There’s an interesting mix of defensemen in the Metropolitan Division, and a changing of the guard. Noah Dobson has been traded out. Brent Burns slumped away and left as well. Kris Letang was a top tier blueliner for almost 15 years but is facing the effects of Father Time. Erik Karlsson and Dougie Hamilton have seen their names in various levels of trade talents after unsettling years and even Adam Fox — who finished in the top-five of Norris voting the previous four seasons before last year— saw his game picked apart.
Let’s project who the top-10 are in the division for this season. There’s honestly probably not that much space in between about the 4-12 part of the list that is subject to be sorted out depending on how the year goes, but we’ll give it a go just the same.
HM: Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Sandin, K’Andre Miller
10. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals. Chychrun was one of only three NHL defenders to crack the 20-goal mark last season. He doesn’t kill penalties or move the needle defensively, but in this day and age it’s such a huge advantage to have a weapon on the blueline that can finish like a forward.
9. Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils. Hughes looks primed for a true star turn and break out year now in his age-23 season and his third full-time go at the NHL. He put up 44 points (7G+37A) in 71 games last season after missing some time at the beginning of the year from an off-season shoulder surgery. Hughes has about all the skill of his two older brothers and even more size at 6’2, the arrow is pointing up for him to become a true impact player.
8. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils. Hamilton is a player that’s difficult to place because his perception and performance can fluctuate. He doesn’t kill penalties, but he does tilt the ice and put up 40 points last season, despite missing time with injury. He feels like a player with a lot to prove this year and be able to showcase his talents.
7. Adam Pelech, New York Islanders. Longtime partner Ryan Pulock is falling off in major ways, but Pelech remains one of the most stout defensive defenders in the league with a 100% EV defense impact from Advanced Hockey Stats. That kind of metric can’t be denied a place on this list, even though Pelech didn’t score a single goal in 2024-25 (he did have 21 assists). When it comes to taking care of business in his own end, the numbers say literally no one is better than Pelech.
6. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins. Karlsson’s game gets picked apart by no other these days, but he’s a lock for double-digit goals and 40+ assists, which he’s put up in the last three seasons (and basically every year that he’s healthy). He’s 35 but his skating metrics are still best in class for how freely he can get around the ice. He’s defensively lax but continues to tilt the ice in his team’s favor while playing 23+ minutes per game.
5. Vladislav Gavrikov, New York Rangers. If you’re schemeing up the perfect defensive defender, you’ll end up with something like Gavrikov. 6’3”, 220. Able to kick in ~30 points per year. Blocks shots, excellent defensive impact, eats 23 minutes. The Rangers sunk a ton of money into bringing him on board, and for good reason, he was one of the top players in the league last season at his position and should be again this year.
4. John Carlson, Washington Capitals. Personally, I think Carlson is one of the most under-rated or at least under-celebrated defensemen of this era. He’s been a complete workhorse his whole career, logging 1D minutes for the last 15 years and putting up 725 points in 1,088 career games. He moves the puck well, can take on the toughest minutes, blocks more than his fair share of shots and is a lock to put up 50 points very deep into his career.
3. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes. It takes a certain appreciation of the fine details to recognize what makes Slavin so special, but sometimes his solid play is overwhelmingly clear, like it was at the 2025 4 Nations where he was arguably the best defender on the ice. Slavin doesn’t shine with the puck on his stick, but he’s exemplary in every other function when it comes to being an elite matchup defender, as solid as the day is long. He’s a special, special player.
2. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets. It was hard not to rank Werenski first, based off last year he would have deserved it. No one came close to the 26:45 per game that he averaged, and with 298 shots (and 23 goals) he was one of the best offensive players on the ice last year any time he was on it (82 points in 81 games). At 28-years old, he’s in his prime and an absolutely elite defender and total difference-maker. Werenski is a Blue Jacket, but he pretty much should be wearing a blue Superman cape.
1. Adam Fox, New York Rangers. This takes a little projection, but we’re seeing a bounce-back for Fox. Last year was a down season and he still scored 10 goals and 61 points. Now, he’s back reunited with David Quinn, who was behind the bench in New York when Fox was at his best. The addition of Gavrikov should help boost Fox’s play, but he’s a player that already tilts the ice and gets tremendous returns.