I've got some time this afternoon, I thought I would have a look at the current projections for top six defensemen in the league, just for shits and giggles. I was curious, thought I would look at a number of elements and compare by division. The elements that I've decided to look at are scoring, experience (age), future potential, size and cap value (descending order). The only non-measurable element that I have of the five is potential, but in my mind, that takes what their youth looks like in this top six and ranks it objectively (if possible). To qualify for the projected top six, the players do have to be signed, which does leave a few names out in the cold, but this is by no means scientific. It's just a comparison, giving myself (and whoever decides to read this) an idea about what's going on.
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| Andy Greene | Andrew MacDonald | Dan Girardi | Matt Carle | Kris Letang |
| Henrik Tallinder | Travis Hamonic | Marc Staal | Kimmo Timonen | Paul Martin |
| Mark Fayne | Milan Jurcina | Micheal Sauer | Andrej Meszaros | Zbynek Michalek |
| Anton Volchenkov | Mark Eaton | Michael Del Zotto | Chris Pronger | Ben Lovejoy |
| Matt Corrente | Mike Mottau | Ryan McDonagh | Braydon Coburn | Brooks Orpik |
| Adam Larsson | Mark Streit | Steve Eminger | Andreas Lilja | Matt Niskanen |
2011 Scoring: PHI, PIT, NYR, NYI, NJD
Experience: PHI, NYI, PIT, NJD, NYR
Potential: NYR, NJD, NYI, PIT, PHI
Size: PHI, NYR, NYI, NJD, PIT
Cap Value: PHI, PIT, NJD, NYR, NYI
The projected top six defense corps in the Atlantic Division looks fairly dominated by the Flyers, as they have some great scoring numbers from last season, all kinds of experience from top to bottom, massive size and inevitably, cost the most. The Penguins do have plenty of offense in their six, not to mention some decent experience and they cashed in last Summer, which would suggest that they have a shot at doing some great things. The Rangers are the wild card of the five, to me, as Del Zotto and McDonagh have the potential to really put their six into the spotlight. They might not have the experience, but they have the potential to lift their scoring to great heights, all for a reasonable cap hit.
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| Zdeno Chara | Christian Ehrhoff | P.K. Subban | Erik Karlsson | John-Michael Liles |
| Joe Corvo | Tyler Myers | Jaroslav Spacek | Sergei Gonchar | Dion Phaneuf |
| Dennis Seidenberg | Jordan Leopold | Yannick Weber | Filip Kuba | Cody Franson |
| Johnny Boychuk | Andrej Sekera | Hal Gill | Chris Phillips | Carl Gunnarsson |
| Andrew Ference | Mike Weber | Josh Gorges | Mark Carkner | Mike Komisarek |
| Adam McQuaid | Robyn Regehr | Andrei Markov | Brian Lee | Keith Aulie |
2011 Scoring: BUF, BOS, TOR, OTT, MTL
Experience: BOS, OTT, MTL, BUF, TOR
Potential: TOR, MTL, BUF, BOS, OTT
Size: BOS, TOR, BUF, OTT, MTL
Cap Value: TOR, BOS, MTL, BUF, OTT
The Northeast Division has a very good blueline battle on their hands, pretty well across the board. The Sabres bought a lot of talent in the off-season, the Bruins swapped out some pieces, the Canadiens are still reeling from their injuries last year, the Leafs have the potential to start scoring back there, while the Sens are still growing into a new identity. The Bruins and Sabres will lock up into some great battles, but the Canadiens could shoot past with a healthy Markov, while the Leafs can play the wild card, especially if Franson and Aulie turn up trumps with their potential.
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| Tomas Kaberle | Brian Campbell | Brett Clark | Dennis Wideman | Dustin Byfuglien |
| Joni Pitkanen | Dimitri Kulikov | Victor Hedman | John Carlson | Tobias Enstrom |
| Jamie McBain | Ed Jovanovski | Pavel Kubina | Roman Hamrlik | Ron Hainsey |
| Bryan Allen | Mike Weaver | Eric Brewer | Mike Green | Johnny Oduya |
| Tim Gleason | Keaton Ellerby | M-A Bergeron | Karl Alzner | Randy Jones |
| Jay Harrison | Erik Gudbranson | Mattias Ohlund | Jeff Schultz | Mark Stuart |
2011 Scoring: WPG, WAS, CAR, FLA, TAM
Experience: TAM, WPG, CAR, FLA, WAS
Potential: WAS, FLA, WPG, TAM, CAR
Size: TAM, WAS, CAR, WPG, FLA
Cap Value: WPG, WAS, TAM, CAR, FLA
The Southeast Division hasn't necessarily been known for their defensive prowess, more so their offensive skills, in the past few seasons. The Jets will come into the 2012 season, boasting a very offensive top six with Byfuglien and Enstrom leading the way. Passed those two, the team may want to hold on for dear life. The Capitals, with a healthy Green on their side, should move back up into the top spot in the blueline scoring this coming season, especially with the addition of Hamrlik to the side. The Panthers are definitely the wild card of this division, adding players via trades and free agency, plus the potential of Gudbranson is currently off the charts. Tampa is getting older, not so much savvier, while Carolina will play hard, but something is lacking, I can't quite put my finger on it now.
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| Brent Seabrook | James Wisniewski | Nicklas Lidstrom | Ryan Suter | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Duncan Keith | Fedor Tyutin | Niklas Kronwall | Kevin Klein | Kevin Shattenkirk |
| Steve Montador | Kris Russell | Ian White | Francis Bouillon | Carlo Colaiacovo |
| Sean O'Donnell | Grant Clitsome | Brad Stuart | Brett Lebda | Barret Jackman |
| Sami Lepisto | Radek Martinek | Jonathan Ericsson | Jonathan Blum | Roman Polak |
| Nik Hjalmarsson | Marc Methot | Mike Commodore | Tyler Sloan | Kent Huskins |
2011 Scoring: DET, CHI, CBJ, STL, NAS
Experience: DET, CHI, NAS, CBJ, STL
Potential: STL, NAS, CBJ, DET, CHI
Size: CHI, CBJ, STL, DET, NAS
Cap Value: DET, CHI, CBJ, STL, NAS
The Red Wings and Blackhawks are really running away with this competition in the Central Division, especially with the arbitration hearing of Shea Weber to happen on Tuesday for the Predators. Even Weber's numbers won't help the Predators too much in some cases, except for possibly size and cap value. The depth in Chicago and Detroit are hard to match in this division, while the Blues have all the potential in Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk on their side, not to mention a still-growing Polak. The Jackets may have added some help, but Wisniewski can still be a bit wild, unsure if he'll really be able to help in Columbus, unless he gets some good help of his own.
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| Marc Giordano | Erik Johnson | Ryan Whitney | Marek Zidlicky | Alex Edler |
| Anton Babchuk | Jan Hejda | Tom Gilbert | Nick Schultz | Dan Hamhuis |
| Jay Bouwmeester | Ryan Wilson | Theo Peckham | Jared Spurgeon | Kevin Bieksa |
| Cory Sarich | Matt Hunwick | Ladislav Smid | Mike Lundin | Sami Salo |
| Chris Butler | Ryan O'Byrne | Cam Barker | Clayton Stoner | Keith Ballard |
| Brendan Mikkelson | Shane O'Brien | Jeff Petry | Greg Zanon | Aaron Rome |
2011 Scoring: CAL, VAN, COL, EDM, MIN
Experience: VAN, MIN, CAL, COL, EDM
Potential: EDM, COL, CAL, MIN, VAN
Size: COL, EDM, VAN, CAL, MIN
Cap Value: VAN, CAL, EDM, COL, MIN
With the defense sorted top to bottom by their 2011 scoring numbers, this list from the Northwest Division looks somewhat misshapen. This division should look a little bit more dominating, but the names and the order in which they appear doesn't look all that formidable. The Flames ran away with scoring among their six, since their six stayed healthiest throughout the year, which helps, especially for fantasy pools. The Canucks used 13 defensemen all year in 2011, plus they lost Christian Ehrhoff to free agency, which didn't help. The Avalanche gained some serious size, but also took on some liabilities while they were at it. The Oilers didn't add much to their blueline for the coming year, which could hurt, while the Wild look mediocre below Zidlicky. The systems will be important in this division, as no one really seems too far ahead, unless four of the teams were ahead of Minnesota.
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| Lubomir Visnovsky | Alex Goligoski | Jack Johnson | Keith Yandle | Dan Boyle |
| Cam Fowler | Stephane Robidas | Alec Martinez | Adrian Aucoin | Brent Burns |
| Toni Lydman | Trevor Daley | Rob Scuderi | Michal Rozsival | Jason Demers |
| Kurtis Foster | Niklas Grossman | Matt Greene | Derek Morris | Marc-Edouard Vlasic |
| Francois Beauchemin | Adam Pardy | Willie Mitchell | David Schlemko | Jim Vandermeer |
| Luca Sbisa | Sheldon Souray | Davis Drewiske | Rostislav Klesla | Doug Murray |
2011 Scoring: ANA, SAN, PHO, DAL, LOS
Experience: PHO, DAL, SAN, LOS, ANA
Potential: ANA, DAL, LOS, PHO, SAN
Size: LOS, SAN, PHO, DAL, ANA
Cap Value: PHO, SAN, ANA, LOS, DAL
There is a lot of blueline talent in the Pacific Division and we are still waiting for Drew Doughty to join this list for the Kings, as he is still an unsigned restricted free agent defenseman. The Ducks are stacked with scoring, the Sharks are not too far behind, the Coyotes have lots of experience, the Kings are pretty big and the Stars could have a nice wild card with Souray in their line-up, come October. With the addition (and subsequent extension) of Burns to the Sharks line-up for the coming year, I would say that they would have to have the most dangerous six defenders of the five teams, which could put them over the top when the playoffs roll around again. They will be a ripe team to pick from for the hockey pools, I expect most of them to fly off the lists.
Top five teams in each measurement...
2011 Scoring: BUF, ANA, DET, SAN, CHI
Experience: DET, PHI, PHO, TAM, BOS
Potential: ANA, STL, NYR, WAS, FLA
Size: COL, EDM, TOR, CAL, BUF
Cap Value: PHI, DET, WPG, VAN, CHI
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