NHL Network Top 20 Defensemen: Makar Rules Again

The NHL Network top 20 defensemen list is back. And the No. 1 spot went exactly where you expected. Cale Makar ended the hour-long special as the No. 1 defenseman, reclaiming a throne he has now held for three straight years on these rankings. The full list dropped Sunday at 7 p.m.

ET as the second installment of a nine-part series ranking the league's best players "right now," per NHL.com.

But the real story is not at the top. It is everything happening underneath. A wave of young blueliners crashed the upper tier, a debut entry landed at No. 7. And a steady veteran slid to the bottom of the board. Here is what stood out.

Makar Tops the NHL Network Defensemen

The Avalanche star is running out of peers.

Makar finished No. 1 for the third year in a row, and the numbers back it up. The previous-season refresher list credited him with 92 points (30 goals, 62 assists) and a plus-28 rating in 80 games, per NHL.com. A 30-goal, plus-28 season from a defenseman is absurd production.

Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski held serve behind him at No. 2 and No. 3, keeping the top three identical to last year, as Boston Hockey Now noted. That trio has separated itself from the field. The real question for 2026-27 is whether anyone can crack it. And a couple of names just made their move.

Hutson Rockets Up the Defensemen List

This is the jump that should get Canadiens fans loud. Lane Hutson moved up from 19th to 6th place, a 13-spot surge in a single cycle. Thirteen spots. In one year.

The Dose.ca recap confirmed the five names ahead of him: Miro Heiskanen (5), Rasmus Dahlin (4), Werenski (3), Hughes (2), and Makar (1).

Hutson went from barely on the board to squarely in the elite tier.

NHL Network's analysts clearly believe the Canadiens blueliner has arrived.

Buffalo's captain Rasmus Dahlin made his own leap, going from No. 7 to No. 4, per Boston Hockey Now.

And Matthew Schaefer, making his list debut, landed at No. 7. A first-timer cracking the top 10 tells you exactly where NHL Network thinks the blueline talent is headed.

Who Fell on the Top 20 Defensemen?

Devon Toews opened the show at No. 20, Yahoo Sports reported, and that is a notable slide. The 32-year-old fell three spots from the No. 17 position he occupied a year ago, per Colorado Hockey Now. Toews is still on the list, still logging top-pair minutes for Colorado.

But the ranking reflects a simple shift: the league is getting younger at the back end.

And steady veterans are getting pushed down by players who skate and move the puck in ways the old guard cannot match.

That is the theme running through this entire list.

The risers are young. The fallers are established. Middle: in flux. And the top three, for now, is locked.

What Is the NHL Network Series?

The defensemen rankings are the second part of a nine-part series, per NHL.com. NHL Network producers and analysts rank the league's top players "right now" across multiple position groups, with the blueliners coming after the first installment.

The "right now" framing matters.

These are not career rankings or long-term projections.

They are a snapshot of where players stand entering the season, which is exactly why a debut entry can land at No. 7 and a proven veteran can drop three spots in a cycle.

So there is your board.

Makar on top for the third time running, Hughes and Werenski holding the line.

And a pack of rising blueliners in Hutson, Dahlin, and Schaefer crashing the top 10. The real question for opening night: does anyone in that chasing group actually close the gap, or is this Makar's league until he says otherwise? Watch the Canadiens blue line early. If Hutson plays like a No. 6, this list might look conservative by Christmas.