2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

What an astronomic resurgence for Burns in his first season with the Hurricanes. His last few seasons in San Jose left a lot to be desired. He reached new lows on the defensive side of things, but his offensive play seemed to be a shell of what it used to be. From 2012-2013 until 2018-2019 Burns averaged 69 points per 82 games. But then from 2019-2020 until 2021-2022, his production hit a wall, falling to a 50 point a season pace. Who could blame him, playing on abysmal Sharks teams the past few season is a tall task for anyone. But this season Burns showed that even in his aged 37 season he is one of the most gifted offensive d-men in the league, firing 18 goals this past season which tied him for 3rd among defensemen. What added to this resurgence is that Burns was more defensively sound this season than he has been in his entire career. You can probably credit that a bit to the player that is coming up next on this list, or the Canes stout defensive system, but Burns definitely committed to playing a more complete brand of hockey.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

Slavin is the most reliable defensemen in the league, and has been for quite a while. Slavin's defensive impact is profound enough that it matches the offensive impacts of a lot of the more offensive stars in the league. But he does it with the simple things, shot blocking, zone-entry denials. breakout passes etc. Slavin has mastered every fundamental to its fullest extent, better than any player in the league, especially the defensive aspects of the game. He is one of my favourite players to watch in the league (asides from when he plays the caps), because the way he plays defence is like poetry on ice, from his strong skating skills, positioning and defensive stick. If you appreciate the defensive aspects of the game, Slavin the someone who you should tune in to and watch next season.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

Dahlin gracefully enters the midpoint of this list and honestly he's only going upwards at this point. The former first-overall pick has developed in to what I can only describe as being elegantly maniacal. Dahlin's passing ability is some of the best in the league from the back end, mix that with his impressive skating ability and you get a breakout master. Over the last two season Dahlin has also displayed his shooting ability more completely as he is calling his name more often leading to 13 and 15 goal seasons the past two seasons. Dahlin also has the ability to punch back, he's not one for glass shattering hits, but he uses his size smartly as he escaped opposing defenders using his hips, even occasionally throwing a reverse hit to surprise forecheckers. These last two seasons have been important stepping stones for the Swedish defender, and since his team is improving rapidly, one would think the best is yet to come for Dahlin.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

The Nashville Predators offence as a whole was stagnated as a whole and a number of their forwards saw quite a drop in production. Josi may not have had 96 points like he did last year, but he still had 59 points in just 67 games. At 33 years old Josi is likely neat the end of his prime, especially as an offensive D-man who relies heavily on his skating ability, in saying that he hasn't showed signs of slowing just yet which is why he is still firmly in the top 10. Josi's a chance creation master and he takes the responsibility of creating offence for his team being that he has likely been the best offensive talent on the Preds for the last half decade. Since 2017-2018 ranks 1st amongst defensemen in goals (94) and shots on goal (1478). His goal output didn't slow down one bit this season as well as he was tied for 3rd in goals amongst defensemen with 18 even though he missed 15 games. From a production standpoint, few D-men have been as consistent as Josi over past several seasons.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

Karlsson seems to have aged backwards as he regained the offensive form that he possessed during the early part of his career. With the Sharks being a basement dweller this season, Karlsson seemed to throw caution to the wind, especially since it was his first fully healthy season in a long time. He has always been a risky player, but this season he seemed to give in even more to his offensive side. Having watched a Karlsson game in-person this season, his game was different than it has been the last couple of years. Yes, he was essentially a fourth forward a lot of times but the way he controlled the play was remarkable. Though his skating ability has tarnished a bit from a speed perspective (not saying he's slow, just slower than he was pre-Achilles injury and baring in mind he is 33), his agility is still top-notch. The way he glides through defenders while being in the offensive zone is bar-none and he is still one of the best passers in the league. 100 points from the back-end is crazy no matter how you look at it. I really hope Karlsson gets dealt this offseason and finally gets a chance to compete for the cup again, I think everyone would love to see playoff Karlsson again. 

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

Charlie McAvoy is a force. The anchor of the Bruins blue-line is everything you want in a number 1 defensmen on a Stanley Cup contender. Starting with the offensive side of things, McAvoy is an elite passer both on the breakout as well as in the offensive zone. He has turned in to a prolific PP QB and is a shooting option as well due to him possessing a blistering shot. Defensively he uses his strength better than anyone in the league. He isn't the biggest defensemen out there but he is an absolute rock. Unlike other physical defensemen, McAvoy doesn't chase hits, he uses physicality to keep his opponent from gaining space anywhere near the net. Though yes he does throw the occasional bone-crushing hit. His defensive awareness coupled with his offensive savvy as well as the physicality make him one of the more complete D-men in the league.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

Fox does everything right. Being a defensively sound defenseman while consistently playing at a 70+ point and double-digit goal pace is more than anyone could ask for out of one defenseman. Fox's greatest ability is his skating and passing ability. He uses his speed to create closeouts if he does end up getting caught up in the offensive zone. His agility helps him create in the offensive-zone, he often holds on to the puck an extra second due to his ability to create space and then his elite passing ability allows him to thread passes through seams better than a lot of players in the league. Fox's defensive ability hinges on his defensive awareness, he gets himself in to passing and shooting lanes quickly to suppress any chance of a scoring chance even occurring. Like much of the top part of this list, Fox is going to be a staple on it for years to come being that he is only 25.

2022-2023 Regular Season Stats:

It's hard to pick a player more valuable than Makar asides from Mcdavid. He is quite literally the perfect new-era defenceman. Firstly lets talk defense since most off the highlights will show off his offensive prowess. Makar uses his skating ability to prevent scoring chances long before they occur. He smartly plays in-zone defence spectacularly as well, using his hockey sense to seemingly always cover the right guy. He's also remarkable strong for a guy who isn't crazy big as he uses his strength to stop the cycle and turn the puck up ice. Here are some of his defensive highlights, it shows how well he seperates players from the puck and quickly turns the play up ice.

Going on to his offensive ability, Makar has been one of the most dominant defenseman offensively since he came in to the league in 2019-2020. During his young career he has 1.03 P/PG which is the most of any D-man in that time span and he's the only player to be over a point a game (min 50 GP) in that time span as well. First, let's take a look at one of his most special abilities, walking the blue line. He creates space for himself at the point better than any defenceman I have seen. Here is a 3-minute compilation of him making moves at the blueline and creating scoring chances.  

Next, let's talk about the shot. Though Makar has a blistering slapshot, it's his quick release wrist shot that has helped him be tied for the the league lead in goals by defenceman since he came in to the league with Roman Josi. They both have 65 goals since then, though Makar has done it in 26 less games.

What makes Makar so special is that opposing players get so mesmermized by his skating and focus on preventing him from shooting it himself that it often leaves his teammates in positions to score. Makar then uses his elite passing ability to thread passes through the seams better than almost anyone in the league.

Lastly, Makar just has the certain game-breaking ability that only a few players in the league possess. We saw him make big play after big play when he won the Conn Smythe in 2022. His will to create scoring chances is hard to contain espcially since he has the most otherworldly combination of hands and edge-work I have ever seen from a defenceman. So to end this off, let's just watch a couple of his remarkable individual efforts from this past season.