Each year, the NHL Network releases a list that looks at their top-20 at each position. Recently, they revealed their top defenders around the NHL, and it left the majority of fans stunned.
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Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes started the list as the top two, which was a surprise to nobody, but after that, it went off the rails.
Our Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list has a total of:
• 19 total All-Star Game appearances
• 9 All-Rookie team honors
• 6 James Norris Memorial Trophies
• 2 Calder Trophies
• 2 Conn Smythe Trophies
• 9 Stanley CupsWhat do you think of our list?@NHL | #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/0MaGYS04de
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 13, 2025
Having Zach Werenski and Miro Heiskanen at three and four can be argued. It’s not a common opinion, and a lot of fans disagreed with that, but it’s not the craziest take in the world. However, placing Victor Hedman right after to round out the top five was a shock. On top of that, Rasmus Dahlin is too low, Jaccob Slavin is too low, Thomas Harley is too low, and Adam Fox was genuinely disrespected with a placement at 16th.
Lane Hutson being on the list at all was a hot take, and while Montreal Canadiens fans loved it, it seems like a stretch to have him that high this early in his career. All in all, this list was not great.
Hedman & Fox Should Be Flipped
Hedman was once a strong defender at both ends of the ice, and his ability to provide offensive production while shutting down the NHL’s top players made him one of the most feared blue-liners in the league, but as he gets older, he has started to decline in a big way.
It seems as though they considered Stanley Cups as an individual stat when considering where to put Hedman, which I think was an awful idea.
While having slightly improved last season, his overall numbers show he has not been as strong in the defensive zone in recent seasons.
Victor Hedman, signed to a 4x$8M extension by TB, is a veteran big-minute defenceman. Still one of the most dominant offensive blueliners in the game, an elite chance creator and puck mover, but his defensive impact has slipped significantly in the past two seasons. pic.twitter.com/GXpWII3vZr
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 2, 2024
Offensively, he’s quite good and still can produce, considering he had 66…
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