Rank your team's defensemen based on their play this season

[LordNeverLose]

But I insist

They're all tied for last

 

[Bluesnatic27]

Why JayBo so low?

He was playing injured for a large part of the year, so his game never really took off this season.

He’s also getting up there in age, so he’s naturally declining. He relies on his skating because the rest of his game isn’t there anymore. So in summation, he just didn’t have a good season in my opinion.

 

[Ovechclutch]

Carlson - Highest scoring d-man in the NHL even with his dumb moments caps would have struggled BAD without him
Orlov - Rock steady defensively, nearly unbeatable on 1 on 1's and board battles. Probably most consistent caps d-man all year
Niskanen - Struggled to find his game after injury, had a really good second half and looked more like himself
Kempny - Makes some bone headed plays and gets out of position, but makes up for it with a great first pass/vision
Djoos - Has incredible patience, good hands, passing, his size kinda lets him down and he looked like a rookie at times
Jerabek- Looked a little shaky in his first few games, has since found his game and been solid
Orpik - His god awful contract makes him look a lot worse than he is. Steady defensively, kills nearly every o-zone play
Chorney - Perfect example of a 7th defenceman
Bowey- 20% of the time solid player 80% of the time a nervous wreck in his own zone. Took some steps forward as the season went along however.
Ness - Perfect example of an 8th defenceman

 

[maacoshark]

Carlson - Highest scoring d-man in the NHL even with his dumb moments caps would have struggled BAD without him
Orlov - Rock steady defensively, nearly unbeatable on 1 on 1's and board battles. Probably most consistent caps d-man all year
Niskanen - Struggled to find his game after injury, had a really good second half and looked more like himself
Kempny - Makes some bone headed plays and gets out of position, but makes up for it with a great first pass/vision
Djoos - Has incredible patience, good hands, passing, his size kinda lets him down and he looked like a rookie at times
Jerabek- Looked a little shaky in his first few games, has since found his game and been solid
Orpik - His god awful contract makes him look a lot worse than he is. Steady defensively, kills nearly every o-zone play
Chorney - Perfect example of a 7th defenceman
Bowey- 20% of the time solid player 80% of the time a nervous wreck in his own zone. Took some steps forward as the season went along however.
Ness - Perfect example of an 8th defenceman

I pretty much agree with the list except Chorney isn't a Cap anymore.

 

[CoachWithNoTeam]

1. Seth Jones - Norris caliber season. Took a huge stride towards being one of the top defensemen in the league.

2. Zach Werenski - Has played most of the season injured (upper body) and will need surgery in the summer. Despite this, he managed to not take a step backwards. Tied Jones at 16 goals and has worked heavily to advance his defensive play.

3. Ryan Murray - Once again missed a good amount of time with injury. Jackets record with him in the lineup is significantly better than when he was out. Without a doubt CBJ’s #3 guy and a luxury to have him on the 2nd pairing.

4. Markus Nutivaara - Also missed time but is showing that he is a quality 2nd pairing PMD. Defense is still a bit weak but his skating, passing, and ability to jump up in the play are high end. Cemented himself with Murray on the 2nd pairing.

5. Ian Cole - A quality TDL pickup who is like Jack Johnson but a bit better. Has great chemistry with Savard and brings excellent physicality, experience, and some scoring. Played mostly on the 3rd pairing.

6. David Savard - He is a 2nd pairing guy who is pushed down to the 3rd pairing by Jones and Murray/Nutivaara. Had rough start to the season but picked it up when Cole was acquired.

7. Dean Kukan - Spent most of the time in the AHL but when called up played well. He has an NHL future eventually either with Columbus or somewhere else.

8. Jack Johnson - Looked slower this season. Veteran guy who plays next to Murray or Nutivaara when one of them is out. Will be a UFA and probably won’t be back in Columbus.

9. Scott Harrington - He is a #7 guy on an NHL squad or a top end guy in the AHL. Didn’t get much of a look this season. Has a bit more to give, perhaps.

10. Taylor Chorney - Acquired just before the TDL. Was a healthy scratch for all but the last (meaningless) game. Is a warm body.

CBJ also have some promising prospects who are expected to play at the NHL level in 2 years or so. They are Gabriel Carlsson (AHL) and Vladislav Gavrikov (KHL).

Yeah I tend to agree with this as well, right down the line. Jones and Werenski are the clear 1 and 2, and after that it gets murky. But I think Murray and Nutivaara have been consistently better the rest when they’ve been together. It is tough where to put Kukan based on sample size, but he was good when he was in... But yeah, solid order.
It is an extremely deep group and I’m happy about having those 10 guys all ready going into the playoffs. Carlsson should be ready to go whenever, he can just keep developing. And Gavrikov should make a big splash after another year.

 

[KingsHockey24]

Doughty A++
Folin A
Muzzin A-
Phaneuf B+
Martinez B-
Forbort C+

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

:Aves

1. Erik Johnson
2. Tyson Barrie
3. Nikita Zadorov
4. Samuel Girard
5. Patrick Nemeth
6. Mark Barberio
7. Mark Alt
8. Duncan Siemens
9. Anton Lindholm
10. David Warsofsky

When we acquired 19 year old Girard in the Duchene deal, I did not expect him to be 4th on the list of best D this season, but the kid earned that ranking. And Nemeth has been surprisingly good at #5, so it's not like Girard is just there by default.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Including the traded players:

McDonagh
Shattenkirk
Skjei
Pionk
Holden
Staal
Smith
Kampfer
Gilmour
DeAngelo
O'Gara
Sproul

 

[Paul4587]

Based purely on their on ice play this season:

Lindholm - takes the toughest matches, dominates possession and was top 15 in goals for dmen this year. Only issue is he can have the odd night where he forgets how to handle the puck (normally he’s very good though) and he has never been a huge minute eater - normally averaging around 23 per night.

Fowler - has proven he can carry a pairing, eats huge minutes and is arguably the best skating Dman in the league. Can be suspect defensively (average gap control and loses physical battles) and very inconsistent. Suffers from poor confidence at times.

Manson - a beast physically, is pretty mobile with good first pass and heavy shot. Good positionally too. Reason he’s behind Fowler is because he has never proven he can eat big minutes and he’s a different player when not paired with Lindholm. Career highs in all offensive categories this season although they are inflated by a lot of luck and secondary assists.

Montour - hard (but erratic) shot, fast skater and good stick defensively. Can struggle positionally although he’s new to the league so that should improve over time. Smallish but feisty.

Beauchemin - slow as hell now but a solid first pass, heavy shot and he defends well when he’s not getting burned by speed. Ideally a number 6 at this point in his career.

Pettersson - promising puck moving D who is good positionally. Inexperienced but looks good in 3rd pairing role.

Anyone else who has played this season.

Bieksa - good at fighting. Terrible at everything else.

 

[Paul4587]

Ducks:

1. Josh Manson
2. Hampus Lindholm

3. Brandon Montour
4. Cam Fowler (Hard time between 3/4... any other Ducks fans want to chime in?)

5. Francois Beachemin
6. Marcus Pettersson
7. Andy Welinksi

8. Kevin Bieksa
9. Korbinian Holzer

IMO you’re overrating Manson and underrating Fowler. Other than that my list is very similar.

 

[ESH]

Lindholm - takes the toughest matches, dominates possession and was top 15 in goals for dmen this year. Only issue is he can have the odd night where he forgets how to handle the puck (normally he’s very good though) and he has never been a huge minute eater - normally averaging around 23 per night.

I'm pretty sure that he had the highest VO2 max score of any prospect at the combine in his draft year, so I'm sure he could take on more minutes.

 

[ZzZz]

I have a different opinion than the other Anaheim posts I saw here:

1. Lindholm - Consistently suppressed more shots and scoring chances than any other defense men on the Ducks while usually matched against the other teams top offensive players. The pair of Lindholm and Manson doesn't put as many shots on goal as Fowler/Montour, but they create more scoring chances, as well as have the fewest scoring chances against. 13 even strength goals and 31 points.

2. Fowler - A bit of an off season for Cam, but still carried the second pair despite being weighed down by Bieksa for about half the season. Still Randy's favorite on the blue line, has proven he can eat minutes, but even away from Bieksa still hasn't been great at clearing the defensive zone.
3. Manson - Spectacular season, defensively sound, and has a decent offensive game. The only reason Manson is behind Fowler is because he doesn't carry a pair the way Cam does; when he has been away from Lindholm he has appeared overwhelmed.

4. Montour - Started off hot, cooled down offensively for 40+ games, and heated back up. Throughout the whole season he has been pretty responsible defensively, and part of the reason for his offensive drought in the middle of the season could be attributed to not getting 1st unit PP minutes during that time. Still fumbles pucks along the blue line more than I would like.

5. Beauchemin - Quietly has had a pretty good season. Although he's the slowest defender on the team, he makes pretty good passes, and can still shoot the puck. Gives solid 3rd line minutes as a #6.
6. Pettersson - Very impressive in his 22 game sample size. Great passing, decent skating, huge frame, (6'4" and with long alien-like arms) and doesn't really look like a rookie on the ice.


(Welinski) - Only has played 7 games, but has been moderately impressive so far. Here just as an honorable mention, but placed where I think he is on the depth chart so far.
7. Bieksa - Struggled significantly to clear pucks out of his own zone.

8. Holzer - He's crazy.


Edit: I see Paul beat me to it with the same list, my bad.

 

[ZzZz]

I'm pretty sure that he had the highest VO2 max score of any prospect at the combine in his draft year, so I'm sure he could take on more minutes.

It's unclear if he plays less total minutes than Fowler because of ability, or if it's a coaching decision by Carlyle. The way it is now, Lindholm gets tougher minutes; and Carlyle loves his match ups, so I think he tries to rest Lindholm when he can (no PP time) so he is fresh to defend against the opposing top line.

 

[Paul4587]

I'm pretty sure that he had the highest VO2 max score of any prospect at the combine in his draft year, so I'm sure he could take on more minutes.

Sometimes the body can’t handle the minutes though it’s not all about cardiovascular fitness. Although I do agree that he could take on more he’s yet to prove it.

 

[CalgarySnow]

Habs:
Petry
Weber (injured)
Mete (injured)
Juulsen (needs more time)
Crap
Crap
Crap
Crap
Lolzner

 

[MessierII]

Nurse
Larsson
Russell
Benning
Klefbom
Sekera

 

[Magic Man]

1. Morgan Rielly
2. Jake Gardiner
3. Travis Dermott
4. Ron Hainsey
5. Nikita Zaitsev
6. Andreas Borgman
7. Roman Polak
8. Connor Carrick

 

[zar]

Let's put in perspective how bad the Oiler's D was... their D contributed a total of 14 power play points... that's the entire season... all of them combined.

Anyways... here you go...
Nurse
Larsson
Russell
Klefbom
Sekera
Benning
Auvitu
Davidson

Anyone who thinks the Oilers have any other greater need than a puck moving Dman who can QB a PP is dead wrong.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Barrie - has been a beast all season, especially when EJ went out. Played like a number 1.
EJ - still a legit number 1, but has been injured
Zadorov - huge turn around after the first 10 games of the season. Now playing top pairing with Barrie.
Girard - unbelievable how he is 19 years old. this kid will be a stud, future Spurgeon type dman.
Nemeth - very good PK guy, the ideal bottom pairing dman, who can play up the line up if required
Barberio - another great bottom pairning dman.

 

[ESH]

Sometimes the body can’t handle the minutes though it’s not all about cardiovascular fitness. Although I do agree that he could take on more he’s yet to prove it.

He’s yet to prove it because he hasn’t been given the opportunity

 

[um]

Carlson (great two way #1D and he's really exploded offensively this year)
Orlov (great skating two way D)
Niskanen (good two way D, struggled after his injury a bit but he's back to form)

Kempny (fits perfectly with Carlson, a much needed pickup)
Orpik (Looks great when not playing with AHLers or on the top pair)
Jerabek (steady 3rd paring/ puck moving defensmen)
Djoos (smart and good puck mover but get outmuscled a lot)

Bowey (not NHL ready)
Chorney (not an NHL player)
Ness (not an NHL player)

 

[Dellstrom]

1. Krug
2. Chara
3. McAvoy

^ All three of those are practically tied... Then a dropoff

4. Miller
5. Carlo
6. Grzelcyk
7. McQuaid
8. Holden

I put Krug first because Chara and McAvoy were both out for a few weeks, and Krug stepped up big time. He really carried the team defensively and offensively, and very quietly had a 59 point season in 76 games. But again, you can really put them in any order and still be right. There's not enough of a difference, at least to me. Banner years for all of those guys.

Chara really bounced back this year, and McAvoy was absolutely fantastic, but he got unlucky with injuries and missed quite a few games.

Miller had a great year and Grzelcyk exceeded expectations by a whole lot. Carlo had a bit of a sophomore slump, but still played pretty well. We're going to miss him, but I can sense a breakout year from him next year. McQuaid wasn't bad but he played half the season. Holden was a solid depth pickup, but he is what he is.

 

[Calgarybrutalist]

Giordano- B
--
--
Hamilton -C
Kulak
--
--
Hamonic-D
Stone
Bartkowski
--
--
--
Brodie - F-

 

[tsujimoto74]

Ristolainen
Scandella
--
Antipin
--
Guhle
Nelson
--
McCabe
Bogosian
Gorges
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
Beaulieu

 

[Mrb1p]

Shea Weber
Still solid overall, still a 1D, still capable of top 10 years, but injuries got to him. Probably the single reason for the Habs poor year.

Jeff Petry. He was asked to do too much, but he showed he could be great offensively when relied upon.

Victor Mete. Showed he belongs on most teams top four. I can think of one game where he was bad, just solid overall and hes scratching the ice offensively.

Noah Juulsen. Similar to Mete, a lot more offensive potential than people think about.

The rest was hot garbage all year. Sadly Benn, Alzner and Schlemko were fixtures on the top 4, probably the actual reason why the Habs were so bad. Jordie Benn is as far fron a NHL player I can think of.