5 biggest surprises from NHL Network’s 2025 top 20 defensemen list

NHL Network released its Top 20 defensemen ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.

Anytime rankings come out involving players, there will be plenty of disagreement on where some players are in the rankings or some players who aren't even in the rankings.

Here are the top 5 biggest surprises from the NHL Network's Top 20 NHL defenseman.

5 biggest surprises from top 20 NHL defensemen list

#1, Jaccob Slavin not in top-5

Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin is widely considered to be the best defenseman in the NHL. However, despite that, he isn't getting a ton of love as he isn't putting up a ton of points and is ranked eighth.

Slavin goes against the opposing team's best players and is a matchup nightmare for teams. He blocks shots and plays so sound defensively that teams have a hard time scoring on Carolina when he's on the ice.

Slavin should be in the top five, but due to his not being an offensive weapon, he doesn't get a lot of credit.

#2, Charlie McAvoy outside top-10

Boston Bruins star defenseman Charlie McAvoy is one of the best defensemen in the NHL, but his season ended at the 4 Nations due to an injury.

Due to his season-ending injury, McAvoy was ranked 11th on this list, which was a surprise.

McAvoy is one of the best two-way defenseman in the NHL, but due to him only playing in just 50 games last season, that likely impacted him being outside the top-10.

McAvoy is a franchise defenseman that likely should be in the 5-8 range on this list.

#3, Adam Fox's slide

New York Rangers star defenseman Adam Fox is ranked 16th on this list, which is a bit of a surprise.

Fox, like most of the Rangers, struggled last season, which likely impacted his ranking. However, he has been a Norris candidate in years past.

In the 2023-24 season, Fox finished fourth in Norris voting, and the year before that, he finished second.

At his best, Fox is a top-five defenseman in the NHL, so Fox being ranked 16th is a surprise after one bad season.

#4, Lane Hutson is already on the list

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson just won the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year.

After just one season, Hutson is ranked 19th and is already in the rankings. His play justifies him being in the rankings, but after just one year, it is a surprise to see him above proven NHL defensemen who have done it for multiple years.

#5, Werenksi above Heiskanen

Zach Werenski and Miro Heiskanen are two of the best defensemen in the NHL, but it is a bit of a surprise that Werenski was ranked ahead of Heiskanen.

Werenski was a finalist for the Norris Trophy last year, but that was one year he was better than Heiskanen, who dealt with injuries. Werenski is ranked third while Heiskanen is fourth, but I'd flip those.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton