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Defenseman Rankings: Banger Leagues

Norm Hall / National Hockey League / Getty

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Rankings
Top 200 | C | LW | RW | D | G

Here are the top defensemen ranked in descending order based on their value in 10 or 12 team "Banger Leagues". A typical banger league consists of goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power-play points, shots on goal, hits and blocked shots for skaters.

Rank Player Team
1 Erik Karlsson OTT
2 Brent Burns SJ
3 P.K. Subban NAS
4 Kris Letang PIT
5 Dustin Byfuglien WPG

Karlsson's floor is pretty much 15 goals and 65 points at this point. You can't say that about any other defensemen, and very few forwards for that matter. He should be a top-five pick.

After a four-year stretch where injury and medical issues never allowed him to play 70 games, Letang got back on track last season, tallying 67 points in 71 games. The injury history is always a concern, but his upside makes him worthy of a late first or early second-round pick.

Doughty is arguably the best defenseman in the entire league, and he's often drafted too early because of it. He was exceptional last year, but the five previous seasons were nothing out of the ordinary offensively.

Expect a breakout year from Jones. He received a much larger role once being dealt to Columbus, playing nearly five more minutes per game. A full season logging plenty of ice time could lead to 50 points, 100 hits and 150 blocks.

While he will contribute nearly nothing offensively, Gudas is great to have has your final D-man. He will be among the league leaders in PIMs, hits and blocks every season.

While he still provides value in the blocked shot category, don't expect another 34-point season from Beauchemin. Of his 26 assists, 20 were secondary assists, so expect regression to come.

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