The 2020-21 NHL season (which is technically the 2021 NHL season) has proven to be an interesting one.
Who is the NHL’s best defenseman this season? It’s a good question and the answer may just surprise you. Looking at some of the more common metrics, we take a peek at some of the top performing defensemen in the National Hockey League during the 2020-21 NHL Season.
Best NHL Defenseman: Points per Game
With a minimum of twenty game played, here is a look at the top 10 NHL defenseman based on a PPG %.
- Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche. 1.00 PPG average.
- Adam Fox – New York Rangers. 0.97 PPG.
- Victor Hedman – Tampa By Lightning. 0.92 PPG.
- Tyson Barrie – Edmonton Oilers. 0.85 PPG.
- Shea Theodore – Vegas Golden Knights. 0.83 PPG.
- John Carlson – Washington Capitals. 0.82 PPG.
- Dougie Hamilton – Carolina Hurricanes. 0.82 PPG.
- Samuel Girard – Colorado Avalanche. 0.81 PPG.
- Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings. 0.79 PPG.
- Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins. 0.79 PPG.
Top NHL Defenseman Time on Ice
Here is a look at the top NHL defenseman based on TOI (Time on Ice). These workhorses may not all be considered for the Norris Trophy but they are all valuable members to their teams.
- Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings. 26:53 TOI
- Thomas Chabot – Ottawa Senators. 26:28 TOI
- Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks. 26.22 TOI
- Darnell Nurse – Edmonton Oilers. 25:45 TOI
- Alex Pietrangelo – Vegas Golden Knights. 25:44 TOI
- Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning. 25:32 TOI
- Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets. 25:15 TOI
- Ivan Provorov – Philadelphia Flyers. 25:11 TOI
- Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers. 25:05 TOI
- Miro Heiskanen – Dallas Stars. 24:58 TOI
Top NHL Defenseman +/-
I know not everyone likes the plus/minus stat, but it is an indicator of players that are on the ice for more goals for than against. (Data as of April 8, 2021)
- Joel Edmundson – Montreal Canadiens. +30
- MacKenzie Weegar – Florida Panthers. +21
- Devon Toews – Colorado Avalanche. +21
- Darnell Nurse – Edmonton Oilers. +20
- Carson Soucy – Minnesota Wild. +17
- Shea Theodore – Vegas Golden Knights. +17
- Alec Martinez – Vegas Golden Knights. +16
- Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche. +16
- Morgan Reilly – Toronto Maple Leafs. +15
- Jake Muzzin – Toronto Maple Leafs. +15
Top Scoring Defenseman in the NHL 2020-21
Of course the final item we looked at was points. Here is a look at the top rearguard point producers through early April in the NHL.
- Adam Fox – New York Rangers. 36 points through 37 games.
- Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning. 36 points through 39 games.
- Tyson Barrie – Edmonton Oilers. 34 points through 40 games.
- John Carlson – Washington Capitals. 32 points in 39 games.
- Dougie Hamilton – Carolina Hurricanes. 31 points through 38 games.\
- Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings. 30 points through 38 games.
- Samuel Girard – Colorado Avalanche. 30 points through 37 games.
- Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins. 30 points in 38 games.
- Jakob Chychrun – Arizona Coyotes. 29 points in 40 games.
- Shea Theodore – Vegas Golden Knights. 29 points in 35 games.
While these stats tend to be more on the offensive side of things, we feel that the following five NHL D-Men are front runners for the Norris trophy at this stage of the season:
- Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Adam Fox – New York Rangers
- Shea Theodore – Vegas Golden Knights
- Darnell Nurse – Edmonton Oilers
- Samuel Girard – Colorado Avalanche
A couple of dark horse picks as well:
- Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings
- Jeff Petry – Montreal Canadiens
- Morgan Reilly – Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dougie Hamilton – Carolina Hurricanes