The Top 30 Defensemen of All-Time

RankPlayerYears
1Bobby Orr1966-1979
2Nicklas Lidstrom1991-2012
3Ray Bourque1979-2001
4Doug Harvey1947-1969
5Eddie Shore1926-1940
6Paul Coffey1980-2001
7Chris Chelios1983-2010
8Denis Potvin1973-1988
9Al MacInnis1981-2004
10Larry Robinson1972-1992
11Erik Karlsson2009-active
12Red Kelly1947-1967
13Pierre Pilote1955-1969
14Chris Pronger1993-2012
15Brian Leetch1987-2006
16Scott Stevens1982-2004
17Cale Makar2019-active
18Scott Niedermayer1991-2010
19Zdeno Chara1997-2022
20Duncan Keith2005-2022
21Brad Park1968-1985
22Drew Doughty2008-active
23Victor Hedman2009-acitve
24Rod Langway1977-1993
25Tim Horton1949-1974
26Brent Burns2003-active
27Roman Josi2007-active
28Larry Murphy1980-2001
29Rob Blake1989-2010
30Shea Weber2005-2021

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. A theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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