So 2008 has come and gone and some d-men are excelling while others are slacking. This is a projection based listing of which defensemen may perform the best for your fanasty hockey team down the strech this season. It is not merely a listing of who has been the best so far but who will do the best in the second half. You will notice that some big names have had to be left off because of how tight the competition has been and also because of their own shortcomings. Also, the order is more of a guideline rather than set in stone. It would also depend on what categories your particular league utilizes so try to digest everything using your own league’s scoring system and then apply accordingly.
1. Dan Boyle
Boyle has been the best d-man of the season so far in 08-09 and it doesn’t look like he’ll be slowing down. He, along with fellow new Sharks teammate Rob Blake have been performing very well for SJ, who is one of the best all around teams in the league. Boyle will probably end the season in the top 3 for scoring from D.
2. Andrei Markov
Although the Canadiens haven’t been as good as some were projecting coming into the season, they are still a very good team. The team has struggled through some key injuries, including currently, and also some underproducing players such as Andrei Kostitsyn and Alexei Kovalev. Markov is certainly the most deserving of his All Star Game starting position out of his fellow teammates. You cannot argue with his production thus far this season. He has been consistently underrated for the past few seasons even though he puts up good numbers. Look for the Canadiens to get hot down the stretch as some of their guys return from injury and others start performing up to par.
3. Mike Green
Green would easily be #1 if not for his injuries. With 28 points in 30 games, Green is scoring just about at a point-per-game pace as a d-man, which is pretty damn good. He would probably lead the league in points from a d-man if not for his multiple missed games due to injury. His fellow teammate, Alex Semin, also suffers the same distinction of having one of the highest point-per-game averages for his position but still not being at the very top due to time missed from injuries. Assuming Green stays healthy for the rest of the season, though, it is very likely that he’ll climb even higher up the list for scoring by blue liners simply because his rate is higher than everyone else’s. Not to mention the fact that his team is one of the most explosive scoring units in the entire NHL.
4. Nicklas Lidstrom
Steady and reliable Nick Lidstrom is having another pretty good season. There have been some stretches of pointlessness but overall Lidstrom is still one of the best NHL blue liners out there but when it comes to fantasy hockey. Still, it seems as though he’s giving up his crown and passing it down to some younger d-men. Lidstrom is still in the top 10 for points by D and can climb into the top 5 with just a couple more points. By the same token, he can slide down the list just as easily because the top 15-20 defense point-getters are rather clustered up around the 25-30 point mark. Lidstrom should continue on pace for the rest of the season. He’s still as consistent as they come so you’ll know what to expect from him if you have him.
5. Dion Phaneuf
Although Phaneuf hasn’t been a top 5 d-man so far this season, many are speculating that he’ll have a very strong finish to the season. Dion recently went through an eight game pointless streak and was also a -5 over that same span. His +/- rating overall this season is -8 which is very uncharacteristic of Phaneuf. He logs a ton of minutes but every year of his career so far he’s been a plus player by the end of the season. It’s still quite possible for him to attain a + rating as the Flames are starting play well. Even though he’s not produced up to par, he still isn’t even doing that poorly so once he gets it going, watch out. Look for Dion to have a very strong second half.
6. Shea Weber
Weber busted out of the gates this season and was the NHL’s top scorer from the blue line easily. He has since slowed down a bit but is still on pace for just under 60 points this season, a very good total for a d-man. The only thing for Weber is that his team, the Predators, is at the bottom of the league in terms of overall scoring and that can and will hurt his future production for the rest of 08-09. Although he’s slowed his point pace slightly since the beginning of the season, Weber is still #1 in goal scoring from D. Not to mention the fact that he is a fantastic contributor across the board in many categories, which makes him a fantasy stud d-man. Weber should finish the season with at least 55 points and could get his pace back up over 60 if the Preds can get their scoring up again after a poor showing at the end of the 2008 calendar year which brought their overall average down.
7. Mark Streit
Even though Streit is playing for the lowly Islanders, he’s still second in the entire NHL for points from a defenseman with 33 in 42 games. He is tied with Kimmo Timonen with 20 power play points for tops in scoring from the blue line with the man advantage. He’s also on pace for 64 points, which is even better than last season’s total with last year’s #1 power play unit on the Montreal Canadiens. Streit is also only a -3. If you consider how many goals the NYI give up in comparison to how many they score, you’ll see why this is a positive indicator for him. Expect Streit to continue on a similar pace for the rest of the season.
8. Zdeno Chara
Chara and fellow Bruin’s d-man Wideman have been enjoying quite a nice ride with the league’s current winningest team. Chara’s very nice +21 rating is 3rd in the league for defensemen just behind Chicago’s Duncan Keith and fellow teammate Dennis Wideman who leads with +25. Chara is a stalwart for the Bruins who can chip in with PIMs and also shots on goal for your fantasy team. Although his point scoring production isn’t as high as some of the others on this list, you don’t ever have to worry about Chara slacking off in the other categories. Start Chara with confidence every game.
9. Brian Rafalski
Rafalski and fellow Red Wing Lidstrom are as steady as they come. In terms of top NHL d-men, Rafalski is definitely one of them. However, for fantasy purposes, he’s not quite at the very top. Although he does score points at a nice clip, his main weakness (from a strictly fantasy perspective) is that he doesn’t take enough penalties. Obviously, in actual hockey, this is fantastic, but for fantasy hockey, a lot of managers rely on their blue liners to get a significant amount of the PIMs for their team. If you disregard PIMs or have other sources of it, Rafalski still makes for a fine #1 d-man for fantasy hockey teams. Expect more of the same from Rafalski and the Wings as the season rolls on.
10. Brian Campbell
Campbell and the Blackhawks are really progressing and growing as a team. The young core of Kane, Toews, Keith, Seabrook have welcomed some newcomers like Versteeg and even Cam Barker. Brian Campbell is still the leader for the young Blackhawks team, though, on the blue line. With a very respectable 29 points in 40 games, Campbell is having a good season for the Hawks. He also holds a +7 rating which is always helpful for fantasy purposes. The only gripe against Campbell is the fact that he’s only got 57 shots on goal thus far, which is much lower than a lot of his fellow d-men on this list. Also, Campbell has competition from his own teammates for ice time, most notably from young studs Keith and Seabrook. For the foreseeable future, though, Campbell is still the top d-man in Chicago and will be able to help guide the young team to the playoffs for the first time in a while.
Notables: Dennis Wideman, Chris Pronger, Rob Blake
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