2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Point Projections — Defencemen

Projected 2026-27 points for every NHL skater, plus projected wins and shutouts for every goalie, built from 2025-26 production.

Updated October 3, 2026

How these projections are built

Built from 2025-26 NHL regular-season production under the scoring shown below, regressed toward the positional average so a short hot streak does not outrank a full season. No allowance is made for injuries or games missed. Players with fewer than 20 games last season are not ranked.

Scoring used for these projections

Forwards · Defencemen

Scoring used for these projections — Forwards · Defencemen
Category	Points
Goals	1
Assists	1

Goalies

Scoring used for these projections — Goalies
Category	Points
Wins	2
Shutouts	2

Defencemen

Quoted over 82 games — what the busiest defenceman actually played in 2025-26.

Tier 1 — 4 players, 88 down to 77 projected points5-point gap to the next tier
- 1Evan Bouchard88ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 1.07
- 2Zach Werenski81ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.99
- 3Cale Makar79ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.97
- 4Quinn Hughes77ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 74Projected points per game 0.94
Tier 2 — 4 players, 73 down to 71 projected points4-point gap to the next tier
- 5Rasmus Dahlin73ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.89
- 6Lane Hutson72ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.88
- 7Darren Raddysh72ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.88
- 8Adam Fox71ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 55Projected points per game 0.87
Tier 3 — 13 players, 67 down to 55 projected points5-point gap to the next tier
- 9Shayne Gostisbehere67ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 55Projected points per game 0.82
- 10Erik Karlsson67ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.82
- 11Charlie McAvoy67ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 69Projected points per game 0.81
- 12John Carlson64ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 71Projected points per game 0.78
- 13Miro Heiskanen62ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.76
- 14Roman Josi61ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.75
- 15Jake Sanderson61ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.74
- 16Mikhail Sergachev58ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.71
- 17Jakob Chychrun58ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.70
- 18Moritz Seider56ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.69
- 19Matthew Schaefer56ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.68
- 20Josh Morrissey55ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.67
- 21Jackson LaCombe55ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team ANAGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.67
Tier 4 — 39 players, 49 down to 33 projected points
- 22Brock Faber49ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.60
- 23Seth Jones47ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 52Projected points per game 0.57
- 24Filip Hronek47ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.57
- 25Noah Dobson46ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.56
- 26Rasmus Andersson45ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.55
- 27Shea Theodore43ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.53
- 28Vince Dunn43ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.52
- 29Thomas Chabot42ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 57Projected points per game 0.51
- 30Mattias Samuelsson41ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.50
- 31Bowen Byram40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.49
- 32Justin Faulk40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.49
- 33K'Andre Miller40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.49
- 34Thomas Harley40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.49
- 35Luke Hughes40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.49
- 36Dougie Hamilton40ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.49
- 37Mattias Ekholm39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.48
- 38Oliver Ekman-Larsson39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.48
- 39Brandon Montour39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 64Projected points per game 0.48
- 40Victor Hedman39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 33Projected points per game 0.47
- 41Brandt Clarke39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.47
- 42Sam Malinski39ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.47
- 43John Klingberg38ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 56Projected points per game 0.46
- 44Mike Matheson38ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.46
- 45Morgan Rielly37ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.45
- 46Tony DeAngelo37ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.45
- 47Kris Letang36ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 74Projected points per game 0.44
- 48Travis Sanheim36ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.44
- 49Dmitry Orlov36ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.44
- 50John Marino36ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.44
- 51Damon Severson36ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 71Projected points per game 0.44
- 52Sean Durzi35ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 60Projected points per game 0.43
- 53Ryan Shea35ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.43
- 54Jacob Trouba35ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.42
- 55Ryan McDonagh34ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 48Projected points per game 0.42
- 56Brent Burns34ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.42
- 57Vladislav Gavrikov34ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.42
- 58Jordan Spence34ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.41
- 59Philip Broberg34ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.41
- 60Charle-Edouard D'Astous33ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.40
- 61Denton Mateychuk33ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.40
- 62Jamie Drysdale33ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.40
- 63Alexander Nikishin33ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.40
- 64Rasmus Sandin32ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.39
- 65Noah Hanifin32ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 71Projected points per game 0.39
- 66Josh Manson32ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.39
- 67 Nick Blankenburg32ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 61Projected points per game 0.38
- 68Esa Lindell31ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.38
- 69Hampus Lindholm31ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.38
- 70Sean Walker31ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.38
- 71Simon Nemec31ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.38
- 72Ivan Provorov31ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.37
- 73Parker Wotherspoon30ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.37
- 74Jake Walman30ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 53Projected points per game 0.37
- 75Artem Zub30ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.37
- 76J.J. Moser30ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.36
- 77Cam Fowler30ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.36
- 78Henri Jokiharju29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 41Projected points per game 0.36
- 79Aaron Ekblad29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.36
- 80Owen Power29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.35
- 81Mason Lohrei29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.35
- 82Ryan Pulock29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.35
- 83MacKenzie Weegar29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.35
- 84Artyom Levshunov29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.35
- 85Devon Toews29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.35
- 86Cam York29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 74Projected points per game 0.35
- 87Gustav Forsling29ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.35
- 88Olli Maatta28ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 43Projected points per game 0.35
- 89Simon Edvinsson28ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.34
- 90Jack St. Ivany28ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 20Projected points per game 0.34
- 91Logan Stanley28ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.34
- 92Zeev Buium28ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.34
- 93Martin Fehervary27ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.33
- 94Louis Crevier26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.32
- 95Drew Doughty26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.32
- 96Rasmus Ristolainen26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 44Projected points per game 0.32
- 97Samuel Girard26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 60Projected points per game 0.32
- 98Brady Skjei26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.32
- 99Jake McCabe26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.31
- 100Axel Sandin-Pellikka26ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.31
- 101Adam Larsson25ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.31
- 102Alexandre Carrier25ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.30
- 103Pavel Mintyukov25ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team ANAGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.30
- 104Tom Willander25ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.30
- 105Darnell Nurse24ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.30
- 106Jonas Brodin24ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 62Projected points per game 0.30
- 107Maxwell Crozier24ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 35Projected points per game 0.30
- 108Olen Zellweger24ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.29
- 109Kaiden Guhle24ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 39Projected points per game 0.29
- 110Declan Chisholm23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 26Projected points per game 0.29
- 111Ian Cole23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.29
- 112Joel Edmundson23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.29
- 113Mario Ferraro23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.29
- 114Nick Jensen23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team ANAGames played in 2025-26 61Projected points per game 0.29
- 115Uvis Balinskis23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 54Projected points per game 0.29
- 116Jared Spurgeon23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.28
- 117Adam Wilsby23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 58Projected points per game 0.28
- 118Ilya Solovyov23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 30Projected points per game 0.28
- 119Ben Hutton23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 55Projected points per game 0.28
- 120Nikita Zadorov23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.28
- 121Joel Nystrom23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 38Projected points per game 0.28
- 122Nate Schmidt23ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.27
- 123Sam Rinzel22ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 54Projected points per game 0.27
- 124Alex Vlasic22ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 81Projected points per game 0.27
- 125Tyler Kleven22ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.27
- 126Ryker Evans22ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.26
- 127Zayne Parekh21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 37Projected points per game 0.26
- 128Drew Helleson21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team ANAGames played in 2025-26 60Projected points per game 0.26
- 129Matthew Robertson21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.26
- 130Mikey Anderson21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.26
- 131Tyler Tucker21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 69Projected points per game 0.26
- 132Johnathan Kovacevic21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 34Projected points per game 0.26
- 133Emil Lilleberg21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.25
- 134Shakir Mukhamadullin21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.25
- 135Nicolas Hague21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 62Projected points per game 0.25
- 136Timothy Liljegren21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 47Projected points per game 0.25
- 137Neal Pionk21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 51Projected points per game 0.25
- 138Matt Roy21ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.25
- 139Kevin Bahl20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.25
- 140Jalen Chatfield20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.25
- 141Radko Gudas20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 56Projected points per game 0.25
- 142Nick Leddy20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 32Projected points per game 0.24
- 143Colton Parayko20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.24
- 144Dylan Demelo20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.24
- 145Scott Morrow20ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 29Projected points per game 0.24
- 146Mike Reilly19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 42Projected points per game 0.24
- 147Hunter Brzustewicz19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 34Projected points per game 0.23
- 148Troy Stecher19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 64Projected points per game 0.23
- 149Wyatt Kaiser19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CHIGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.23
- 150Braden Schneider19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.23
- 151Marcus Pettersson19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.23
- 152Zach Whitecloud19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.23
- 153Nils Lundkvist19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 52Projected points per game 0.23
- 154Conor Timmins19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 39Projected points per game 0.23
- 155Jaccob Slavin19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 39Projected points per game 0.23
- 156Emil Andrae19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 61Projected points per game 0.23
- 157Jonathan Aspirot19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 61Projected points per game 0.23
- 158Yan Kuznetsov19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 57Projected points per game 0.23
- 159Dylan Samberg19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 66Projected points per game 0.23
- 160Jake Middleton19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.23
- 161Pierre-Olivier Joseph19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CARGames played in 2025-26 31Projected points per game 0.23
- 162Nick DeSimone19ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 40Projected points per game 0.23
- 163Connor Murphy18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.23
- 164Trevor van Riemsdyk18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.22
- 165Jayden Struble18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 59Projected points per game 0.22
- 166Daemon Hunt18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 32Projected points per game 0.22
- 167Colton White18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 23Projected points per game 0.22
- 168Brian Dumoulin18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.22
- 169Kaedan Korczak18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.22
- 170Brett Pesce18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 37Projected points per game 0.22
- 171Donovan Sebrango18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 42Projected points per game 0.22
- 172Will Borgen18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 75Projected points per game 0.22
- 173Noah Juulsen18ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 52Projected points per game 0.21
- 174Logan Mailloux17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.21
- 175Urho Vaakanainen17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 34Projected points per game 0.21
- 176Sam Dickinson17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.21
- 177Brayden Pachal17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 39Projected points per game 0.21
- 178Adam Pelech17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.21
- 179Jonas Siegenthaler17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.21
- 180Brayden McNabb17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 63Projected points per game 0.21
- 181Jeremy Lauzon17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VGKGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.21
- 182Jamie Oleksiak17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 78Projected points per game 0.21
- 183Alexander Petrovic17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 54Projected points per game 0.21
- 184Scott Mayfield17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.20
- 185Erik Cernak17ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TBLGames played in 2025-26 61Projected points per game 0.20
- 186Ben Chiarot16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.20
- 187Brenden Dillon16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NJDGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.20
- 188Andrew Peeke16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 77Projected points per game 0.20
- 189Ian Moore16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team ANAGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.20
- 190Justin Barron16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 52Projected points per game 0.20
- 191Elias Salomonsson16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 32Projected points per game 0.20
- 192Ilya Lyubushkin16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 53Projected points per game 0.20
- 193Matt Grzelcyk16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 69Projected points per game 0.19
- 194Kyle Capobianco16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 33Projected points per game 0.19
- 195Adam Boqvist16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 28Projected points per game 0.19
- 196Cale Fleury16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 23Projected points per game 0.19
- 197Josh Mahura16ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 23Projected points per game 0.19
- 198Jacob Bryson15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.19
- 199Lian Bichsel15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.19
- 200Ty Emberson15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 72Projected points per game 0.19
- 201Victor Mancini15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 24Projected points per game 0.18
- 202Niko Mikkola15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team FLAGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.18
- 203Nick Perbix15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NSHGames played in 2025-26 79Projected points per game 0.18
- 204Zach Bogosian15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 41Projected points per game 0.18
- 205Carson Soucy15ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.18
- 206Zach Metsa14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BUFGames played in 2025-26 43Projected points per game 0.18
- 207Spencer Stastney14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 66Projected points per game 0.17
- 208Tyler Myers14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DALGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.17
- 209Luke Schenn14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.17
- 210Dante Fabbro14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 74Projected points per game 0.17
- 211Vincent Iorio14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYRGames played in 2025-26 27Projected points per game 0.17
- 212Elias Pettersson14ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team VANGames played in 2025-26 70Projected points per game 0.17
- 213Brett Kulak13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team COLGames played in 2025-26 83Projected points per game 0.16
- 214Vincent Desharnais13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WSHGames played in 2025-26 53Projected points per game 0.16
- 215Alec Regula13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team EDMGames played in 2025-26 29Projected points per game 0.16
- 216Matthew Kessel13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team NYIGames played in 2025-26 29Projected points per game 0.16
- 217Jeff Petry13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MINGames played in 2025-26 67Projected points per game 0.16
- 218Brandon Carlo13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team STLGames played in 2025-26 55Projected points per game 0.16
- 219Albert Johansson13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.16
- 220Connor Clifton13ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team BOSGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.15
- 221Haydn Fleury12ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team WPGGames played in 2025-26 38Projected points per game 0.15
- 222Nick Seeler12ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 80Projected points per game 0.15
- 223Travis Hamonic12ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 26Projected points per game 0.15
- 224Egor Zamula12ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 33Projected points per game 0.15
- 225Ryan Lindgren12ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SEAGames played in 2025-26 76Projected points per game 0.14
- 226Nikolas Matinpalo11ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team OTTGames played in 2025-26 50Projected points per game 0.14
- 227Ryan Graves11ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 22Projected points per game 0.13
- 228Erik Gudbranson11ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 37Projected points per game 0.13
- 229Cody Ceci11ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team LAKGames played in 2025-26 82Projected points per game 0.13
- 230Joel Hanley11ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CGYGames played in 2025-26 68Projected points per game 0.13
- 231Jake Christiansen10ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team CBJGames played in 2025-26 40Projected points per game 0.13
- 232Declan Carlile10ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PITGames played in 2025-26 42Projected points per game 0.12
- 233Michael Kesselring10ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team SJSGames played in 2025-26 34Projected points per game 0.12
- 234Jacob Bernard-Docker9ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team DETGames played in 2025-26 63Projected points per game 0.11
- 235Dmitriy Simashev9ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team UTAGames played in 2025-26 28Projected points per game 0.11
- 236Simon Benoit9ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 73Projected points per game 0.11
- 237Philippe Myers9ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team TORGames played in 2025-26 39Projected points per game 0.11
- 238Arber Xhekaj8ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team MTLGames played in 2025-26 65Projected points per game 0.10
- 239David Jiricek7ProjectedProjected points over the season
  Team PHIGames played in 2025-26 26Projected points per game 0.09

2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Point Projections — Defencemen — Defencemen
#	Player	Team	GP 2025-26	Pts/GP	Projected
Tier 1 — 4 players, 88 down to 77 projected points5-point gap to the next tier
1	Evan Bouchard	EDM	82	1.07	88
2	Zach Werenski	CBJ	75	0.99	81
3	Cale Makar	COL	75	0.97	79
4	Quinn Hughes	MIN	74	0.94	77
Tier 2 — 4 players, 73 down to 71 projected points4-point gap to the next tier
5	Rasmus Dahlin	BUF	77	0.89	73
6	Lane Hutson	MTL	82	0.88	72
7	Darren Raddysh	TOR	73	0.88	72
8	Adam Fox	NYR	55	0.87	71
Tier 3 — 13 players, 67 down to 55 projected points5-point gap to the next tier
9	Shayne Gostisbehere	CAR	55	0.82	67
10	Erik Karlsson	PIT	75	0.82	67
11	Charlie McAvoy	BOS	69	0.81	67
12	John Carlson	TBL	71	0.78	64
13	Miro Heiskanen	DAL	77	0.76	62
14	Roman Josi	NSH	68	0.75	61
15	Jake Sanderson	OTT	67	0.74	61
16	Mikhail Sergachev	UTA	78	0.71	58
17	Jakob Chychrun	WSH	80	0.70	58
18	Moritz Seider	DET	82	0.69	56
19	Matthew Schaefer	NYI	82	0.68	56
20	Josh Morrissey	WPG	77	0.67	55
21	Jackson LaCombe	ANA	82	0.67	55
Tier 4 — 39 players, 49 down to 33 projected points
22	Brock Faber	MIN	80	0.60	49
23	Seth Jones	FLA	52	0.57	47
24	Filip Hronek	VAN	82	0.57	47
25	Noah Dobson	MTL	80	0.56	46
26	Rasmus Andersson	VGK	81	0.55	45
27	Shea Theodore	VGK	70	0.53	43
28	Vince Dunn	SEA	81	0.52	43
29	Thomas Chabot	OTT	57	0.51	42
30	Mattias Samuelsson	BUF	78	0.50	41
31	Bowen Byram	CHI	82	0.49	40
32	Justin Faulk	DET	78	0.49	40
33	K'Andre Miller	CAR	72	0.49	40
34	Thomas Harley	DAL	70	0.49	40
35	Luke Hughes	NJD	68	0.49	40
36	Dougie Hamilton	NJD	77	0.49	40
37	Mattias Ekholm	EDM	82	0.48	39
38	Oliver Ekman-Larsson	TOR	78	0.48	39
39	Brandon Montour	SEA	64	0.48	39
40	Victor Hedman	TBL	33	0.47	39
41	Brandt Clarke	LAK	82	0.47	39
42	Sam Malinski	COL	82	0.47	39
43	John Klingberg	SJS	56	0.46	38
44	Mike Matheson	MTL	78	0.46	38
45	Morgan Rielly	TOR	78	0.45	37
46	Tony DeAngelo	NYI	76	0.45	37
47	Kris Letang	PIT	74	0.44	36
48	Travis Sanheim	PHI	81	0.44	36
49	Dmitry Orlov	SJS	82	0.44	36
50	John Marino	UTA	80	0.44	36
51	Damon Severson	CBJ	71	0.44	36
52	Sean Durzi	NYR	60	0.43	35
53	Ryan Shea	EDM	80	0.43	35
54	Jacob Trouba	SJS	81	0.42	35
55	Ryan McDonagh	TBL	48	0.42	34
56	Brent Burns	COL	82	0.42	34
57	Vladislav Gavrikov	NYR	82	0.42	34
58	Jordan Spence	OTT	73	0.41	34
59	Philip Broberg	STL	81	0.41	34
60	Charle-Edouard D'Astous	TBL	70	0.40	33
61	Denton Mateychuk	CBJ	75	0.40	33
62	Jamie Drysdale	PHI	78	0.40	33
63	Alexander Nikishin	CAR	81	0.40	33
64	Rasmus Sandin	WSH	73	0.39	32
65	Noah Hanifin	VGK	71	0.39	32
66	Josh Manson	COL	79	0.39	32
67	Nick Blankenburg	TOR	61	0.38	32
68	Esa Lindell	DAL	82	0.38	31
69	Hampus Lindholm	BOS	67	0.38	31
70	Sean Walker	CAR	81	0.38	31
71	Simon Nemec	CGY	68	0.38	31
72	Ivan Provorov	CBJ	82	0.37	31
73	Parker Wotherspoon	VGK	80	0.37	30
74	Jake Walman	EDM	53	0.37	30
75	Artem Zub	OTT	81	0.37	30
76	J.J. Moser	TBL	79	0.36	30
77	Cam Fowler	STL	82	0.36	30
78	Henri Jokiharju	BOS	41	0.36	29
79	Aaron Ekblad	FLA	72	0.36	29
80	Owen Power	BUF	81	0.35	29
81	Mason Lohrei	BOS	73	0.35	29
82	Ryan Pulock	NYI	76	0.35	29
83	MacKenzie Weegar	UTA	79	0.35	29
84	Artyom Levshunov	CHI	68	0.35	29
85	Devon Toews	COL	68	0.35	29
86	Cam York	PHI	74	0.35	29
87	Gustav Forsling	FLA	80	0.35	29
88	Olli Maatta	MIN	43	0.35	28
89	Simon Edvinsson	DET	72	0.34	28
90	Jack St. Ivany	WPG	20	0.34	28
91	Logan Stanley	NYI	76	0.34	28
92	Zeev Buium	VAN	76	0.34	28
93	Martin Fehervary	WSH	81	0.33	27
94	Louis Crevier	BUF	78	0.32	26
95	Drew Doughty	LAK	72	0.32	26
96	Rasmus Ristolainen	PHI	44	0.32	26
97	Samuel Girard	PIT	60	0.32	26
98	Brady Skjei	NSH	82	0.32	26
99	Jake McCabe	TOR	80	0.31	26
100	Axel Sandin-Pellikka	DET	68	0.31	26
101	Adam Larsson	SEA	82	0.31	25
102	Alexandre Carrier	MTL	73	0.30	25
103	Pavel Mintyukov	ANA	73	0.30	25
104	Tom Willander	VAN	70	0.30	25
105	Darnell Nurse	SJS	82	0.30	24
106	Jonas Brodin	MIN	62	0.30	24
107	Maxwell Crozier	TBL	35	0.30	24
108	Olen Zellweger	BUF	76	0.29	24
109	Kaiden Guhle	MTL	39	0.29	24
110	Declan Chisholm	NJD	26	0.29	23
111	Ian Cole	CHI	82	0.29	23
112	Joel Edmundson	LAK	82	0.29	23
113	Mario Ferraro	WPG	82	0.29	23
114	Nick Jensen	ANA	61	0.29	23
115	Uvis Balinskis	FLA	54	0.29	23
116	Jared Spurgeon	MIN	79	0.28	23
117	Adam Wilsby	NSH	58	0.28	23
118	Ilya Solovyov	PIT	30	0.28	23
119	Ben Hutton	VGK	55	0.28	23
120	Nikita Zadorov	BOS	81	0.28	23
121	Joel Nystrom	CAR	38	0.28	23
122	Nate Schmidt	UTA	82	0.27	23
123	Sam Rinzel	CHI	54	0.27	22
124	Alex Vlasic	CHI	81	0.27	22
125	Tyler Kleven	OTT	70	0.27	22
126	Ryker Evans	SEA	67	0.26	22
127	Zayne Parekh	CGY	37	0.26	21
128	Drew Helleson	ANA	60	0.26	21
129	Matthew Robertson	NYR	72	0.26	21
130	Mikey Anderson	LAK	80	0.26	21
131	Tyler Tucker	STL	69	0.26	21
132	Johnathan Kovacevic	NJD	34	0.26	21
133	Emil Lilleberg	TBL	50	0.25	21
134	Shakir Mukhamadullin	EDM	50	0.25	21
135	Nicolas Hague	NSH	62	0.25	21
136	Timothy Liljegren	WSH	47	0.25	21
137	Neal Pionk	WPG	51	0.25	21
138	Matt Roy	WSH	79	0.25	21
139	Kevin Bahl	CGY	76	0.25	20
140	Jalen Chatfield	CAR	72	0.25	20
141	Radko Gudas	FLA	56	0.25	20
142	Nick Leddy	SJS	32	0.24	20
143	Colton Parayko	STL	77	0.24	20
144	Dylan Demelo	WPG	82	0.24	20
145	Scott Morrow	NYR	29	0.24	20
146	Mike Reilly	CAR	42	0.24	19
147	Hunter Brzustewicz	CGY	34	0.23	19
148	Troy Stecher	TOR	64	0.23	19
149	Wyatt Kaiser	CHI	77	0.23	19
150	Braden Schneider	NYR	82	0.23	19
151	Marcus Pettersson	NYR	82	0.23	19
152	Zach Whitecloud	CGY	78	0.23	19
153	Nils Lundkvist	DAL	52	0.23	19
154	Conor Timmins	BUF	39	0.23	19
155	Jaccob Slavin	CAR	39	0.23	19
156	Emil Andrae	CBJ	61	0.23	19
157	Jonathan Aspirot	BOS	61	0.23	19
158	Yan Kuznetsov	CGY	57	0.23	19
159	Dylan Samberg	WPG	66	0.23	19
160	Jake Middleton	CGY	75	0.23	19
161	Pierre-Olivier Joseph	CAR	31	0.23	19
162	Nick DeSimone	UTA	40	0.23	19
163	Connor Murphy	EDM	80	0.23	18
164	Trevor van Riemsdyk	PIT	68	0.22	18
165	Jayden Struble	MTL	59	0.22	18
166	Daemon Hunt	MIN	32	0.22	18
167	Colton White	CBJ	23	0.22	18
168	Brian Dumoulin	LAK	82	0.22	18
169	Kaedan Korczak	PIT	78	0.22	18
170	Brett Pesce	NJD	37	0.22	18
171	Donovan Sebrango	FLA	42	0.22	18
172	Will Borgen	BOS	75	0.22	18
173	Noah Juulsen	COL	52	0.21	18
174	Logan Mailloux	STL	67	0.21	17
175	Urho Vaakanainen	NYR	34	0.21	17
176	Sam Dickinson	SJS	72	0.21	17
177	Brayden Pachal	CGY	39	0.21	17
178	Adam Pelech	NYI	82	0.21	17
179	Jonas Siegenthaler	NJD	82	0.21	17
180	Brayden McNabb	VGK	63	0.21	17
181	Jeremy Lauzon	VGK	68	0.21	17
182	Jamie Oleksiak	VAN	78	0.21	17
183	Alexander Petrovic	FLA	54	0.21	17
184	Scott Mayfield	NYI	80	0.20	17
185	Erik Cernak	TBL	61	0.20	17
186	Ben Chiarot	DET	82	0.20	16
187	Brenden Dillon	NJD	82	0.20	16
188	Andrew Peeke	UTA	77	0.20	16
189	Ian Moore	ANA	67	0.20	16
190	Justin Barron	STL	52	0.20	16
191	Elias Salomonsson	WPG	32	0.20	16
192	Ilya Lyubushkin	NSH	53	0.20	16
193	Matt Grzelcyk	BUF	69	0.19	16
194	Kyle Capobianco	DAL	33	0.19	16
195	Adam Boqvist	NYI	28	0.19	16
196	Cale Fleury	SEA	23	0.19	16
197	Josh Mahura	SEA	23	0.19	16
198	Jacob Bryson	DET	50	0.19	15
199	Lian Bichsel	DAL	50	0.19	15
200	Ty Emberson	EDM	72	0.19	15
201	Victor Mancini	VAN	24	0.18	15
202	Niko Mikkola	FLA	68	0.18	15
203	Nick Perbix	NSH	79	0.18	15
204	Zach Bogosian	MIN	41	0.18	15
205	Carson Soucy	CBJ	76	0.18	15
206	Zach Metsa	BUF	43	0.18	14
207	Spencer Stastney	EDM	66	0.17	14
208	Tyler Myers	DAL	73	0.17	14
209	Luke Schenn	VAN	50	0.17	14
210	Dante Fabbro	CBJ	74	0.17	14
211	Vincent Iorio	NYR	27	0.17	14
212	Elias Pettersson	VAN	70	0.17	14
213	Brett Kulak	COL	83	0.16	13
214	Vincent Desharnais	WSH	53	0.16	13
215	Alec Regula	EDM	29	0.16	13
216	Matthew Kessel	NYI	29	0.16	13
217	Jeff Petry	MIN	67	0.16	13
218	Brandon Carlo	STL	55	0.16	13
219	Albert Johansson	DET	82	0.16	13
220	Connor Clifton	BOS	50	0.15	13
221	Haydn Fleury	WPG	38	0.15	12
222	Nick Seeler	PHI	80	0.15	12
223	Travis Hamonic	DET	26	0.15	12
224	Egor Zamula	CBJ	33	0.15	12
225	Ryan Lindgren	SEA	76	0.14	12
226	Nikolas Matinpalo	OTT	50	0.14	11
227	Ryan Graves	PIT	22	0.13	11
228	Erik Gudbranson	CBJ	37	0.13	11
229	Cody Ceci	LAK	82	0.13	11
230	Joel Hanley	CGY	68	0.13	11
231	Jake Christiansen	CBJ	40	0.13	10
232	Declan Carlile	PIT	42	0.12	10
233	Michael Kesselring	SJS	34	0.12	10
234	Jacob Bernard-Docker	DET	63	0.11	9
235	Dmitriy Simashev	UTA	28	0.11	9
236	Simon Benoit	PHI	73	0.11	9
237	Philippe Myers	TOR	39	0.11	9
238	Arber Xhekaj	MTL	65	0.10	8
239	David Jiricek	PHI	26	0.09	7

In a 12-team league the last starter at this position is ranked 48. From there to 96 production falls 10 points — that drop is what taking one early actually buys you.

Who moved

Change in per-game production from 2024-25 to 2025-26, scored the same way both times, quoted over a full season. Players with fewer than 30 games in either season are left out, since that measures availability rather than how they played.

Defencemen

Biggest risers

Darren Raddysh +37
Charlie McAvoy +35 — played a much bigger schedule
Evan Bouchard +28 — first season at a point per game
Miro Heiskanen +26 — played a much bigger schedule
Ryan Shea +25 — played a much bigger schedule

Biggest fallers

Neal Pionk -27 — played a much smaller schedule
Colton Parayko -27
Victor Hedman -26 — played a much smaller schedule
Matt Grzelcyk -26 — changed teams
Shea Theodore -24

These use one simple scoring profile, so your own league's totals will differ.

Run your league on these numbers

FanPoolHQ is a commissioner platform for fantasy hockey: rosters under a salary cap, four draft types with live updates, trades that need approving, and scoring you configure yourself. Projections like these are computed against your league's own scoring, not this one.

Start a league

2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Point Projections — Defencemen

Scoring used for these projections

Forwards · Defencemen

Goalies

Defencemen

Tier 1 — 4 players, 88 down to 77 projected points· 5-point gap to the next tier

Tier 2 — 4 players, 73 down to 71 projected points· 4-point gap to the next tier

Tier 3 — 13 players, 67 down to 55 projected points· 5-point gap to the next tier

Tier 4 — 39 players, 49 down to 33 projected points

Who moved

Defencemen

Biggest risers

Biggest fallers

Run your league on these numbers

Tier 1 — 4 players, 88 down to 77 projected points5-point gap to the next tier

Tier 2 — 4 players, 73 down to 71 projected points4-point gap to the next tier

Tier 3 — 13 players, 67 down to 55 projected points5-point gap to the next tier