Fantasy Hockey 2009: Defensemen

1. Nicklas Lidstrom - I was really torn on who would be the top defenseman this year.  Green was phenomenal last year while Nick showed us once again why he's one of the greatest of all time.  When it came down to a decision I thought about which one would I draft if given the choice.  At that point it was a no brainer.  One great year doesn't put you over top of one of the greatest of all time.  If I had my pick, I would go with Lidstrom.  He's been consistently great for a number of years, he contributes in all categories and is still the best defenseman in the league.

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2. Mike Green - Its rare for defensemen to score goals.  10-20 is about the usual for good to elite defensemen, but Green lit the lamp 31 times and did it in just 68 games last year.  Including an 8 games stretch in which he scored at least one goal. We haven't seen this type of offense from the blueline since Paul Coffey.  Playing with offensive talents like Ovechkin and Semin, Green should have another strong season and could put up another 30 goals.

3. Dan Boyle - The Sharks, like the Wings, love to use their defensemen in the offensive zone.  When they acquired the offensive minded Boyle in the off season, it as a match made in heaven.  Boyle put up 16 goals and 41 assists with 32 of those 57 points coming on the powerplay.  With the question marks on the Sharks team, they may rely even more on Boyle for offense this year.

4. Chris Pronger - During Anaheim's Stanley Cup run in '07, Pronger was one of the elite.  Lots of points and contributed in every category, but since then his numbers have really tailed off.  His plus/minus is down, his assists are way down and PIM really are not what they used to be.  This past off season, he was traded to the Flyers and he will be a great fit for this team and city.  Its a great career move for Pronger and he should get back to where he was a couple years ago as one of the more dominant defensemen in the league.

5. Sergei Gonchar - He missed most of the season due to injury, but when he returned he picked up right where he left off.  Statistically, Sarge has been one of the best point producers in the league over the past 10 years for defensemen, but his defensive game is really lacking.  Its affecting his plus/minus which can be critical to a players fantasy value in point leagues and a pain to deal with in H2H ones.  Playing with Crosby and Malkin, Gonchar will have another big point season, now let's just hope the plus/minus gets better.

6. Zdeno Chara - The defending Norris Trophy winner comes in at number six.  He's like Nick Lidstrom except his offensive output isn't nearly as good.  Chara's big, nasty and a has a huge shot which helps him in PIM and shots. 

7. Dion Phaneuf - The "Sidney Crosby" of defensemen really fell flat on his face last season after enjoying a great 07-08 campaign.  He had less goals, assists, PIM and completely tanked in plus/minus going from a +12 to a -11.  The Flames are reportedly going to focus more on defense this year.  I don't know if that's a good thing or not.  It may help his plus/minus, but his goals and assists are a big worry.  Not to mention the Flames now have Jay Bouwmeester and this could go either way.  It could take away from his minutes or it may help him become a better defenseman.  It will be very interesting to see which direction Phaneuf goes this year.

8. Brian Rafalski - When you play on the same team with one of the greatest defensemen on all time, its easy to be overlooked, but if you're over looking Raffy, you're making a big mistake.  He was second among defensemen in assists and totaled 28 powerplay points.  When you draft Rafalski, think Nick Jr and I'm not talking about Nickelodeon in the morning.

9. Shea Weber - In his fourth season in the league, Weber is starting to look like the franchise defenseman everybody was expecting.  He broke out with 23 goals and 30 assists as his numbers will only continue to get better the longer he's in the league.

10. Sheldon Souray - A lot of people thought his numbers would tank after leaving Montreal.  He only played in 26 games in his first year with Edmonton and looked less than impressive.  Last year, he removed any doubt from people's minds with a 23 goal, 98 PIM, 268 shot season. 

11. Andrei Markov - Souray's former blueline partner ranks right behind him.  Markov lead all defensemen in powerplay points and assists, but finished with a -2 rating, only 36 PIM and just 165 shots.  He's a great point producer, but don't expect much more than that.

12. Jay Bouwmeester - This will be an interesting year for the Flames on defense, Bouwmeester in particular.  Now that he's out of Florida, he'll really have a chance to showcase his talent in Calgary.  Early projections have him starting ahead of Phaneuf, but I have a hard time seeing that sticking.  With a better offense, better defensemen to work with and a better goalie, one would have to think this could only translate into better numbers for Jay Bo.

13. Scott Niedermayer - Once considered to be one of the best defenseman in the NHL, Niedermayer is starting to show that old age is catching up with him.  His plus/minus has steadily gotten worse and worse over the past few years and his numbers a dipping a bit now too.  With the Ducks having more offense than they've ever had before going into this year, this should stop the bleeding and help him have another 14-15 goal, 40+ assist season.

14. Mark Streit - You would probably never think to look to Long Island for a defenseman.  The Islanders are lousy, they give up a ton of goals and don't score a lot either, but for some reason Streit has found a way to survive and remain a fantasy force.  He scored 16 goals, 40 assists and finished with a +6.  A plus six on the Islanders! 

15. Brian Campbell - No one was a bigger flop last year than Brian Campbell.  The Hawks shelled out $7 mil per year for him and his return value wasn't what they were expecting.  Having said that, he did pick up a fair amount of assists (45) and finished with a +5.  If you draft Campbell, don't expect an elite talent and you'll be fine.  But if you think you're getting the next Bobby Orr, you'll be disappointed.