Big Red’s 2017-18 Fantasy Rankings: Defensemen

Here’s my Top 50 Defensemen for the 2017-18 Season

1. Erik Karlsson OTT
2. Brent Burns SJ
3. Victor Hedman TB
4. Roman Josi NSH
5. Oliver Ekman-Larsson ARI
6. P.K. Subban NSH
7. Shea Weber MTL
8. Kris Letang PIT
9. Justin Faulk CAR
10. Dustin Byfuglien WPG
11. Dougie Hamilton CGY
12. Kevin Shattenkirk NYR
13. Duncan Keith CHI
14. John Klingberg DAL
15. Keith Yandle FLA
16. Mark Giordano CGY
17. Rasmus Ristolainen BUF
18. Drew Doughty LA
19. Shayne Gostisbehere PHI
20. Zach Werenski CBJ
21. Cam Fowler ANA
22. Justin Schultz PIT
23. Ivan Provorov PHI
24. Torey Krug BOS
25. Seth Jones CBJ
26. John Carlson WSH
27. Tyson Barrie COL
28. Aaron Ekblad FLA
29. Nick Leddy NYI
30. Ryan Suter MIN
31. Oscar Klefbom EDM
32. Alex Pietrangelo STL
33. Matt Dumba MIN
34. Colton Parayko STL
35. Shea Theodore VGK
36. Brent Seabrook CHI
37. Mike Green DET
38. Ryan McDonagh NYR
39. T.J. Brodie CGY
40. Jaccob Slavin CAR
41. Alex Goligoski ARI
42. Jacob Trouba WPG
43. Alec Martinez LA
44. Charlie McAvoy BOS
45. Matt Niskanen WSH
46. Sami Vatanen ANA
47. Noah Hanifin CAR
48. Damon Severson NJ
49. Morgan Rielly TOR
50. Nikita Zaitsev TOR

Sleeper:

Shea Theodore VGK

Even though Theodore is in my top 50, I still consider him a sleeper considering he probably won’t be drafted in most 10 team leagues. The first round pick in 2013 by the Ducks is a potential top 2 defenseman for the Vegas Golden Knights. Picked up by Vegas in an expansion draft deal with Anaheim, Theodore couldn’t find consistent playing time with the Ducks crowded blue line. Now on another team with a crowded blue line, albeit with less talent, he should remain with big league squad for a full season if Vegas can pull off a couple trades to free up a spot for him. If this does happen, expect him to play in the top 4 and quarterback one of the power plays for Vegas. The kid has elite potential so put him on your watch list to see if he shows some of that this season.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for weekly fantasy advise and the venting of a Red Wings fan whose team is gonna be god awful this year. Although getting Rasmus Dahlin would make me feel a lot better.