Week 4: Fantasy defenseman top 50 rankings for 2018-19

NHL.com's fantasy hockey defenseman top 50 rankings are based on past production and expectations for the rest of the season in standard Yahoo leagues. For more fantasy hockey coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.

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Torey Krug, BOS -- The Boston Bruins defenseman made his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes and had an assist in 18:13. Krug rejoins the top 10 defensemen with exposure to elite forwards Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak at even strength and on the top power-play unit and doesn't have much competition for as long as Charlie McAvoy (upper body) is injured.
Victor Hedman, TBL --The Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman left their game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday with an upper-body injury. Hedman has been placed on injured reserve, and defenseman Ryan McDonagh took his place on the power play with elite forwards Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is playing on the second power-play unit with center Brayden Point, who leads the Lightning in scoring (14 points in 11 games).

Trending up:

Ryan Suter, MIN -- The Minnesota Wild defenseman has points in seven of his past 10 games, including four multi-point games. Suter is tied for 10th among defensemen with four points on the power play, where he plays on a unit with forwards Eric Staal, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI -- The Arizona Coyotes defenseman had no points through the first five games but now has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games. The Coyotes have won four straight games, and Ekman-Larsson's ceiling is even higher with forwards Alex Galchenyuk and Clayton Keller forming chemistry.

Trending down:

Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI --The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has one assist and is minus-5 over his past four games. The Flyers separated the defense pair of Ivan Provorov and Gostisbehere and each has subsequently fallen in the rankings. If center Sean Couturier bounces back (four points through 12 games), it could help Gostisbehere and Provorov regain their scoring touch.
Rasmus Dahlin, BUF --The Buffalo Sabres defenseman was ranked among the 20 best to start the season but has now fallen outside the top 30. With four points (one goal, three assists) through 12 games, fantasy owners are considering dropping the rookie defenseman but may want to wait to see if the Sabres 3-0-2 record over the past five games is sustainable. It's also encouraging that Dahlin has seen first power-play usage with elite center Jack Eichel and left wing Jeff Skinner over the past week.

TOP 50 DEFENSEMAN RANKINGS

Standard Yahoo categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal and now hits for skaters. ... Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production, defense pairs, power-play usage, injury history, sleeper, bounce-back or breakout potential, anticipated regression, age and contract status (potential 2019 UFA: \; RFA: \\). DTD indicates players with day-to-day injury concerns.
1. Brent Burns, SJS (SAME)
2. John Klingberg, DAL (+1)
3. Erik Karlsson, SJS\ (-1)
4. John Carlson, WSH (SAME)
5. Kris Letang, PIT (DTD)
6. P.K. Subban, NSH (+3)
7. Torey Krug, BOS (NEW - INJ.)
8. Seth Jones, CBJ (SAME)
9. Morgan Rielly, TOR (-3)
10. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG (SAME)
11. Roman Josi, NSH (SAME)
12. Drew Doughty, LAK (SAME)
13. Tyson Barrie, COL (+2)
14. Dougie Hamilton, CAR (-1)
15. Mark Giordano, CGY (+2)
16. Zach Werenski, CBJ\\ (SAME)
17. Thomas Chabot, OTT (+4)
18. Matt Dumba, MIN (-4)
19. Keith Yandle, FLA (-1)
20. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (+3)
21. Ryan Suter, MIN (+5)
22. Ryan Ellis, NSH (-2)
23. Jake Gardiner, TOR* (-1)
24. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF (SAME)
25. Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI (-6)
26. Ivan Provorov, PHI\\ (-1)
27. Erik Johnson, COL (+1)
28. Jeff Petry, MTL (+1)
29. Justin Faulk, CAR (+1)
30. Aaron Ekblad, FLA (+1)
31. Rasmus Dahlin, BUF (-4)
32. Duncan Keith, CHI (SAME)
33. Alex Pietrangelo, STL (+2)
34. Josh Manson, ANA (DTD)
35. Henri Jokiharju, CHI (+5)
36. Vince Dunn, STL (+3)
37. Mikhail Sergachev, TBL (-4)
38. Mattias Ekholm, NSH (-1)
39. Will Butcher, NJD\\ (-3)
40. Oscar Klefbom, EDM (NEW)
41. Shea Theodore, VGK (NEW)
42. Jared Spurgeon, MIN (NEW)
43. Colton Parayko, STL (+2)
44. Brent Seabrook, CHI (+6)
45. Mike Green, DET (NEW)
46. Nick Leddy, NYI (NEW)
47. Jamie Oleksiak, PIT (NEW)
48. Jacob Trouba, WPG\\ (-1)
49. Ryan McDonagh, TBL (NEW)
50. Ryan Pulock, NYI (NEW)
Dropped out:Victor Hedman, TBL (INJ.); Josh Morrissey, WPG; Neal Pionk, NYR\\; Jake Muzzin, LAK; Cam Fowler, ANA; Matt Grzelcyk, BOS; Brandon Montour, ANA; Maxime Lajoie, OTT; Alexander Edler, VAN\ (INJ.)
Just missed: Alex Goligoski, ARI; Esa Lindell, DAL\\; Matt Niskanen, WSH; Sami Vatanen, NJD; Miro Heiskanen, DAL
Key injuries: Charlie McAvoy, BOS; Shea Weber, MTL; Justin Schultz, PIT
READ: Last week's Top 50 defenseman rankings
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