There’s more offensive firepower on NHL blue lines right now than at almost any point in league history, and picking the position’s ten best is hard enough — stretching it to twenty means real, defensible names get left off entirely.
The debate at the very top isn’t really a debate anymore, but from around No. 2 through No. 10, you could make a case for five or six different players depending on whether you value offense, two-way impact, or workload. Here’s how Hockey Beast sees the position shaking out heading into 2026-27.
Top 20 defensemen in the NHL
20: Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
Toews doesn’t get the attention his defense partner does, but a plus-38 even-strength goal differential and a team-leading average of nearly 26 minutes a game in the playoffs say he’s more than just a name next to Makar’s on the depth chart.
19: Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights
Theodore stepped into a bigger role after Alex Pietrangelo’s departure and led all NHL defensemen in playoff scoring with 18 points, including the double-overtime winner in Game 3 of the Cup Final. Vegas didn’t win it, but Theodore was the best defenseman on the ice for most of that run.
18: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
A broken elbow limited Hedman to a career-low 33 games, and he then missed the final 15 games of the season, plus the playoffs, to focus on his mental health. He still produced at an above-career-average rate when he played. At 35, healthy Hedman is still a top-pair difference-maker.
17: Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks
LaCombe put up a career-best 58 points, the most by a Ducks defenseman since 2010-11, and became the first Anaheim blueliner in over 15 years to score in double digits in back-to-back seasons. The breakout is real.
16: Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Slavin’s box score barely moves the needle — eight points in 39 games — but Carolina was a different, worse team without him on the ice, and he was a defensive anchor on a Stanley Cup winner. The numbers undersell him more than almost anyone else on this list.
15: Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Morrissey passed Dustin Byfuglien for the most points in Jets/Thrashers franchise history among defensemen, and it’s now his fourth straight season with at least 10 goals and 55 points — a streak only Dahlin and Makar can match.
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14: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
Josi became the first player to reach 1,000 games with Nashville, and he did it after missing 25 games the year before with POTS, a condition that causes dizziness and fatigue. A ninth career 50-point season at this stage of his career is remarkable.
13: Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins
McAvoy’s 61 points were the most by a Bruins defenseman since Ray Bourque in 1995-96, and he did it despite missing 11 games after taking a puck to the face. When healthy, he’s still one of the most complete defensemen in hockey.
12: Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings
Seider hasn’t missed a game in five seasons, and he just posted the first 60-point season by a Detroit defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2010-11. The iron-man streak alone should get more attention than it does.
11: Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators
Sanderson set a career high with 14 goals and led Ottawa’s blue line in ice time, continuing his climb toward the league’s elite tier. The Senators’ first-round exit wasn’t on him — he was a plus player in a series his team lost badly at even strength.
10: Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild
Faber set career highs across the board and logged nearly 30 minutes a night in the playoffs as Minnesota reached the second round for the first time since 2015. Quietly, he’s turned into one of the most trusted workhorses on any blue line in hockey.
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9: Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders
An 18-year-old rookie tying Brian Leetch’s rookie defenseman goal record and becoming the youngest unanimous Calder winner in NHL history isn’t a normal debut season. Schaefer’s already a top-10 defenseman, and he’s not close to his ceiling yet.
8: Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars
Heiskanen was the only player in the league to average at least three minutes a night on both the power play and penalty kill, on top of a career-high 132 blocked shots. Nobody in hockey is asked to do more in more different roles.
7: Adam Fox, New York Rangers
Fox posted his fifth straight 50-point season on a Rangers team that finished with a minus-14 goal differential overall, one of only four active defensemen to string together that kind of consistency. The numbers-driven crowd has him rated even higher than the public perception does — and the public perception is already very good.
6: Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
Dahlin posted a career-best 74 points and finished third in Norris voting while caring for his fiancée as she recovered from a heart transplant. He helped end Buffalo’s 14-season playoff drought in the same year. It’s one of the more remarkable seasons in recent memory, on and off the ice.
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5: Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens
Hutson followed a Calder-winning rookie year with 78 points, third-most by any defenseman in Canadiens history behind only Larry Robinson. His defensive game has already gone from a real weakness to above average in year two — the concerns about his size mattering long-term are getting quieter by the season.
4: Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
Bouchard led every defenseman in the league in points (95) and assists (74) last season, numbers that get dismissed by some because of his reputation on the defensive side of the puck. Look closer and Edmonton was a plus-20 team with him on the ice — despite the worst goaltending support of any defenseman on this list. The analytics crowd rates him a lot higher than the public perception does, and they might be onto something.
3: Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Werenski won the Norris Trophy last season with 81 points, the ninth time in NHL history a defenseman has posted back-to-back 80-point seasons. He’s the reigning best defenseman in hockey by the sport’s own vote, even if he doesn’t always get talked about like it.
2: Quinn Hughes, Minnesota Wild
Hughes’ in-season trade from Vancouver to Minnesota changed the fortunes of both franchises overnight, and he still finished with 76 points and an NHL-best average of nearly 28 minutes a night. He was named the best defenseman at the 2026 Olympics. Only Bourque, Coffey, Housley, Orr and Potvin have ever managed four straight 75-point seasons — and Hughes just joined that group.
1: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Makar just became the highest-paid player in NHL history, and it’s hard to find anyone who thinks he doesn’t deserve it. He’s been a Norris finalist six straight seasons, joining Bobby Orr as the only players to do that in their first seven years in the league, and he’s now the fastest defenseman to 500 career points outside of Orr, Paul Coffey, and Denis Potvin. There’s no real competition for the top spot right now.
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