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

[Duck Off]

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.

This is spot on. The only small thing I'd add is that I personally thought Welinski looked just as good overall as Pettersson. Pettersson had a few games where he looked like another Lindholm, but then looks like a rookie way over his head. He is a rookie though. I'd have those two even, but other than that; I agree 100% with everything here. Manson gets criminally overrated on our board IMO. He's not the same player when he's the best defenseman on his pair. That's what easily separates Hampus and Cam above him.

 

[Sabresruletheschool]

That's him in a nutshell, has the 'controller disconnected' moments several times every game where you wonder if the play has been blown dead cause he's just doing his own thing nowhere close to the action

That's him,100%. It's like he's out there thinking about clowns and fire trucks and forgets he's in a game. I don't get it.

 

[HanSolo]

Well the Ducks have been done thrice so including three playoff games

Vegas

Nate Schmidt: He's been a jack of all trades and a true master of none. He just gets the job done effectively. Really solid in his own zone, great at limiting high quality chances, gets the puck out efficiently, and in his own zone his puck movement and offensive instincts have helped a lot.

Colin Miller: Almost the exact same can be said but Schmidt is just a hair more reliable in the defensive zone while Miller is a hair better offensively. I value defense more in defensemen so Miller comes out second.

Shea Theodore: While Theo has improved his defense tremendously under Gallant's tutelage from his levels in Anaheim, his defense isn't quite at Schmidt and Miller's level. However, there's no one on the team better at skating with the puck and distributing from the point. And sometimes a good defense can be a good offense.

Brayden McNabb: Not the most offensively gifted guy on the back end but he is just a very solid defensive option for Vegas.

Deryk Engelland: Someone who really thrived under the new opportunity with Vegas. Very solid defense overall.

Luca Sbisa: Actually not bad surprisingly.

Brad Hunt: A solid PMD when people are injured.

Jon Merrill: He's fine. Not great at anything but he doesn't actively hurt the team.