2008 NHL Defensemen Preview

Here are the top 15 defensemen going into the 2008-2009 NHL season:

1.  Nicklas Lidstrom - When you can make an argument for this guy to be one of the best ever to play this position, you have to put him first on the rankings.  He's won the Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman) 6 of the last 7 years.  Lids is at the top or near the top of the scoring for defensemen each year and he's a monster in the plus/minus category.  He's the best in the business and you can justify spending a high draft pick on him.

(Photo by Getty Images)

2.  Dion Phaneuf - The "Sidney Crosby of defensemen" just keeps getting better and better each year with Calgary.  He's posted 17 goals in each of the last two years and point total should be around 60-70.  Once Lidstrom retires, Phaneuf will own the Norris Trophy.

3.  Chris Pronger - I've never been a big fan of Pronger.  For me, he's always been the defenseman version of Eric Lindros, but you can't argue with the results.  He's won the Hart Trophy (Leauge MVP), led the Blues to a President's Trophy (Best Reg Record), led an undermanned Oilers team to the Finals and won a Cup with Anaheim.  He's done it all and can do it all for your fantasy team's defense.  Great, hard pointshot, plays the PP, records lots of assists, lots of shots, good plus/minus and has been known to get a lot of PIM as well.

4.  Sergei Gonchar - Sarge is the catalyst of the Penguins powerplay.  Last year, he enjoyed one of his best seasons as a professional and with players like Crosby and Malkin on his team, he'll continue to post great numbers, especially on the power play, each season.  This past Saturday he suffered an injury and its still really unclear, how serious it is, but until you hear that he'll be out for awhile, I wouldn't change your draft strategy.

5.  Brian Rafalski - Serving as the other half of the Nick Lidstrom pairing, Rafalski had a career year statistically in addition to winning the Stanley Cup.  He and Lidstrom make up the deadliest powerplay blueline combo in the NHL.  If you can't get Lidstrom, Rafalski is the next best thing to owning him.

6.  Brian Campbell - He was the most sought after defenseman in the NHL this past offseason before landing with the Blackhawks.  His stock has been rising fast since 06 and he got his big payday this summer.  He's a fast skating, slick passing defenseman that can play a little physical sometimes. 

7.  Dan Boyle - The Sharks desperately needed a powerplay quarterback and they landed a really good one in Boyle.  In 06-07, Boyle finished with 20 goals and 43 assists for the TB Lightning.  His presence on the Sharks blueline will do a lot for them and for his value.

8.  Scott Niedermayer - I would have him much higher on this list since he planning on playing the whole season this year, but his age is creeping up on him (35) and it could affect his numbers.  But make no mistake, he's still a top 10 defenseman and he'll still post really good offensive numbers for the Ducks.

(Photo by Mark Avery / AP)

9.  Mike Green - Talk about coming out of nowhere, most people had never heard of Mike Green until last year when he burst onto the scene with 18 goals and 38 assists.  Green also took an incredible numbers of shots (234) which increases his value if your league counts shots on goal. 

10.  Kimmo Timonen - His first season in the city of brotherly love wasn't what everyone was hoping for.  Kimo only recorded 8 goals and 36 assists.  Not bad numbers, but not what he did in Nashville.  With Simon Gagne healthy again, Daniel Briere looking to bounce back from last year and Mike Richards being... well Mike Richards, Timonen should get back to his better numbers and have a great season.

11.  Andrei Markov - For the last couple years the Habs powerplay has been great and one of the biggest reasons for that success has been Andrei Markov.  He has a cannon for a shot and is a great all around powerplay quarterback.  Markov should have another fantastic season at their point position, but it'll be interesting to see who takes the spot the departed Mark Streit.

12.  Zdeno Chara - Its hard to imagine a 6' 9" defenseman being a good fit in on your fantasy hockey team, but Chara is.  Zdeno had a career high in goals (17) and assists (34) last year for the Bruins.  Unlike most defensemen, Chara plays in front of the net due to his size and just blocks the goalie's view and knocks in some garbage goals now and then.  Chara is one of the best defensive defensemen as well and has decent plus/minus numbers almost every year.

13.  Bryan McCabe - His move from Toronto to Florida has a lot of people unsure on McCabe, but here's all you need to know, he'll be playing alongside Jay Bouwmeester, who is a very solid defenseman as well, and should have a typical Bryan McCabe type season (40 assists).  The Panthers don't have a lot of scoring, but that just means that McCabe will get the green light more often to blast the puck on the powerplay.  McCabe's not a bad source for PIM either. 

14.  Lubomir Visnovsky - Since Chris Pronger left, the Oilers have been having some serious trouble getting a dependable powerplay quarterback.  I think those problems have been solved with the acquisition of Visnovsky.  With the Kings, Visnovsky posted some very good numbers recording 67 points in 06 and 58 points in 07 (69 games).  Last year, was a bit of an off year for him, but now he's on a young, offensive minded Oilers team that should help him regain his old form.

15.  Tomas Kaberle - Without Mats Sundin in the lineup, the Leafs are going to have to find different ways to generate offense.  One of the ways to do this is to utlize your defensemen and have them pinch in more.  Kaberle will most likely act like a 4th forward and try to help jumpstart the offense.  This could drastically hurt his plus/minus numbers, but if your league doesn't use that category or if you just don't care, Kaberle is a solid pickup.