Week 1: 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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Trending up

Morgan Rielly, TOR -- The Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman is tied for the NHL lead in points (10; two goals, eight assists) and power-play points (five) entering Wednesday games. He's the top ranked skater in Yahoo and looks to have solidified the first power-play role with forwards Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitchell Marner and Nazem Kadri over defenseman Jake Gardiner.
Thomas Chabot, OTT -- The Ottawa Senators defenseman is tied for second among NHL defensemen with five points (two goals, three assists) in three games and looks to be thriving with an increased role after the departure or Erik Karlsson.
Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF -- The Buffalo Sabres defenseman has two assists in three games and is covering hits (eight) and shots on goal (eight). He is playing significantly more on the power play per game (3:18) than Rasmus Dahlin (0:48) and has surpassed the rookie in the fantasy rankings.

Young defensemen worth adding

Henri Jokiharju, CHI -- The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman has been one of the hottest adds on the waiver wire after five assists in his first three NHL games. Jokiharju (39 percent owned in Yahoo) has been playing on the top pair with Duncan Keith at even strength and has practiced on the top power-play unit with forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, which could further boost Jokiharju's value.
Dennis Cholowski, DET -- The Detroit Red Wings defenseman is expected to miss their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday because of an upper-body injury but is still worth adding in fantasy. Cholowski (9 percent) has three points (one goal, two assists) in his first three games, averaging 22:10 per game. When healthy, he's been skating on the top pair with Danny DeKeyser, in place of veteran Mike Green (illness).
Samuel Girard, COL -- The Colorado Avalanche defenseman has two assists, one on the power play, in three games. Girard (4 percent) leads Avalanche defenseman in ice time per game (21:25) and could capture the first power-play role if Tyson Barrie (no points) doesn't start producing.

FANTASY 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. Erik Karlsson, SJS\
2. Brent Burns, SJS
3. Victor Hedman, TBL
4. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG
5. Drew Doughty, LAK
6. P.K. Subban, NSH
7. John Klingberg, DAL
8. John Carlson, WSH
9. Kris Letang, PIT
10. Morgan Rielly, TOR
11. Roman Josi, NSH
12. Dougie Hamilton, CAR
13. Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI
14. Charlie McAvoy, BOS\\
15. Zach Werenski, CBJ\\
16. Ivan Provorov, PHI\\
17. Tyson Barrie, COL
18. Mark Giordano, CGY
19. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF
20. Rasmus Dahlin, BUF
21. Matt Dumba, MIN
22. Keith Yandle, FLA
23. Ryan Ellis, NSH
24. Jake Gardiner, TOR*
25. Alex Pietrangelo, STL
26. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI
27. Aaron Ekblad, FLA
28. Ryan Suter, MIN
29. Mikhail Sergachev, TBL
30. Ryan Pulock, NYI
31. Thomas Chabot, OTT
32. Miro Heiskanen, DAL
33. Jake Muzzin, LAK
34. Erik Johnson, COL
35. Brandon Montour, ANA
36. Shea Theodore, VGK
37. Duncan Keith, CHI
38. Will Butcher, NJD\\
39. Josh Manson, ANA
40. Colton Parayko, STL
41. Jeff Petry, MTL
42. Justin Faulk, CAR
43. Cam Fowler, ANA
44. Justin Schultz, PIT
45. Henri Jokiharju, CHI
46. Oscar Klefbom, EDM
47. Dennis Cholowski, DET (DTD)
48. Mattias Ekholm, NSH
49. Samuel Girard, COL
50. Alexander Edler, VAN\
Just missed: Jacob Trouba, WPG; Maxime Lajoie , OTT; TJ Brodie, CGY; Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SJS; Brent Seabrook, CHI
Key injuries: Seth Jones, CBJ; Torey Krug, BOS; Shea Weber, MTL; Mike Green, DET*
Read: Fantasy Defenseman rankings for September 2018