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The age-old debate when it comes to any sport, any league, any team:who arethe best of the best? With the NHL's preseason on the horizon, let's takes a look at the top 25 players at each position right now: Dennis Maruk Jersey forward, defenseand goalie. This list takes into account both recent NHL performance and what is expected from the playerin the year to come. MORE: | Here are the top 25 NHL defensemen for the 2019-20season: Honorable mentions: Ryan Ellis (Nashville Predators); Charlie McAvoy(Boston Bruins); Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets); Shayne Gostisbehere(Philadelphia Flyers). 25. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars Stars fans fell inlove with Heiskanen after just oneseasonand for good reason just take a look at his first-ever NHL shift from last October. Miro Heiskanen's first NHL shift was pretty, pretty, pretttttttty good. (via r/hockey) Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) Heiskanen chargeddown the ice with the puck the second he felt it on his stick and immediately createdscoring chances for Dallas. When the puck cameback into his zone, the then 19-year-oldcalmly puthis body between his man and the puck, shiftedthe puck back to his partnerand createdanother zone entry for the Stars. Reminder:that was his first shift in the league. Heiskanen rode those kinds of shifts to the tune of 33 points in his rookie season, enough to place him directly behind Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin for fourth inCalder Trophyvoting. NHL farm system rankings: 24. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres Speaking of Dahlin, he scored 44 points on a Sabres team that can't seem tofind its way out of the league's basement. While his time on ice numbers place him as the teams'fourth-best defenseman last season, theSwede consistently showed skill on both ends and a keen ability to play in his own zone wellahead of his years. Rasmus Dahlin tracking his man, causing a turnover and leading the rush the other way. Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) In his second NHL season, Dahlin will likely be given more difficult matchups to continue his development. He could fall victim to the sophomore slump, but if his rookie year was any indication, it's only the beginning of the Dahlin era of hockey in Buffalo. 23. Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes Call Hamilton a risky pick for No. 23, but among defensemen,only Brent Burns has scored more goals than Hamilton over the last three seasons. The 26-year-oldwas initially pegged as the next-big-thing in Boston, and although he has not quite reached a "dominant" level at the position, he is one of the more effective point producers from the blue line in the NHL. Dougie Hamilton notched his 15th goal of the season last night in DC. Carolina Hurricanes (@CanesNHL) A native of Toronto, Hamiltonjoined his third NHLteam lastseason andcontributed 39 points to the Hurricanes' succe sful year, helping them reach the Eastern Conference finals. More must be seen from himthis season if he is to climb up this list, but for now, the goal-scoring makes him a valuable a set. 22.Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins Letang finished sixth in Norris Trophy voting last season after tying a career-high in goals (16) and setting a new high in points (56). He did all of this inonly 65 games giving the Penguins' top defenseman one of the best points per game (0.86) marks among all players in his position last year. GOAL! Kris Letang fires home the OT winner for the Penguins. Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) The 32-year-oldregularly puts in the work in all facets of Pittsburgh's game whether offensively or defensively. He faces a challengekeeping the Penguinscompetitive as he and the team's other stars age into their 30s, but it's a safe bet to a sume Letang will continue producing for a few more years to come. MORE: 21. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets Werenski, 22,has excelled at the NHL level since he entered the league with Columbusat age 19. He isyounger than teammate and fellow defenseman Seth Jones by two yearsbutalready has three35-plus point campaigns under his belt. Werenski plays a simple, opportunistic game in the offensive zone many of his goals come when he jumps into the play in his opponent'send and receives the puck in the slot. Once it's on his stick, Werenski is hard to stopbut it's even more difficult to stop him from getting to an optimal shooting spot in the first place. NHL free agency: 20. Ivan Provorov, Philadelphia Flyers Another 22-year-old, Provorov has logged more than 20 minutes per game since his very first oneat age 19. By the 2018-19 season,he was playing upto 25 minutes a night, leading all Philadelphiaskaters. He can score with a powerful slapshotand has a physical edge to his game, too. Ivan Provorov DESTROYS Matt Barzal then checks to see if hes alright ... Bar South N Celly (@BarSouthNCelly) Provorov's goal-scoring dipped back to single-digits (7)last season but he plays harder minutes than most defensemen his age are given.His stats may not reflect it on paper, but the 2015 first-round pick is on the cusp of becoming a household name for fans around the league. 19. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators Chabot, 22,is another youngsterwho hasquickly developed into NHL Washington Capitals Jersey a top-notch,point-scoring defenseman a skill the Senators needed after the Erik Karl son era ended. As a rookie in 2017-18,he saw le s than 18 minutes of ice time per game on average and still netted 25 points. In his secondseason, those minutes went up as he a sumed first-pairing duties he played nearly seven more minutes per game on average and the 2015 first-round pick ultimately scored 55 points. Thomas Chabot turns the defensive stop at one end of the ice into a goal at the other. Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) Considering the Senators' top scorers last season were both traded at the deadline, Chabot emerged as the team's scoring leader by the end of the year. Knowing that Ottawa will be hard-pre sed to score goalsthis coming season, Chabot's skill at both ends of the ice will be tested frequently. MORE: 18. Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers Trouba found a new home in New York whenthe Jets traded him to the Rangers in June, . Fans still mi sing what former captain Ryan McDonagh offered the team, will find Trouba a more than suitablereplacement. Jacob Trouba's playing quarterback on Super Bowl weekend. Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) The American defenseman broke out for 50 points for the first time in 2018-19 and has been playing second-pairing minutes or more in Winnipeg since his rookie season. Atjust 25, and the Rangers' rebuild nearing completion, he should grow into a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. 17. PK Subban, New Jersey Devils It's rare to see such a top-tier player be traded twice in the first 10 years of his career; Subban moves to New Jersey in anticipation of leading ayoung and suddenly dangerousroster to the playoffs after mi sing out in 2018-19. Well known around the leagueforhis flashy physical play,dangerous offensive game and philanthropic work in the communities he plays in, Devils fans are in for a treat. PK Subban is a bad, BAD man. What a goal to get Nashville back in the game. Faizal Khamisa (@SNFaizalKhamisa) Injuries limited Subbanto just 63 games and 31 points last season the worst of his career. However,playing with 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall and the league's top prospectJack Hughes, should inspire Subban for a remarkable bounce-back season. Expect to see him higher up on thelist this time next year. MORE: 16. Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild Only Drew Doughty has played more minutes than Suter over the last three seasons and Minnesota's star defenseman has handled one of the heaviest workloads in hockey for years he has averaged over 25 minutes of ice time since 2010-11. Despite the workload, Suter, who will turn 35 this season, rarely mi ses a game. The Wild recruited himaway from the Predators in 2012 exactly for those type of minutes; they know Suter will reliably contribute somewhere between 40 and 50 points. Ryan Suter does juuuust enough to keep this one out! 2-1 with le s than five to play in the 2nd. USA Hockey (@usahockey) Suter's sound positional play and ability to contribute in all three zones make him a well-rounded, quality defenseman. He may not have any hardware to his name, but the American consistently gets the job done for the Wild. 15. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs Rielly had a breakout year in 2018-19 with 20 goals and a 72-point campaign that saw him finish fifth in Norris Trophy voting. Last season also marked the first time the Vancouver native started more than 50% of his shifts in the offensive zone a factor that, along with his taking more shots than ever before (223 last season), could explain his offensive outburst. Morgan Rielly Seconds after the Hainsey goal, Rielly beats Markstrom short side. 2-0. Flintor (@TheFlintor) The 25-year-old defensemanalso benefitted fromsome puck luck as his shooting percentage ballooned to 9.0%, a far cry from his career average of 5.2. If Rielly can find a way to keep up the pace, he could reach 20 goals once more; but, the keyword is could. MORE: 14. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose Sharks The Sharks have two of the best scoring defensemen in the NHL in Erik Karl son and Brent Burns; however, Vlasic's efforts cannot go unnoticed. He has never scored more than 40 points in a season, but his impeccable efforts on defense provide the rest of his team space to hunt goals. Were all tied up in Colorado thanks to Marc-Edouard Vlasic! (: ) theScore (@theScore) Vlasic may never win a Norris Trophy without a top-tier offensive performance, but he is widely regarded as one of the best "defensive defensemen" in the game. 13. John Klingberg, Dallas Stars Klingberg wasdeployed at even strength for more than 20 minutes per game in 2018-19 most among all Dallas skaters and averagedthree minutes of power-play time per game. He mi sed 18 games last season and still scored 45 points. It wasshortof the67 that put him in Norris Trophy considerationthe season before, but Klingberg remains one of the best point-producers at the position. John Klingberg scored 8 goals in 82 games last season. He's got 4 goals in le s than 5 games already this season. Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) 12.Torey Krug, Boston Bruins How offensively-minded can a defenseman be before they are too offensively minded? That's eternally the questionwhen it comes to Krug, the Bruins' top point-producer from the blue line. No. 47has never logged top-pairing minutes in Boston, but hefunctions as a second-pairing and powerplay specialist that scores with the best of them. Last season, he and the Bruins embraced a creative powerplay approach, bringing Krug down to the hashmarksin the offensive zone for cro s-ice pa ses. They also had himleading forwards into the offensive zone by sending the puck ahead of them. TOREY KRUG SETS UP DAVID PASTRNAK WHAT A GOAL!!! 4-2 Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) Krug has scored 163 points in the last three seasons only four more defensemen in the league have more over the same period. His contract is up at the end of next season and his impending free agency is expected to be one of the hottest stories surrounding the Bruins this year. 11. Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets Drafted by the Predators, Jones initially seemedthe heir apparent to Shea Weber and Roman Josi's throne, butone trade and six years later, he now anchorsColumbus' defense instead. Just 24-years-old, he played 25+ minutes per game last season and contributed 46 total points, fifth among all Blue Jackets Alex Ovechkin Jersey skaters. Seth Jones became the first defenseman in franchise history to score a game-winning goal in the postseason. NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) Columbus lost a number of its top players in free agency; without the services of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, a playoff run in 2019-20 seems unlikely. Considering the Blue Jackets will rely on him now more than ever, the two-time All-Star and Norris Trophy contender could be in the final mix for some individual hardwaresoon enough. 10. John Carlson, Washington Capitals Carlson has grown into one of the league's top power-play weapons from the pointand posted career-highs inpower-play points (33) andpoints (70) in 2018-19. Over the last two seasons, he's ranked at the top of the league's defensemen inpower-play points (66) andonly San Jose's Burns has accumulated more primary a sists than Carlson. Too easy. John Carlson finds Alex Ovechkin for a beautiful power-play goal. It's Ovi 1 - Crosby 1. Ian Oland (@ianoland) Along with superstar scorer Alex Ovechkin, Carlsonbears a heavy load on the Capitals' power play both averagedmore than four minutes each game last season but it certainly pays off when they consistently contribute to the scoresheet in Washington. 9. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning Lightning fans now have two top-tier defensemen to cheer for since Tampa Bay added McDonagh at the trade deadline in 2018 to go along with Victor Hedman, and No. 27 has benefitted from moving to ultra-skilled Tampa Bay. The 30-year-old American reached a career-high 46 points last season while primarily logging defensive minutes for the Lightning; he was the team's top penalty killer and averaged more time at even-strength than any other skater on the team. Expect more of the same from McDonagh in 2019-20; he provides rock-steady defense with an added ability to spread the puck around the ice and create offense at even strength, too. Another career year could lift him higher into the Norris Trophy conversation than ever before. 8. Oliver Ekman-Lar son, Arizona Coyotes Ekman-Lar son has anchored the defense in Arizona for almost a decade now and has rarely mi sed a game along the way. Whether it's due to playing in a small market or that the Coyotes have mi sed the playoffs the last seven seasons, No. 23 is surely one of the league's best-kept secrets. The 28-year-oldranks seventh among all defensemen in goals scored (40) over the last three seasons and was the Coyotes' second-highest point-scorer last season. William Nylander to Oliver Ekman-Lar son who shoots the puck as Patrick Hornqvist is Aaron Ness Jersey in front of the net to re-direct it in giving Sweden a 2:0 lead. Aivis Kalni (@A_Kalnins) In his last action before the offseason, the Coyotes' captainscored eight points in eight games at the IIHF World Championships for his home country, Sweden. NHL free agency: 7. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators Ryan Suter's departure from Nashville in 2012 initially appeared to leave an irreparable hole in the Predators'defense. However, instead, the move elevated Josi, who quickly a sumed top-pairing duties. The 29-year-old maneuvers himself well in the offensive zone and can drivethe puck to the net, shifting around opposing defenders as easily as he can stand back and fire off a slapshot. "He blew everybody out of the water this season." on . | NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) A two-time All-Star, Josi has finished within the top-11in Norris Trophy voting each of the last five years. His active presence on Nashville's blue line has made him the team's captain and areliable double-digit goal scorer each season. 6. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues Pietrangelo's impre sive 19-point playoff run ended with the Blues captain lifting the Stanley Cup. He recordedsix points in the final, matching Boston's top point scorerKrugevery step of the way, and even potted the late first-period goal in Game 7 that seemed to decimate the Bruins' chances to win well before the game had finished. Alex Pietrangelo saying "Sorry, Steener" after jumping into Alexander Steen after scoring in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is so Canadian it hurts. (Via 's Best of Mic'd Up) Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) The 29-year-old defenseman plays a reliable two-way game, capable of jumping into the play to create offense as well as providing a sturdy presence on the backend. St. Louis'remarkable championship run is due in large part to Pietrangelo leading the way on a big, burly defense that wreaked havoc on even the best scorers in the league when it mattered most. MORE: 5. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks Burns isdefenseman with the mind of a high-flying forward.No. 88, known just as much for his beard as for his offensive talent, over the course of his career.The 2017 Norris Trophy winner leads all NHL defenseman in total points (226) over the last three seasons. He and teammate Erk Karl son are the . Since 2015, Burns has led his team in shots on goal by a wide margin each season. Brent Burns wins it in OT with a beauty goal Bar South N Celly (@BarSouthNCelly) Burns take the ice each night with an offensively-minded approach rarely seen among defensemen who can also play a physical game.The Sharks are happy to deploy him as such. 4. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames Giordano has appeared onNorris Trophy ballots every year since 2014 and has played meaningful minutes for the Flames for longer than that. Heiscoming off a career-best year afterhe racked up a whopping 74 points. This feat, especially in his age 35 season, earned the Toronto native his first Norris Trophy win as the league's top defenseman. Mark Giordano: FREEZE Bar South N Celly (@BarSouthNCelly) Can Giordano'srepeat his fantasticseason? . But, according to , over half of Giordano's 57 a sists were secondary helpers, which are harder to replicate. Yet, at the same time,he was tied for fifthamong all defensemen in primary a sists (25) and third in goals (17). The Flames had struggled with goal scoring over the last three seasons; now that the team has more high-end scorers, Giordano is reaping the rewards. 3. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning Hedman, unlike the two remaining players on this list, was not nece sarily astar from his career's beginning; however,as the Lightning morphed into a league juggernaut, Hedman has morphed into a dominant presence on the blue line. Victor Hedman collected a sists on two of 's three markers and has now factored on 49 of the captains 363 career regular-season goals (13.4%). Only Martin St. Louis (101 of 363; 27.8%) has factored on a higher percentage of Stamkos tallies. NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) One thing Hedman ; when he is in his own zone, this results in effective breakouts and earned offensive po se sion. When he is already in the offensive zone, the 2018 Norris Trophy winner often receives the puck at the blue line and calmly sends it to one of the team's shooters excellent shooting forwards. This ability is in part why No. 77 was fifth among all defensemen with 28 power-play points last season. 2. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings For those who feel Karl son skews too far in the direction of "offensive-minded" defensemen, there is Doughty who plays well in all three zones while still contributing offensively. The 2016 Norris Trophy winner's zone deployment has skewed toward playing in his own end more in recent years (51.3% of his zone starts in 2018 came in the defensive zone). Though his team suffered its worst season in 11 years, Doughty powered through, scoring 45 points while playing way more (26:36 minutes per game) than any other LA skater. Just in case you need some reminders about Drew Doughty's career so far LA Kings (@LAKings) Doughty plays a fantastic all-around game. Heis able to drive the puck up the ice and score on his own while also effectively pushing around forwards in front of the net and in the corners to win the puck back. His team has been on a downswing, but Doughty stands tallamong the elite at his position. 1. Erik Karl son, San Jose Sharks A first glance at Karl son's stat line from 2018-19 tells you the superstar had the closest thing to a "pedestrian" season since the beginning of his career (45 points). When you account for the fact that he only played 53 games, you realize the 29-year-old Swede is still one of the most Devante Smith-Pelly Jersey dynamic playmakers in the game. Karl son ama sed0.85points per game while playing through a groin injury that carried into the playoffs where hestill collected 16 points in 19 playoff games, third-most among all San Jose skaters. Erik Karl son and Brent Burns on the ice together in 3-on-3. San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) Karl son is the face of today's puck-moving defenseman who regularly contributes in the offensive zone, driving play with the puck on his stick while sacrificing some of the position'straditional physicality along with it. The Swede has finally found his home on the San Jose Sharks, and if he , he should compete for a third Norris Trophy. |
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