Week 11: Fantasy top 50 defenseman rankings for 2017-18

Each week during the regular season, NHL.com has you covered with an overview of the fantasy defenseman landscape. With production trends, injury news and top 50 rankings based on performance and upside in standard Yahoo leagues, fantasy owners should use this information as a basis for roster decision-making.

TRENDING UP

Tyson Barrie, COL: Few would have expected Barrie to be leading all defensemen in points per game (0.84; 27 points in 32 games) this close to the NHL's Christmas break, but that's where he stands. The Avalanche rank eighth in goals per game (3.15) and still have room for improvement on the power play (18.2 percent, 19th), where Barrie has 12 power-play points on the first unit with forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. There could be some regression down the road for the Avalanche, who are five points behind the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars in the race for the Western Conference Wild Card spots, but Barrie still deserves recognition as a top-15 fantasy defenseman based on past performance and future potential.
Shea Theodore, VGK: The Golden Knights defenseman delivered the breakout game that fantasy owners have been waiting for against the League-best Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Theodore (16 percent owned in Yahoo) had four points (one goal, three assists), all on the power play, including the tie-breaking goal with 2.3 seconds remaining in the third period. He started the season in the American Hockey League and has been a healthy scratch multiple times, but has solid totals of 10 points (two goals, eight assists), six PPP and 35 shots on goal in 18 games, frequent power-play usage (2:28 per game) and a high fantasy ceiling moving forward. He's in a great spot on the first power-play unit with forwards James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault, David Perron and Erik Haula.
Winnipeg Jets: The week-to-week injury to defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (lower body) has allowed three Jets defenseman to take on greater offensive usage and increase their fantasy appeal. Jacob Trouba (67 percent) had two assists, one on the power play, against the St. Louis Blues on Sunday, and is patrolling the first power-play unit with elite forwards Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine. Tyler Myers (50 percent) is one of the most underrated fantasy defenseman League-wide (100th overall in Yahoo) with 19 points (five goals, 14 assists), a plus-7, 11 PPP and 58 SOG in 35 games. And Josh Morrissey, who's playing significantly more minutes since the Byfuglien injury than before, has points in three of his past five games, including three points (one goal, two assists) and six SOG over his past two. Whether you're filling Byfuglien's void or just looking for a streaming option, exposure to Winnipeg's potent offense is an easy answer.

TRENDING DOWN

Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF: What should fantasy owners do with Ristolainen, who has no goals on 68 SOG through 25 games? His fantasy profile is one of the most disappointing of any player League-wide, with mediocre peripherals (nine assists, minus-13, three PPP). He dealt with an upper-body injury in November and is averaging three SOG per game (36) in 12 games since his return, but his two multipoint games account for his four points over that span. The hope in hanging onto Ristolainen is that he and center Jack Eichel can rediscover their chemistry, especially on the power play, in the second half. That said, further patience should be limited to multi-category leagues, especially those that count hits (3.0 per game). Ristolainen is droppable in a shallow and/or points-only league.
TJ Brodie, CGY: The Calgary Flames defenseman has dropped out of the top 50 rankings for the first time in months because he's been off the first power-play unit in recent games in favor of Mark Giordano. Brodie (49 percent owned) has limited category coverage to begin with, producing mostly assists and PPP. He has gone eight straight games without a point and is minus-7 on the season with a low shot volume (49 SOG in 34 games). Calgary's first pair features Giordano and Dougie Hamilton, who are more valuable than Brodie from a fantasy standpoint so far this season and also moving forward.
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TOP 50 DEFENSEMAN RANKINGS

Standard Yahoo categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, PIMs, PPP and SOG for skaters. ... Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production, defense pairs, power-play usage, team's offseason changes, injury history, age, sleeper, bounce-back or breakout potential, anticipated regression, contract status, Yahoo ADP and overall upside for the rest of the season. ... Any players with day-to-day injury concerns (DTD) are noted. NEW - INJ. indicates a player who has returned from injury and rejoined the rankings.
1. Brent Burns, SJS (+4)
2. Erik Karlsson, OTT (+4)
3. Drew Doughty, LAK (-1)
4. John Klingberg, DAL (-3)
5. Victor Hedman, TBL (+3)
6. Alex Pietrangelo, STL (NEW - INJ.)
7. Roman Josi, NSH (-3)
8. John Carlson, WSH (-1)
9. Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI (-1)
10. P.K. Subban, NSH (+1)
11. Kris Letang, PIT (-7)
12. Mikhail Sergachev, TBL (SAME)
13. Kevin Shattenkirk, NYR (SAME)
14. Tyson Barrie, COL (+7)
15. Zach Werenski, CBJ (DTD)
16. Nick Leddy, NYI (-6)
17. Torey Krug, BOS (SAME)
18. Will Butcher, NJD (-3)
19. Morgan Rielly, TOR (-3)
20. Dougie Hamilton, CGY (+2)
21. Duncan Keith, CHI (-1)
22. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (+1)
23. Shea Weber, MTL (DTD)
24. Colton Parayko, STL (-6)
25. Charlie McAvoy, BOS (+5)
26. Mark Giordano, CGY (+9)
27. Tyler Myers, WPG (+11)
28. Mattias Ekholm, NSH (-2)
29. Jake Muzzin, LAK (-5)
30. Brandon Montour, ANA (-5)
31. Ryan Suter, MIN (SAME)
32. Aaron Ekblad, FLA (-3)
33. Seth Jones, CBJ (+1)
34. Ryan McDonagh, NYR (-1)
35. Keith Yandle, FLA (-8)
36. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF (-8)
37. Matt Niskanen, WSH (SAME)
38. Mike Green, DET (-6)
39. Colin Miller, VGK (+2)
40. Ivan Provorov, PHI (-4)
41. Cam Fowler, ANA (-2)
42. Jacob Trouba, WPG (NEW)
43. Shea Theodore, VGK (NEW)
44. Darnell Nurse, EDM (+1)
45. Justin Faulk, CAR (-1)
46. Jake Gardiner, TOR (-6)
47. Esa Lindell, DAL (+1)
48. Josh Morrissey, WPG (+2)
49. Dmitry Orlov, WSH (SAME)
50. Jeff Petry, MTL (NEW)
Dropped out: TJ Brodie, CGY; Erik Johnson, COL (suspension); Tim Heed, SJS
Just missed: Mathew Dumba, MIN; Anton Stralman, TBL; Jared Spurgeon, MIN; Josh Manson, ANA; Zdeno Chara, BOS
Key injuries: Dustin Byfuglien, WPG; Justin Schultz, PIT; Oscar Klefbom, EDM (dropped out); Ryan Ellis, NSH; Andrej Sekera, EDM
READ: Last week's Top 50 defenseman rankings