December Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Defencemen

by Diomedes7 on Dec 10, 2011 10:42 AM EST in Fantasy Player Rankings

Chara Reclaims Top Spot!

Some key injuries to premier defencemen (Letang, Giordano, Green, Pronger, etc) have contributed significantly to the reordering this month's blueline rankings, and Chara reclaims his familiar position.

1. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Zdeno Chara (3)

2. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Shea Weber (5)

3. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Alexander Edler (2)

4. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Erik Karlsson (7)

5. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Nicklas Lidstrom (6)

Ryan Suter (18)

7. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Dion Phaneuf (10)

8. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Dustin Byfuglien (22)

9. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Brent Burns (4)

10. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Duncan Keith (17)

11. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Keith Yandle (11)

12. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Drew Doughty (8)

13. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Lubomir Visnovsky (9)

14. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Mark Streit (13)

15. San Jose Sharks Dan Boyle (14)

16. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Kris Letang (1)

17. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= P.K. Subban (19)

18. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Brian Campbell (23)

19. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= James Wisniewski (15)

20. Winnipeg Jets Tobias Enstrom (16)

21. Florida Panthers Dmitry Kulikov (34)

22. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Christian Ehrhoff (20)

23. Vancouver Canucks Kevin Bieksa (30)

24. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Dennis Wideman (24)

25. St Louis <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Alex Pietrangelo (25)

26. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Alex Goligoski (26)

27. Washington Capitals Mike Green (12)

28. Los Angeles Kings Jack Johnson (28)

29. St Louis Blues Kevin Shattenkirk (33)

30. Washington Capitals John Carlson (41)

31. Detroit Red Wings Niklas Kronwall (31)

32. Toronto Maple Leafs John-Michael Liles (35)

33. Florida Panthers Jason Garrison (off)

34. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Dan Girardi (54)

35. Ottawa Senators Sergei Gonchar (37)

36. Buffalo Sabres Tyler Myers (36)

37. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Kimmo Timonen (40)

38. Detroit Red Wings Ian White (45)

39. Dallas Stars Sheldon Souray (27)

40. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Marc-Andre Bergeron (42)

41. Vancouver Canucks Sami Salo (43)

42. Mark Giordano (21)

43. Anaheim Ducks Cam Fowler (32)

44. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Ryan Whitney (52)

45. Montreal Canadiens Tomas Kaberle (56)

46. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Jamie McBain (off)

47. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Kyle Quincey (48)

48. Boston Bruins Dennis Seidenberg (50)

49. Winnipeg Jets Zach Bogosian (49)

50. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Marek Zidlicky (53)

51. Colorado Avalanche Erik Johnson (29)

52. Carolina Hurricanes Joni Pitkanen (44)

53. New York Rangers Michael Del Zotto (off)

54. <a class='sbn-auto-link' href= Adam Larsson (off)

55. New York Rangers Marc Staal (55)

56. Chicago Blackhawks Nick Leddy (47)

57. Philadelphia Flyers Chris Pronger (39)

58. Chicago Blackhawks Keith Seabrook (38)

59. Tampa Bay Lightning Victor Hedman (46)

60. Vancouver Canucks Dan Hamhuis (off)

On the bubble: Nikita Nikitin, Jake Gardiner, Ryan McDonagh, Matt Carle, Stephane Robidas, Paul Martin.

Poll

Which up and coming defenceman will have the most fantasy value from this point forward?

Michael Del Zotto

16 votes

Victor Hedman

0 votes

Adam Larsson

11 votes

Nick Leddy

6 votes

Jamie McBain

10 votes

Nikita Nikitin

9 votes

52 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 2 recs |

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Comments

Brent Burns

Do you think he’ll pick it up? I was counting on him to being one of my best d-man.

by GambitX on Dec 10, 2011 12:54 PM EST reply actions

yes, he’ll pick it up.

by Diomedes7 on Dec 10, 2011 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

You reallly like Ryan Suter that much? He’s on pace to blow away his career highs in goals, assists & shots but I’m not sold on him as a top 10 guy yet.

SBN Fantasy Hockey Blog: Fantasy Hockey Scouts

by Cam Collingwood on Dec 10, 2011 5:41 PM EST reply actions

Doesn’t seem quite right does it?
There were some questions about how high I had him pre-season too (16th), but I actually felt that was low—that he just didn’t have the “big name.”

In standard leagues, Suter finished 12th last year, battling through a spate of injuries and playing only 70 games. If he can stay healthy, you gotta figure he’s a lock to finish higher than 12th.

Well, he’s healthy.
He’s currently ranked 3rd among D.
And, in the final year of his contract, he’s also plenty motivated.

by Diomedes7 on Dec 10, 2011 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

Somewhere between 3rd and 12th.
Esp. with guys like Letang, Green, and Visnovsky out of the picture due to injury.

by Diomedes7 on Dec 10, 2011 6:34 PM EST up reply actions

True, lots of dmen banged up this year. Suter has been great but I’d be surprised if he’s top 10 at the end of the season.

SBN Fantasy Hockey Blog: Fantasy Hockey Scouts

by Cam Collingwood on Dec 10, 2011 6:55 PM EST up reply actions

Wow, has Marc Andre Bergeron starting dating your mother? That’s the only way I can see him ranked so low, haha. What is keeping him lower than guys that you have ranked above him like Girardi or Burns?

Anyway, I also came to ask if I should pick up D. Boyle in a pool. He was just dropped to Waivers (and I am #2 in Waiver picks, so I have a good chance of getting him). I see above you think he’ll pick it up. My current D are: Chara, Bergeron, Timmonen and Clitsome. Clitsome would obviously be the one to flick, I just want to make sure Boyle is worth the waiver pick up at all.

Thanks in advance.

PS – it is a standard yahoo league. G,A, PIM,+/-, SOG, PPP, GWG and SHG

by A_Train on Dec 10, 2011 11:09 PM EST reply actions

yes, i would jump on Boyle > Clitsome.

on Bergeron, he’s a decent option (ranked 40th—ie, a good #4 in 12 team leagues) just not convinced he can do it for a full season. he’s small, frail, and a defensive liability.

by Diomedes7 on Dec 11, 2011 10:35 AM EST up reply actions