANALYSIS: Without “Big Z”, the Boston Bruins did surprisingly well defensively last season, finishing fourth in goals against. With Forbort being the only addition, they will return with almost the same group this season. Youngsters Carlo and McAvoy continue to be the play drivers on the first and second pairing at 24 and 23 years old respectively, while Grzelcyk has established himself as a very reliable two-way defenceman in the top four. Since he’s entered the league, he’s never finished a season with a minus in the plus/minus column. Reilly and Clifton round out a defence that might have to be even more staunch defensively with a tandem that may not include Tuukka Rask until December.
5) New York Islanders
Adam Pelech – Ryan Pulock
Thomas Hickey – Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene – Noah Dobson
Sebastian Aho
ANALYSIS: The Islanders don’t have an all-star cast on the blue line, but under the tutelage of Barry Trotz, they have become a formidable unit. They all play a strong two-way brand of hockey and their top defenders are young as well. Puloch, Pelech, and Mayfield are all in their prime, and Dobson is on the cusp of becoming a full-time player too, which is just icing on the proverbial cake.
They have probably been the most surprising defence core over the past few seasons, leading the Islanders to back-to-back Conference Finals. They just know how to defend and follow the system their coach has laid out for them. That alone makes them a force to be reckoned with.
4) Vegas Golden Knights
Alec Martinez – Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague – Zach Whitecloud
Dylan Coghlan
ANALYSIS: The Golden Knights have proven throughout the season and the playoffs that they are one of the toughest teams to play against. One of the reasons for that is the depth, physicality, and speed of their defence. Theodore is clearly a star in the making and should be considered one of the top defenders in the NHL at this point.
After him, Pietrangelo, Martinez, McNabb, and Hague have formed a formidable entourage behind him and sophomore Zach Whitecloud has given them even more depth as he’s become an integral part of their bottom pairing and penalty-killing unit.
3) Philadelphia Flyers
Ivan Provorov – Ryan Ellis
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Keith Yandle – Justin Braun
Samuel Morin
ANALYSIS: After a season that saw his team finish with the most goals against, GM Chuck Fletcher decided to completely revamp his defence core. Joining incumbants Provorov, Braun and Sanheim this season will be former Predator Ryan Ellis, former Sabre Rasmus Ristolainen and former Panther Keith Yandle. All of them aren’t really known for their strong defensive games, but they all know how to transition the puck and get it quickly out of their own zone. Ellis in particular is very adept at doing that.
Ristolainen finally gets out of the shadow of Dahlin and Yandle will try to rebound from his first season since 2007-08 where he did not put up at least 30 points. In new surroundings with new defensive partners, may be they can both help bring the Flyers back to respectability in the defensive zone. If nothing else, they will help the Flyers push the offence and execute the style head coach Alain Vigneault likes to play. At their best, his teams are quick through the neutral zone and love to get their defence involved in the play. With the additions Fletcher made to his lineup, he should be able to do at least that.
2) Colorado Avalanche
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson
Bowen Byram – Ryan Murray
Kurtis MacDermid
ANALYSIS: Uber sophomore Makar had another monster season with 44 points in 44 games and continued his brilliance in the playoffs as well with two goals and ten points after his 15-point run last season. With him taking over as the top defender on the Avs, their defence could be even deeper with another star coming up as soon as next season in Byram. Even without the services of Ryan Graves, this unit is strong and it’s only going to get stronger.
1) Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman – Mikhail Sergachev
Ryan McDonagh – Erik Cernak
Jan Rutta – Zach Bogosian
Cal Foote
ANALYSIS: The Lightning are the envy of the NHL when it comes to their defence core. Hedman is a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, Sergachev keeps getting better every season, McDonagh is a number-one defenceman on most teams, and Cernak provides a tremendous two-way game in the number-four spot.
Then you have Bogosian, Ruuta, and Cal Foote in the mix for the bottom pairing. Talk about depth and skill in all areas. Basically, they are the toast of the NHL, so it’s really no surprise they are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
Recapping Defence Rankings
1) Tampa Bay Lightning
2) Colorado Avalanche
3) Philadelphia Flyers
4) Vegas Golden Knights
5) New York Islanders
6) Boston Bruins
7) Dallas Stars
8) St. Louis Blues
9) Minnesota Wild
10) Seattle Kraken
11) Carolina Hurricanes
12) Toronto Maple Leafs
13) New Jersey Devils
14) Winnipeg Jets
15) Montreal Canadiens
16) Nashville Predators
17) Washington Capitals
18) New York Rangers
19) Florida Panthers
20) Edmonton Oilers
21) Vancouver Canucks
22) Pittsburgh Penguins
23) Calgary Flames
24) San Jose Sharks
25) Detroit Red Wings
26) Anaheim Ducks
27) Chicago Blackhawks
28) Ottawa Senators
29) Los Angeles Kings
30) Columbus Blue Jackets
31) Buffalo Sabres
32) Arizona Coyotes
Feel free to disagree with those rankings and share your own in the comments below.
