Thomas Chabot is a workhorse. And he has honestly been significantly overworked. Since the 2019-2020 season he is first in the NHL with 26:09 ATOI and this includes a night where he played 37:50 in a regular season overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019. I am a firm believer that him being overworked sometimes affects his decision making late in games and it hinders his ability to reach an even higher level. For the sake of him and the Senators I hope that one of their many prospects can reach a high enough level to take some of the load off of Chabot. Skill-wise Chabot has one of the best deking abilities at his position in the NHL that is rivaled by only Cale Makar in terms of defencemen. When he carries the puck from his own zone there is a good chance that his team enters the offensive zone by way of him carrying the puck in or via his passing ability. If Chabot’s workload ever decreases even a bit I am sure we will see a breakout season offensively, especially with the team improving around him.

Devon Toews broke out in a big way last season after being one of the NHLs most underrated defenseman for a couple of seasons. Playing with NHLs best defenceman likely helps his cause, but Toews is individually just as big of a part on that line. His defensive ability allows Makar to be a little more creative with the puck and have a little bit more risk to him because he has Toews to back him up defensively. Toews is not a regular hulking defensive D-man that plays with an offensive superstar like Makar. Toews specializes in using his skating ability to suppress scoring chances and the second he retrieves the puck it is quickly out of the zone as he is one of the NHLs best breakout passers. With all of that being said, Toews showed some offensive prowess in his game last season as well given that he had the 9th best points per game among defencemen. He managed to use that skating ability in the offensive zone and also seems to have found a bit of a scoring touch as well with 13 goals in 66 games. Toews was a steal for Colorado and he will form a tantalizing pairing with Makar for years to come.

I think people forget that defenders sometimes take a little longer to hit their full potential. They can’t be Makar. Ekblad has now lived up to the high expectations that comes with being a first overall pick and has developed into a player that can dominate in every situation. He is one of the best defenders in the league at 5 on 5 and has become one of the better PP QBs in the league because of his heavy shot and elite passing ability. He is an elite contributor when it comes to goal scoring from the back end and he has been for a while. Since 2015/2016 he is 6th in goals amongst defenseman. The most important thing about him is that similar to Victor Hedman, he doesn’t rely on his size to defend. What I mean by that is that there are defenders that are seen as defensive D-men simply because they are physical and can remove players from the puck with their body. For someone like Ekblad he focuses on gap control and making sure that he suppresses scoring chances before using his physicality to finish off a play. Ekblad is without a doubt a game-changing D-man.

Slavin's impact defensively rivals the offensive impact of any player out there. He has been undoubtedly the best defensive-defenseman the last few years and somehow his offensive play-driving is among the best as well. Slavin’s presence improves the whole team. His ability to stop opposing players from creating chances before they are even able to is unmatched. He clogs the neutral to the point where almost every player coming towards him dumps it in because the have little faith in themselves to get past him, and they are proven right if they ever try to. Slavin has no problems when he has the puck on his stick either. He is a very strong passer and always seems to make the right play which in turn suppresses even more scoring chances from happening. His defense compares to Mcdavid's offensive ability. He has potentially the best defensive stick in the NHL whether it is to block a pass or poke check, and his defensive reads are rarely ever the wrong one.

Victor Hedman is going to be a first ballot hall of famer, with a Norris, Conn Smythe and 2 Stanley Cups already in the bag and the numbers to back up his play. Whether it is surface stats, eye test or analytics, Hedman checks all the boxes. For a guy as big as he is he uses his body in an unconventional way for a player of that size. He is as tough as it gets in terms of 1 on 1 in-zone defense, and it does not always cause an over-power physical trait. Hedman uses his stick as well as anyone to jar pucks loose as well as intercept passes and break-up plays