The search for a #1 defenseman seems to come up every trade deadline, every draft and every offseason. Some teams have one. Other very lucky teams might have more than one. And then there are teams that just could really use one.
Maybe it’s a team on the brink of being a Cup contender. Maybe it’s a rebuilding team looking to tool around a top defenseman. Maybe it’s a team who gets the first overall pick every single season.
They all covet a true #1 defenseman.
Who Has a #1 Defenseman?
Let’s start with the teams that already have at least one established.
Arizona Coyotes (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), Calgary Flames (Mark Giordano), Chicago Blackhawks (Duncan Keith), Detroit Red Wings (Niklas Kronwall), Los Angeles Kings (Drew Doughty), Minnesota Wild (Ryan Suter), Montreal Canadiens (P.K. Subban), Nashville Predators (Shea Weber and Roman Josi), New York Rangers (Ryan McDonagh) Pittsburgh Penguins (Kris Letang), Ottawa Senators (Erik Karlsson), San Jose Sharks (Marc-Eduard Vlasic), St. Louis Blues (Alex Pietrangelo), Tampa Bay Lightning (Victor Hedman), Winnipeg Jets (Dustin Byfuglien)
That’s 15 teams. Half of the NHL has what most would consider a true #1 defenseman.
Who Thinks They Might Have One?
There are a few teams who look like they have a #1 defenseman in the making and you could almost consider them a true #1 now. Let’s look at those teams.
Carolina Hurricanes (Justin Faulk), Florida Panthers (Aaron Ekblad)
That’s two more teams, bringing our total to 16. Carolina and Florida are both likely set with those two patrolling the blue-line for many years to come.
Who Doesn’t Have One But Probably Doesn’t Need One?
There are the rare few teams who possess a handful of “amazing-but-not-quite-elite” defensemen and probably aren’t in dire need of a true #1. In my mind, they are the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. I don’t think I would call any of their defensemen a true #1 but they have a ton of talent and skill on the blue-line.
The Islanders have Johnny Boychuck, Nick Leddy and for the time being, Travis Hamonic. That is a really solid group of three with no real glaring weaknesses. As long as all three remain on the Islanders, I don’t think they need a true #1 defenseman to contend for a Cup.
Same goes for the Capitals with a fantastic trio of Karl Alzner, John Carlson and Matt Niskanen. Obviously both teams have more than just those three guys, but the talent of each trio allows New York and Washington the luxury of contending without a traditional #1.
Who Needs One?
There are 12 teams that could really use a #1 defenseman to either put them into playoff contention or into Cup contention. Maybe their current top defenseman is aging and they need a replacement. No matter the reason, there are teams in need of a top defenseman. Those teams, in my opinion, are the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Vancouver Canucks.
So how are they going to get one?
Let’s go back over the list of teams that have one or have one in the making.
Arizona Coyotes (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), Calgary Flames (Mark Giordano), Chicago Blackhawks (Duncan Keith), Detroit Red Wings (Niklas Kronwall), Los Angeles Kings (Drew Doughty), Minnesota Wild (Ryan Suter), Montreal Canadiens (P.K. Subban), Nashville Predators (Shea Weber and Roman Josi), New York Rangers (Ryan McDonagh) Pittsburgh Penguins (Kris Letang), Ottawa Senators (Erik Karlsson), San Jose Sharks (Marc-Eduard Vlasic), St. Louis Blues (Alex Pietrangelo), Tampa Bay Lightning (Victor Hedman), Winnipeg Jets (Dustin Byfuglien), Carolina Hurricanes (Justin Faulk), Florida Panthers (Aaron Ekblad)
Okay, now take away teams who are realistically contending for a Cup and almost certainly wouldn’t part with their guy.
Arizona Coyotes (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), Calgary Flames (Mark Giordano), Chicago Blackhawks (Duncan Keith), Detroit Red Wings (Niklas Kronwall), Los Angeles Kings (Drew Doughty), Minnesota Wild (Ryan Suter), Montreal Canadiens (P.K. Subban), Nashville Predators (Shea Weber and Roman Josi), New York Rangers (Ryan McDonagh) Pittsburgh Penguins (Kris Letang), Ottawa Senators (Erik Karlsson), San Jose Sharks (Marc-Eduard Vlasic), St. Louis Blues (Alex Pietrangelo), Tampa Bay Lightning (Victor Hedman), Winnipeg Jets (Dustin Byfuglien), Carolina Hurricanes (Justin Faulk), Florida Panthers (Aaron Ekblad)
Alright, now remove the teams who have a young and talented blue-liner with no real back-up option to be a #1 defenseman.
Arizona Coyotes (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), Calgary Flames (Mark Giordano), Chicago Blackhawks (Duncan Keith), Detroit Red Wings (Niklas Kronwall), Los Angeles Kings (Drew Doughty), Minnesota Wild (Ryan Suter), Montreal Canadiens (P.K. Subban), Nashville Predators (Shea Weber and Roman Josi), New York Rangers (Ryan McDonagh) Pittsburgh Penguins (Kris Letang), Ottawa Senators (Erik Karlsson), San Jose Sharks (Marc-Eduard Vlasic), St. Louis Blues (Alex Pietrangelo), Tampa Bay Lightning (Victor Hedman), Winnipeg Jets (Dustin Byfuglien), Carolina Hurricanes (Justin Faulk), Florida Panthers (Aaron Ekblad)
Lastly, take away teams that simply don’t have a back-up plan in place if they lost their guy. Also let’s take off Byfuglien because he just signed a massive contract.
Arizona Coyotes (Oliver Ekman-Larsson), Calgary Flames (Mark Giordano), Chicago Blackhawks (Duncan Keith), Detroit Red Wings (Niklas Kronwall), Los Angeles Kings (Drew Doughty), Minnesota Wild (Ryan Suter), Montreal Canadiens (P.K. Subban), Nashville Predators (Shea Weber and Roman Josi), New York Rangers (Ryan McDonagh) Pittsburgh Penguins (Kris Letang), Ottawa Senators (Erik Karlsson), San Jose Sharks (Marc-Eduard Vlasic), St. Louis Blues (Alex Pietrangelo), Tampa Bay Lightning (Victor Hedman), Winnipeg Jets (Dustin Byfuglien), Carolina Hurricanes (Justin Faulk), Florida Panthers (Aaron Ekblad)
That leaves seven teams who you might be able to convince to give up their top defenseman in a trade. The unlikely options here are Giordano, Kronwall and Suter. The Flames have a ton of quality defensemen but Giordano is the heart and soul of that club. It would take a lot to get him out of there as he’s on a very friendly cap hit for a long time. Speaking of contracts, I’m not sure many teams in the NHL want the contract of Mr. Suter which will outlast the next lockout. I added Kronwall to the list of unlikely’s because Detroit just doesn’t seem to give up their top players.
As for the rest, they don’t seem impossible.
Nashville might want to add more scoring although the loss of Seth Jones really decreased any liklihood of them trading another defenseman. Weber would likely be the one to go. It’s a tough contract to take on but a team like the Devils or Sabres could be an interesting option.
Then you’ve got McDonagh, Vlasic and Pietrangelo who could all potentially be had due to the performance of other defensemen on their respective teams. Maybe the Rangers decide they want to get what they can for McDonagh and invest in Yandle. The Blues may want to hitch their wagon to Shattenkirk. They also have a potential Calder-candidate in Colton Parayko playing well this season. Perhaps Pietrangelo is available for the right price. And then there is Brent Burns in San Jose, potentially making Vlasic a trade-option.
Is it likely? No, but each season we’ve seen a few trades that shock the hockey world. Every team covets a top defenseman and once you get one, it’s very tough to let them go. There are a few, for the right price, that may just be possible to snag at this year’s trade deadline.