The Top 5 NHL defensemen of 2023
With the final days of 2023 ahead, I figured, what better way to celebrate some of the best performances that we’ve witnessed in the calendar year? Over these last five days of the year, I’ll look at the best players at all five positions (goaltender, defense, right wing, left wing, and center) from 2023, which includes the January to April months of the 2022-23 season, the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the start so far in the 2023-24 season.
Today, we’ll look at the best defensemen in the league. I tried my best to balance blueliners who were either good at both offense and defense or were really good at one aspect of the game, so it should be a good mix of both roles on this list. Just because a player is on this list doesn’t necessarily mean I think they’re a top five defenseman, as the list is more based on how successful they were this year.
Let’s look at a few honorable mentions before kicking off the countdown:
Honorable Mentions
Dougie Hamilton
Only three defensemen had a higher points per game than Hamilton’s 0.91 this season, and all three of them cracked the list. Hamilton probably would have as well, but his defensive performance wasn’t quite as good as the ones that made this list, but credit is due for his performance before his injury this season, especially considering he lost his spot on the top power play unit to Luke Hughes in October.
Miro Heiskanen
Heiskanen always falls under the radar amongst all of the other young defensemen in the league, but he’s still one of the best in the game and played a big role in the Dallas Stars’ run to the Western Conference Final in the playoffs this year. What’s even more impressive is that he’s often done it on his off side to accommodate playing a 38-year-old Ryan Suter on the top pair with him.
Mattias Ekholm
We’ll talk more about his partner in a moment, but Ekholm getting dealt to the Edmonton Oilers has been a big game changer for the team. He’s provided them with a stable top-pair presence and has been one of the best defensive defensemen in the league since he moved there. The Oilers have struggled this season, but it’s not because of Ekholm.
5. Jaccob Slavin
Regular Season: 9G, 27A, 36P, 75GP
Playoffs: 2G, 4A, 6P, 15GP
A lot of the defensemen on this list make it for putting up solid to great defensive numbers, but the focus is on their offensive numbers. Slavin is the other way around, putting up good offensive numbers but dominating defensively. Don’t get me wrong, 42 points in 90 games in 2023 is still pretty good, but that isn’t Slavin’s bread and butter.
In 2023, Slavin managed to outscore his opponents 77-59 at even strength when he was on the ice, which is particularly impressive when you consider that he plays against some of the league’s best players every night. He also had a 5v5 expected goal share of 59.8% on their top pair, so he can stimy opponents and drive play the other way, a big reason why the Canes went to the Eastern Conference Final this year. Perhaps the most impressive part of his game is his discipline while playing those top minutes as a defenseman, as he had just three minor penalties all year. Slavin is always talked about as the best defensive defenseman in the game, but he really played like that this season.
4. Evan Bouchard
Regular Season: 13G, 45A, 58P, 75GP
Playoffs: 4G, 13A, 17P, 12GP
While the Oilers really benefitted from the acquisition of Ekholm as a whole, nobody did so more than Evan Bouchard. Not only did it provide him with a steady defensive defenseman to play with that allowed him thrive on the top pair, it also gave him a much needed opportunity on the top power play since one of the pieces going the other way was Tyson Barrie, who previously held that spot.
Well, he took that chance and ran with it. Since the Oilers acquired Ekholm, only Miro Heiskanen, Quinn Hughes, and Cale Makar have had more points among blueliners in the regular season all year, and Bouchard particularly broke out in the playoffs where he had 17 points in just 12 games, and has turned the Oilers power play from really good to completely nuclear. He may be prone to The Big Mistake every now and then, but don’t let that trick you into thinking he’s bad defensively, as his 62.28% 5v5 expected goal share this year is one of the best in the league. Sure, playing with Connor McDavid helps, but Bouchard isn’t just coasting on that success either, and as a result he has had one of the more successful years as a defenseman.
3. Erik Karlsson
Regular Season: 18G, 54A, 72P, 77GP
Playoffs: N/A
I couldn’t make a list of the best defensemen and not include the reigning Norris trophy winner! There were a lot of questions about how much he deserved to win it due to his defense not being quite up to par, but when you consider the fact that he put up 100 points in a season for the first time by a defenseman since 1992, and he was playing for a bottom-feeder San Jose Sharks team that wasn’t intending to win, so he could sacrifice defense for more offense, it makes a bit more sense.
Naturally since coming to the Pittsburgh Penguins over the summer, his defensive numbers have improved, and while he hasn’t been quite as electric in his new home and the Penguins have had their struggles, it’s hard to pin it on Karlsson. He’s been doing well, and on the year as a whole he’s managed to have the third highest points-per-game among defensemen with quite the gap over the rest of the field, with 72 points in 76 games as a whole. Hopefully Pittsburgh figures things out and we see a return to the postseason for Karlsson.
2. Quinn Hughes
Regular Season: 16G, 74A, 90P, 81GP
Playoffs: N/A
Quinn Hughes has always seemed to be missing something to really put his game over the top. After breaking out in his rookie season in 2019-20, he’s been really good, but had yet to really stand out as an elite defenseman, especially compared to Cale Makar, the one player who beat him for the Calder Trophy in that 2019-20 season. But this year, Hughes has really stepped up his game, especially since the start of the 2023-24 season.
No one had more points in the calendar year of 2023 than Hughes, with 90 in 81 games up to this point. The biggest difference has been his goal totals, with 16 on the year as a whole and already putting up 10 in 2023-24, which is a career high for him. Not only has his offense evolved, but his defense has taken another step as well, partially due to finally having a stable and capable defense partner in Filip Hronek. Thriving in both areas has started to cement him as one of the game’s elite defenders, and he’d be a runaway for first if not for the one defenseman always in his way.
1. Cale Makar
Regular Season: 16G, 57A, 73P, 55GP
Playoffs: 1G, 4A, 5P, 6GP
Makar tops the best defenseman list for the second year running, and it’s hard to really make a case for anyone else at this point. Not only has he established himself as the best defenseman in the league, you could make the case that due to his dominance at the position, he may even rival Connor McDavid for best player in the game right now. At the very least, I think he has more of a chance to challenge the likes of Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom for best defenseman ever than Connor McDavid does with Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Injuries made Makar play only 54 games in the regular season, and a suspension only got him six in the playoffs, but when he’s played, he’s easily the best. In fact, his 1.31 points per game in 2023 has him on pace for 107 points in 82 games, a mark that’s only been hit nine times by a defenseman, and not since 1989. If Makar can stay healthy for a full season, he might hit the 100-point mark a few times in his career. Hughes has gotten all the attention this season, but don’t forget about Makar, even if he didn’t win any hardware this year.
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