The defense and what is required from the position, changed dramatically in recent seasons. It wasn’t long ago that for a team to have a great unit, the skaters needed to defend and send the puck up the ice to the forwards who would do the scoring. Now, defensemen are essentially asked to do it all.
It’s what makes ranking the defensive units a difficult task. A great unit needs to eliminate opposing offenses; that’s a given. Yet, they also must help set up the offense and create rush chances once the puck is turned over. On top of that, they must open things up in the offensive zone. Along with the on-ice contributions, the skaters have to have both speed and skill to combat the speed and skill of the opposition but they must also have the toughness needed to deliver a big hit when needed.
How These Rankings Came Together
Because a lot goes into play for a great defensive unit, a lot went into the rankings. There are some eye test things to consider. How have some defensive units held up this season? Which ones are pointed to make a big impact in the playoffs? Which units make average goaltenders look good and good goaltenders look great? We look at the key skaters who anchor the unit but also how things shake up on each team’s later pairings as well. Additionally, these rankings took some outside perspective as some of the writers at The Hockey Writers provided insight on teams they don’t cover, a way to remove bias from the rankings.
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32. San Jose Sharks
Key Skaters: Mario Ferraro, Dmitry Orlov, Nick Leddy
Depth Skaters: John Klingberg and Sam Dickinson
The San Jose Sharks have a great rebuild in the works with the forward unit developing elite talent. The defense remains a weak link. They don’t have a number one defenseman and lack one in the farm system as well, making the position a likely target in a future draft. This season, the Sharks are piecing together their unit with Dmitry Orlov, Nick Leddy, and John Klingberg, three veterans joining the team in the offseason, coming in to try to add stability.
31. Chicago Blackhawks
Key Skaters: Alex Vlasic and Connor Murphy
Depth Skaters: Wyatt Kaiser, Kevin Korchinski
The wild cards for the…
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