Every Wednesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey contributor Brian Metzer provides in-depth defenseman analysis. From updated weekly top 60 rankings to trending players and more, Metzer is your go-to guy for fantasy D-men advice all season long.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in Canada and the United States as a day of being grateful for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. We in the United States will celebrate this holiday on Thursday, but today the NHL's defensemen join me as we come together for our third annual defensive fantasy feast.
You are all probably used to attending gatherings that feature things like turkey, potatoes and roasted vegetables, as well as plenty of scrumptious desserts. Sadly, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for all of that, but the defensemen and I have tons of goals, assists and shots on goal, as well as secondary delights such as blocked shots and hits, to fill whet your fantasy palette!
The main course in this feast always comes in the form of goals, and since even the most lethal offensive defensemen tend to top out around 20, they are very valuable. This year Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks) and Justin Faulk (Carolina Hurricanes) were nice enough to arrive at our feast with eight goals apiece. Dustin Byfuglien (Winnipeg Jets) and Shea Weber (Nashville Predators) brought six each, and Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) and Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues) brought us five.