Fully healthy defencemen ranking of all playoff teams

Hutson > Bouchard
Guhle > Nurse
Matheson > Kulak
Carrier > Emerson
Struble > Dineen
Savard < Stecher

I know, I'm a homer etc. Oilers are the better overall team but I don't agree that their defence is better than the Habs.
Neither team has much actual defense sadly. Bouchard and Hutson are both offensive hybrid players. Ekholm is solid though. Where is he?
 
this is just looking at names, since Carlo has joined the Leafs Rielly - Carlo is the 6th best pair in the NHL by xGF% and 8th in high danger%

It's a perfect fit and has completed the top 4 with 2 strong pairings

I literally checked the analytics for every D on those teams. It was not just looking at names. Carlo and Rielly are both in awful seasons and their good play together is a short sample. I'm not going to be surprised if Rielly is serving up pizza in the playoffs.
 
Canes are definitely not the squad with the top defensemen. It's their system that elevates their play.

Slavin great
Burns awful (actually worse than awful this year)
Chatfield/Orlov competent but not great
Ghost 3rd pair, no size, decent O, meh D

Nikishin is the wild card that would elevate them but.....would RBA play him over a veteran?
 
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Jets. should be #1 . they may not have the "best" single guy...but in terms of Depth and quality? easily #1

Top end talent you got Morrisey... he's easily a top 5 D man in the league. year in year out

Pionk is better than the fancy stats say and this year he's been a killer.

Samberg, healthy finally , has been a revelation...a legit top 4 on any contending team in the league.
DeMello...a great stay at home guy who has the partner he has needed for a while.

Schenn? the Human eraser...he's playing some of his best hockey here. stay at home, crush bodies, and get it out!

Then Miller Fleury, Stanley, have all slid in and been effective in big games with multiple partners and combos...
DeMelo is good player.
 
I literally checked the analytics for every D on those teams. It was not just looking at names. Carlo and Rielly are both in awful seasons and their good play together is a short sample. I'm not going to be surprised if Rielly is serving up pizza in the playoffs.
Carlo played on a genuinely horrible team all season, of course his numbers would be bad. Rielly has struggled but has also been paired with less than ideal partners

These guys are built in a lab to play with one another with their respective strengths and weaknesses, it's not a surprise it's been working since the TDL
 
Kiefer Sherwood is their kryptonite lol.

But in all seriousness, these rankings to me is like if we had to rank forward cores if healthy. The Oilers would be at a top 1-2-3 of everyones lists right? 2 dudes can heavily carry a bunch of meh. Im not selling Manson/Girard/Malnski/Johnson/Lindgren as anything amazing, but Toews/Makar are that good. Makar is head and shoulders the best dman left in the playoffs and Toews is arguably as good as everyone else defensively and fortunate for the Avs, dont need to see him run a PP ever.
A fully healthy Edmonton is still the same as Colorado, they just heavily rely on Ekholm
 
Whoops forgot about him! Yep that probably tilts the scales in their favour or at least evens it up.

Also I do think that Bouchard plays defence the way people act like Hutson does, but Hutson is better.
You're missing Ekholm and Walman (the top pairing quality deadline addition we made) -- are you insane? What a disingenuous failure of a post.

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Walman
Kulak-Stetcher

This will be our defence while healthy. As this is a thread about a fully healthy defencemen ranking of all playoff teams, that's where we're at.

Certainly nowhere near the bottom 5 as some people are stating. Metrics back this up as well. Our defence group is actually quite good, and certainly the best it has been in 20+ years.
 
You're missing Ekholm and Walman (the top pairing quality deadline addition we made) -- are you insane? What a disingenuous failure of a post.

Ekholm-Bouchard
Nurse-Walman
Kulak-Stetcher

This will be our defence while healthy. As this is a thread about a fully healthy defencemen ranking of all playoff teams, that's where we're at.

Certainly nowhere near the bottom 5 as some people are stating. Metrics back this up as well. Our defence group is actually quite good, and certainly the best it has been in 20+ years.

You know what you're right I should have thought more before posting. I looked up their line combos because I couldn't remember by memory all their guys, and forgot those guys were injured.

Left out two of their best. Not disingenuous, just ignorant. I'll edit my OP.
 
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Don't understand so many people having Golden Knights outside of top 3. I think it's them, Colorado and Carolina and then a bit of a gap
Hutson > Bouchard
Guhle > Nurse
Matheson > Kulak
Carrier > Emerson
Struble > Dineen
Savard < Stecher

I know, I'm a homer etc. Oilers are the better overall team but I don't agree that their defence is better than the Habs.
Ekholm mysteriously disappearing certainly helps your case
 
Colorado had a decent defence but it’s nothing to write home about after Makar. And that depends on which version of Makar shows up in the post season
Which version of Makar shows up? He is the best playoff performer amongst all Dmen and been that way for a few years, dude is legit in the postseason.

Overall the group is very good. They could have more size and physicality though.
 
Oilers defence should be above Ottawa

Sanderson - Zub
Chabot - Jensen
Kleven - Matinpalo
Hamonic/Gilbert

vs

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Walman
Kulak - Emberson/Stetcher
Klingberg/Dermott

Oilers have better depth by a huge margin, but Sens probably have the better top 4. Chabot and Sanderson have both taken their games to another level this year. It's pretty close imo.
 
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What on earth are Canes doing at #1? That makes zero sense. Negative sense, even.

With takes like these, Slavin might be the most overrated player in the entire league.
 
Last edited:
Sanderson - Zub
Chabot - Jensen
Kleven - Matinpalo
Hamonic/Gilbert

vs

Ekholm - Bouchard
Nurse - Walman
Kulak - Emberson/Stetcher
Klingberg/Dermott

Oilers have better depth by a huge margin, but Sens probably have the better top 4. Chabot and Sanderson have both taken their games to another level this year. It's pretty close imo.
Looking at the top 6 on both teams, I'd say that Oilers are better at #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6. So I have no clue what you're talking about.
 
Hilarious how everyone is putting Habs last when they have the biggest gamebreaking talent aside from Makar at the position.
Ghule is healthy right now.
Struble is decent.
Matheson would be fine as an offensive D-man if he isn't asked to do too much.
Carrier is fine.
Only Savard and Xhekaj are the weak links.

Certainly not a top D-core by any means but closer to 10th place or something like that.
 
Kings have only given up 1.56 GA/gm, 2nd only to winnipeg's 1.52, since the Four Nations....that's when they put together lines and d partners that made sense.

Yet, as good as their D personnel are, they have some big weaknesses. Kings' D is a great as a team, but individually, the D foot speed SUCKS, and they can get physically overmatched as well. The forwards help a lot here. If they were fully healthy it would be better but Doughty isn't even close to 100% (resting now even) and a few of the others are banged up and can't afford to be. Yet

Doughty-Anderson
Gavrikov-Spence
Edmundson-Clarke
Moverare

Has to be near the top given capabilities, strong blend of LHD/RHD, offense and defense (at least in theory, and lately the offense from D has been coming around). I don't think they've been playing even close to their potential, honestly, especially Clarke post-neutering.

I get the feeling people are still sleeping on Jordan Spence, lowering the ranking, and have always underrated Gavy.
 
Hilarious how everyone is putting Habs last when they have the biggest gamebreaking talent aside from Makar at the position.
Ghule is healthy right now.
Struble is decent.
Matheson would be fine as an offensive D-man if he isn't asked to do too much.
Carrier is fine.
Only Savard and Xhekaj are the weak links.

Certainly not a top D-core by any means but closer to 10th place or something like that.
They're just not better than the other dcores when healthy is all, not saying they're bad.
 
Kings have only given up 1.56 GA/gm, 2nd only to winnipeg's 1.52, since the Four Nations....that's when they put together lines and d partners that made sense.

Yet, as good as their D personnel are, they have some big weaknesses. Kings' D is a great as a team, but individually, the D foot speed SUCKS, and they can get physically overmatched as well. The forwards help a lot here. If they were fully healthy it would be better but Doughty isn't even close to 100% (resting now even) and a few of the others are banged up and can't afford to be. Yet

Doughty-Anderson
Gavrikov-Spence
Edmundson-Clarke
Moverare

Has to be near the top given capabilities, strong blend of LHD/RHD, offense and defense (at least in theory, and lately the offense from D has been coming around). I don't think they've been playing even close to their potential, honestly, especially Clarke post-neutering.

I get the feeling people are still sleeping on Jordan Spence, lowering the ranking, and have always underrated Gavy.
I love Spence
 
These guys are built in a lab to play with one another with their respective strengths and weaknesses, it's not a surprise it's been working since the TDL

You know I said the same thing when word came that the Leafs were targeting Carlo. I thought they would fit perfectly together. But you're still going to have your share of Rielly turnovers in the playoffs.
 

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