2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Defensemen tiers for drafts

We've seen some truly stunning performances by offensive defensemen in recent years. In the entirety of NHL history, there have been 56 instances of a blueliner recording at least 82 points, and eight of those times (roughly 14%) have occurred in the past three years alone, spread among six different defensemen. That creates a lot of competition at the top, and there are plenty of fantasy-relevant options beyond that too.

It's a lot to sort through, so the goal of this tier list is to give you a sense of each defenseman's expected value going into the season while taking into account the categories used in standard Yahoo leagues.

Tier 1 – Cale Makar vs. Quinn Hughes

Hughes and Makar each recorded at least 15 goals and 90 points in 2023-24, just 10 other defensemen have ever accomplished those feats in a single season, and they're only now entering their prime.

Although Makar once had a clear edge between the two, Hughes has largely caught up in terms of value, and the Canucks blueliner has also been somewhat more durable in recent years. Makar is still probably the better option because he still has an edge in goals, but fantasy managers would be fortunate to have either of them.

Tier 2 – The Elite

Evan Bouchard, Roman Josi, Adam Fox, Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman, Josh Morrissey

As amazing as Hughes and Makar are, it's possible that any of the six in this tier could end up winning the defensemen scoring title. However, none of them are quite as safe a bet to finish on top as Makar or Hughes.

For Bouchard, the track record is not quite there with 2023-24 serving as his breakout campaign. While there's no reason to believe he'll meaningfully regress, he still has a bit to prove. At the other end of the spectrum are the veterans Josi and Hedman, who are coming off 85- and 76-point seasons, respectively, and figure to continue to play at an extremely high level, but their age is creeping to the point where it's at least a modest concern.

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Fox and Dahlin are in between the two. Still young and unquestionably talented, either of these defensemen is a safe bet to make fantasy managers happy. However, unlike the others mentioned thus far, Fox and Dahlin haven't reached the 80-point mark in any campaign yet, so it remains to be proven that they can cross that highest of barriers.

Then there's Morrissey, who isn't old enough for his age to be a concern and isn't young enough to still have upside. He's the least likely in this group to finish atop the pack in scoring, but after recording at least 69 points in each of his past two campaigns, he deserves to be in this tier.

Tier 3 – Elite with an Asterisk

Noah Dobson, Brandon Montour, Shea Theodore, Mikhail Sergachev, Dougie Hamilton, Erik Karlsson, John Carlson, Miro Heiskanen

Although most of the defensemen here could arguably fit in Tier 2, each of them has a reason for being in this lower group. The injury histories of Theodore, Sergachev and Hamilton hold them back, with Sergachev also having the X-factor of playing for a new franchise. Age is the biggest question mark with Karlsson and Carlson. In the case of the Penguins' defenseman, he's additionally had a roller-coaster career in general, making it hard to count on him going for the scoring title, even though he has done so before.

For the rest in this tier, it's more just that they have something still to prove. Montour is the biggest example after recording 73 points in 2022-23 before dropping to 33 points last year. Granted, he did miss the start of the season due to injury and got off to a slow start after returning (two goals and 11 points across his first 36 appearances), so a rebound might be in order. To some extent, Heiskanen is a less extreme version of Montour's case after recording 73 points in 2022-23 only to dip last year with 54 points.

Dobson stands out a bit in this group. He's coming off a fantastic campaign in which he had 10 goals and 70 points in 79 outings, but that was a sizable jump for him, so he needs to demonstrate that he can continue to play at that level.

Tier 4 – Great, Steady Options

Drew Doughty, Devon Toews, Morgan Rielly, Vince Dunn, Charlie McAvoy, Mike Matheson, Zach Werenski, Moritz Seider, Thomas Harley, Brock Faber

Although it's unlikely for any of those in Tier 3 to win the defensemen scoring title, it wouldn't be a shocking development. By contrast, any one of the blueliners in this tier getting over 75 points would be a major surprise, and it's more probable that none of the players in this tier will even come close to that mark.

There's still plenty to like about this group, especially because most of these defensemen are pretty safe options. Toews is the best example of that. He lives in Makar's shadow and that's not expected to change. However, he's recorded at least 50 points in each of the past three seasons and is a fairly good bet to hit that mark again.

In terms of upside, Faber is the standout option in this tier. The 22-year-old sophomore finished second in Calder Trophy voting last campaign after scoring eight goals and 47 points in 82 games with the Wild. He's in a fantastic position going forward as a mainstay on Minnesota's first pairing and top power-play unit, especially after securing an eight-year extension over the summer.

Tier 5 – The Middle of the Pack

Luke Hughes, Shayne Gostisbehere, Kris Letang, Noah Hanifin, MacKenzie Weegar, Brent Burns, Gustav Forsling, Justin Faulk, Brady Skjei, Jakob Chychrun, Jake Sanderson, Mattias Ekholm, Filip Hronek, Rasmus Andersson, Travis Sanheim, Cam Fowler

All the defensemen in this tier are fine complimentary options for your team. Although some of them are not a safe bet to do so, it wouldn't be eyebrow-raising for any of these blueliners to exceed the 40-point milestone in 2024-25. Burns and Letang have long track records of success at or above that level, though their age is a significant concern at this stage, even if they have continued to maintain a high level of production thus far.

Hughes is probably the most interesting member of this tier. He had nine goals and 47 points in 82 contests as a rookie last season, and while his plus/minus was an obvious knock against him (minus-25), the Devils had significant goaltending issues last year, which has arguably been addressed by the acquisition of Jacob Markstrom.

So why is Hughes a tier below Faber? While Faber's position with the Wild is clear, Hughes' is less so. Hamilton didn't play past Nov. 28 last year because of a pectoral injury, but now that he's healthy, the veteran might significantly eat into Hughes' power-play ice time. Hughes accumulated 25 of his points with the man advantage, so a diminished role on special teams has the potential to lessen his short-term value substantially, and it's that added level of risk that's pushed him down to this tier.

Tier 6 – Filling out the Roster

Lane Hutson, Jared Spurgeon, Thomas Chabot, Aaron Ekblad, Alex Pietrangelo, Darnell Nurse, Seth Jones, Sean Durzi, Owen Power, Jaccob Slavin, K'Andre Miller, Erik Gustafsson, Pavel Mintyukov

By the time these players come up in the draft, you should ideally have most of your defensive corps in place, but these are fine options to round out your group.

One especially nice late-round pick is Hutson, who excelled with Boston University in 2023-24, providing 15 goals and 49 points in 38 NCAA contests. He wrapped up the campaign with a taste of NHL action, in which he provided two assists in two games. Montreal is likely to use Hutson on the top four and give him power-play ice time, which might set him up to get around 40 points as a rookie if all goes well.

Chabot is another nice selection if you're hungry for upside, albeit for different reasons. He's averaged roughly 49 points per 82 contests over his career, including 51 points per 82 games across his past four campaigns. Injuries have consistently held him back, but there's always the hope he'll eventually have a healthy season.

Tier 7 – Depth Defensemen

Bowen Byram, Jamie Drysdale, Hampus Lindholm, Michael Kesselring, Damon Severson, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Neal Pionk, Jacob Trouba, Sean Walker, Dylan DeMelo, Marcus Pettersson, Colton Parayko, Cam York, J.J. Moser, Ryan McDonagh, Ivan Provorov, Darren Raddysh, Olen Zellweger, Brandt Clarke, Simon Edvinsson

None of these defensemen are expected to make a significant impact, and most of them probably won't end up being drafted unless you're playing in a deeper league, but it's worth keeping these blueliners in the back of your mind as potential pickups throughout the season depending on their performance and your injury situation.

That's especially true for Zellweger, Clarke and Edvinsson, who are all gearing up for their first full NHL campaign. None of those three are in secure enough positions to warrant excitement, but the potential is certainly there for them to shine under the right circumstances.

You'll also want to pay special attention to Drysdale. Injuries have hampered the 2020 No. 6 overall pick, but he's still just 22 and is getting a fresh start in Philadelphia, so we'll see where that leads.