Updated: September 17, 2013, 8:54 AM ET

#NHLrank: Defensemen

To get ready for the 2013-14 season, we are ranking the best players in the NHL by position. We asked the "experts" to rank each player on a scale of 1 to 10 based on his current quality of play.

Rank Player Score

1
9.33
Zdeno Chara
Boston Bruins | Age: 36 | Experience: 15 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
7
12
19
+14
70
24:56




2
9.29
Ryan Suter
Minnesota Wild | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
4
28
32
+2
24
27:17




3
9.17
Shea Weber
Nashville Predators | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
9
19
28
-2
48
25:55




4
9.08
Duncan Keith
Chicago Blackhawks | Age: 30 | Experience: 8 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
47
3
24
27
+16
31
24:07




5
8.96
Erik Karlsson
Ottawa Senators | Age: 23 | Experience: 4 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
17
6
8
14
+8
14
27:09




6
8.75
P.K. Subban
Montreal Canadiens | Age: 24 | Experience: 4 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
42
11
27
38
+12
57
23:15




7
8.58
Drew Doughty
Los Angeles Kings | Age: 23 | Experience: 5 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
6
16
22
+4
36
26:24




8
8.33
Kris Letang
Pittsburgh Penguins | Age: 26 | Experience: 7 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
35
5
33
38
+16
8
25:38




9
8.08
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Phoenix Coyotes | Age: 22 | Experience: 3 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
3
21
24
+5
26
25:06




10
8.00
Ryan McDonagh
New York Rangers | Age: 24 | Experience: 3 years

2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
47
4
15
19
+13
22
24:21



Rank Player Score

11		 Alex Pietrangelo
St. Louis Blues | Age: 23 | Experience: 5 years
7.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
47
5
19
24
0
10
25:07



12		 Brent Seabrook
Chicago Blackhawks | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years
7.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
47
8
12
20
+12
23
22:00



13		 Niklas Kronwall
Detroit Red Wings | Age: 32 | Experience: 9 years
7.71
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
5
24
29
-5
44
24:22



14		 Dan Boyle
San Jose Sharks | Age: 37 | Experience: 14 years
7.50
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
46
7
13
20
+3
27
22:48



14		 Dan Girardi
New York Rangers | Age: 29 | Experience: 7 years
7.50
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
46
2
12
14
-1
16
25:25



16		 Keith Yandle
Phoenix Coyotes | Age: 27 | Experience: 7 years
7.29
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
10
20
30
+4
54
22:15



17		 Brian Campbell
Florida Panthers | Age: 34 | Experience: 13 years
7.08
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
8
19
27
-22
12
26:25



17		 Dion Phaneuf
Toronto Maple Leafs | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years
7.08
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
9
19
28
-4
65
25:11



17		 Kimmo Timonen
Philadelphia Flyers | Age: 38 | Experience: 14 years
7.08
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
45
5
24
29
+3
36
21:46



20		 Kevin Shattenkirk
St. Louis Blues | Age: 24 | Experience: 3 years
7.00
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
5
18
22
+2
20
21:18



21		 Mike Green
Washington Capitals | Age: 27 | Experience: 8 years
6.88
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
35
12
14
26
-3
20
24:51



22		 Francois Beauchemin
Anaheim Ducks | Age: 33 | Experience: 9 years
6.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
6
18
24
+19
22
23:27



22		 John Carlson
Washington Capitals | Age: 23 | Experience: 4 years
6.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
6
16
22
+11
18
23:01



22		 Andrei Markov
Montreal Canadiens | Age: 34 | Experience: 12 years
6.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
10
20
30
-9
14
24:08



22		 Dennis Seidenberg
Boston Bruins | Age: 32 | Experience: 10 years
6.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
46
4
13
17
+18
10
23:48



22		 Slava Voynov
Los Angeles Kings | Age: 23 | Experience: 2 years
6.83
2013 Stats
GP G A PTS +/- PIM TOI/G
48
6
19
25
+5
14
22:18


Rank Player Score

27		 Kevin Bieksa
Vancouver Canucks | Age: 32 | Experience: 8 years
6.79

27		 Jay Bouwmeester
St. Louis Blues | Age: 29 | Experience: 11 years
6.79

27		 Dustin Byfuglien
Winnipeg Jets | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years
6.79

27		 Alexander Edler
Vancouver Canucks | Age: 27 | Experience: 7 years
6.79

31		 Dan Hamhuis
Vancouver Canucks | Age: 30 | Experience: 9 years
6.75

32		 Jonas Brodin
Minnesota Wild | Age: 20 | Experience: 1 years
6.71

33		 Christian Ehrhoff
Buffalo Sabres | Age: 31 | Experience: 9 years
6.54

33		 Jack Johnson
Columbus Blue Jackets | Age: 26 | Experience: 7 years
6.54

35		 Justin Faulk
Carolina Hurricanes | Age: 21 | Experience: 2 years
6.50

36		 Tobias Enstrom
Winnipeg Jets | Age: 28 | Experience: 6 years
6.42

36		 Victor Hedman
Tampa Bay Lightning | Age: 22 | Experience: 4 years
6.42

38		 Zach Bogosian
Winnipeg Jets | Age: 23 | Experience: 5 years
6.38

38		 Michael Del Zotto
New York Rangers | Age: 23 | Experience: 4 years
6.38

40		 Paul Martin
Pittsburgh Penguins | Age: 32 | Experience: 9 years
6.33

40		 Justin Schultz
Edmonton Oilers | Age: 23 | Experience: 1 years
6.33

42		 Mark Streit
Philadelphia Flyers | Age: 35 | Experience: 8 years
6.29

43		 Alex Goligoski
Dallas Stars | Age: 28 | Experience: 6 years
6.21

44		 Lubomir Visnovsky
New York Islanders | Age: 37 | Experience: 12 years
6.17

45		 Matt Carle
Tampa Bay Lightning | Age: 28 | Experience: 8 years
6.04

45		 Fedor Tyutin
Columbus Blue Jackets | Age: 30 | Experience: 9 years
6.04

47		 Cam Fowler
Anaheim Ducks | Age: 21 | Experience: 3 years
6.00

47		 Sergei Gonchar
Dallas Stars | Age: 39 | Experience: 18 years
6.00

49		 James Wisniewski
Columbus Blue Jackets | Age: 29 | Experience: 8 years
5.96

50		 Jake Muzzin
Los Angeles Kings | Age: 24 | Experience: 2 years
5.92

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About The Rankings

How did we rank the players?
We asked "experts" from around the world who cover the NHL to rate each player on a 1-to-10 scale, with 10 being the best, based on their current quality of play.

What is #NHLrank?
#NHLrank is the Twitter hashtag to use if you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along. You can also give us your input: @ESPN_NHL and on Facebook at NHL on ESPN.