Week 15: 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.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 100 forwards
|
Top 25 goalies
|
Daily projected lineups

TRENDING UP

Ivan Provorov, PHI: The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman moves up 12 spots in NHL.com's rankings after seven points (three goals, four assists), 14 shots on goal and an average of 23:12 over the past five games. Provorov has seen an uptick in production since Shayne Gostisbehere (74th in Yahoo) was promoted to the top pair on Dec. 23. Over the past nine games, the pair has combined for 13 points (six goals, seven assists) and 49 SOG. Provorov's four goals in the span is tied for first among defensemen with Dougie Hamilton (Calgary Flames; 86th in Yahoo) and Darnell Nurse (Edmonton Oilers; 38 percent owned). The downside to Provorov's fantasy profile is that four of his 22 points have come on the power play and it's unlikely he will take Gostisbehere's spot on Philadelphia's top unit. Still Provorov ranks sixth among Flyers skaters with 21:37 on the power play since Dec. 23.
Darnell Nurse, EDM: The Oilers defenseman has exceeded fantasy expectations; he was ranked 489th overall in the preseason and is currently 134th based on standard-category performance. Before Edmonton's six-day break (Jan. 14-19), Nurse started to find his stride with four goals on nine SOG (44.4 percent), one assist and 20:02 per game over a five-game span. Nurse plays on Edmonton's top pair with Adam Larsson (14 percent owned). Nurse's consistency will be put to the test in Edmonton's upcoming five-game homestand. Even though Nurse doesn't play on either of the Oilers' first two power-play units, he could be worth holding onto for even-strength exposure to forwards Connor McDavid (20th) and Leon Draisaitl (110th). He leads Oilers defensemen in points (18) and plus/minus (plus-13).

TRENDING DOWN

Nick Leddy, NYI: The New York Islanders rank second in goals per game (3.39) behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (3.61). Their offense has carried over its success into the New Year with 22 goals in seven games, but Leddy has been held without a point in six of the games and has no goals, two assists and is minus-8 in the span. He's still playing major minutes (23:48 per game), but his downward trend can partially be explained by the Islanders power play, which is 2-for-18 (11.1 percent; T-25th) over the past seven games. When looking at a larger sample size, Leddy has no goals, six assists, 30 SOG and is a minus-23 in his past 20 games. The saving grace for fantasy owners is that the Islanders have four forwards ranked within
NHL.com's top 40
at the position. With exposure to elite scoring talent on the top pair and power-play unit, Leddy has plenty of bounce-back potential.
Will Butcher, NJD: With five assists in his past 11 games, it seems counterintuitive that Butcher would move down in the defenseman rankings. But Sami Vatanen (18 percent) has closed the gap on Butcher in terms of fantasy worth. Vatanen and Butcher each has three power-play points in the 11-game span, but Vatanen has seven points (one goal, six assists) and 31 SOG compared to Butcher's five assists and 13 SOG. Butcher is tied for fourth among defensemen with 15 PPP on mostly the first unit with left wing Taylor Hall (19th in Yahoo), but the rookie's category coverage has been lacking and he plays on the third pair at even strength with Ben Lovejoy. Butcher has 54 SOG through 43 games, fourth among Devils defensemen behind Damon Severson (70), John Moore (65) and Steven Santini (56).
The Devils snapped their six-game losing streak in a 4-1 road win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday, but Butcher did not have a point and played the fewest minutes (17:29) among Devils defensemen. Butcher led New Jersey defensemen with 2:39 on the power play against the Islanders, but did not have a SOG. The Devils mixed up their power-play units in the game, with Vatanen getting a trial on Hall's group. Butcher hasn't scored a goal in 23 games and is certainly in danger of losing his first power-play spot to Vatanen.

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 (SAME)
2. John Klingberg, DAL (+1)
3. P.K. Subban, NSH (+1)
4. Drew Doughty, LAK (+1)
5. John Carlson, WSH (+1)
6. Erik Karlsson, OTT (+1)
7. Alex Pietrangelo, STL (+1)
8. Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI (+1)
9. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG (+2)
10. Seth Jones, CBJ (+4)
11. Kris Letang, PIT (+1)
12. Roman Josi, NSH (-2)
13. Morgan Rielly, TOR (SAME)
14. Mark Giordano, CGY (+2)
15. Zach Werenski, CBJ (SAME)
16. Mikhail Sergachev, TBL (+1)
17. Dougie Hamilton, CGY (+8)
18. Charlie McAvoy, BOS (+4)
19. Colton Parayko, STL (SAME)
20. Ivan Provorov, PHI (+12)
21. Ryan Suter, MIN (+7)
22. Duncan Keith, CHI (-4)
23. Torey Krug, BOS (-3)
24. Jake Muzzin, LAK (DTD)
25. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF (SAME)
26. Erik Johnson, COL (+4)
27. Nick Leddy, NYI (-6)
28. Cam Fowler, ANA (-1)
29. Tyler Myers, WPG (+2)
30. Mike Green, DET (+6)
31. Shea Theodore, VGK (+3)
32. Aaron Ekblad, FLA (+1)
33. Jared Spurgeon, MIN (+4)
34. Ryan Ellis, NSH (+1)
35. Kevin Shattenkirk, NYR (-12)*
36. Samuel Girard, COL (+7)
37. Keith Yandle, FLA (+2)
38. Jordan Oesterle, CHI (SAME)
39. Will Butcher, NJD (-10)
40. Darnell Nurse, EDM (NEW)
41. Sami Vatanen, NJD (+3)
42. Alexander Edler, VAN (NEW)
43. Josh Manson, ANA (+2)
44. Hampus Lindholm, ANA (NEW)
45. Matt Dumba, MIN (+3)
46. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (-6)
47. Justin Faulk, CAR (-5)
48. Brandon Montour, ANA (-7)
49. Anton Stralman, TBL (+1)
50. Zdeno Chara, BOS (NEW)
\*Fantasy buzz: Impact of Shattenkirk's injury on Rangers
Just missed: Mattias Ekholm, NSH; Jeff Petry, MTL; Esa Lindell, DAL; Joel Edmundson, STL; Jake Gardiner, TOR; Noah Hanifin, CAR; Josh Morrissey, WPG; Nikita Zadorov, COL
Dropped out:Justin Schultz, PIT; Ryan McDonagh, NYR; Colin Miller, VGK
Key injuries: Victor Hedman, TBL (dropped out); Shea Weber, MTL; Tyson Barrie, COL
READ: Last week's Top 50 defenseman rankings