The Athletic Every NHL Team's Defense Ranked from Best to Worst: Hurricanes and Avalanche Top the List

[Dingo44]

Sabres are in the second tier group with the Flames, Rangers, Penguins, Devils, Lightning, and Kings.

Every NHL team’s defense ranked from best to worst

Which NHL teams are positioned for success on the blue line heading into the 2023-24 season?

theathletic.com

A clearcut ranking from No. 1 to No. 32 is a futile exercise because the margin separating a team with say the fifth and 10th best blue line is pretty thin. That’s why we’ll sort every team’s blue line into tiers where the stratification is a bit more distinct. To do that, I leaned on a combination of statistics, the eye test and feedback from industry contacts.

Teams are sorted into tiers strictly based on their projection for 2023-24 — we’re not factoring for future potential at all.

Tier 2: High-end
Buffalo Sabres

Mattias Samuelsson–Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power–Connor Clifton
Henri Jokiharju–Erik Johnson

Other defense options: Jacob Bryson, Riley Stillman

It might be a hot take to have the Sabres this high given how much they struggled to defend last year, but hear me out.

Buffalo’s poor defensive results had a lot to do with bad goaltending and the forwards’ lackluster defensive play, it can’t solely be pinned on the blue line.

When I spoke to other teams, there was a strong belief that Power can take a huge step defensively as a sophomore this season. Dahlin and Power could be one of the best 1/2 punches in the NHL.

I’m probably higher than most people on Clifton. And when I asked around, there were people who also had time for him as a top-four defender.

Samuelsson is an underrated defensive defenseman and deserves more recognition outside of Buffalo.

Buffalo’s blue line certainly has more to prove than others in this tier, but its potential this season is worth betting on.

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[Beerz]

Sabres are in the second tier group with the Flames, Rangers, Penguins, Devils, Lightning, and Kings.

Every NHL team’s defense ranked from best to worst

Which NHL teams are positioned for success on the blue line heading into the 2023-24 season?

theathletic.com

At this point.. Im just hoping Power can take a baby step.

 

[Dingo44]

At this point.. Im just hoping Power can take a baby step.

Still down about last night?

 

[ZemgusWho]

Love the spicy take. Especially after multiple articles posted in the last couple days likened Thompson on D to the Ovechkin video game controller meme.

Complaining about "the model" on The Athletic has become such a tired trope the last few years. I'd rather some hot takes and speculation than another piece where they just throw Buffalo in the bottom and say, "well, the model modeled and that's it."

 

[old kummelweck]

I'm holding my breath on them improving structurally. They have the talent and depth this year, but jury is still out on whether they can execute or have the coaching.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Still down about last night?

Frankly a couple of those plays had he played the body instead of the puck would have resulted in a very different outcome. Even if he gets reverse hit, it still delays things.

I know that’s not his game, but adding that would be a game changer.

 

[TheMistyStranger]

Frankly a couple of those plays had he played the body instead of the puck would have resulted in a very different outcome. Even if he gets reverse hit, it still delays things.

I know that’s not his game, but adding that would be a game changer.

I'd be shocked if the coaches aren't showing him clips and telling him the same thing