A fantasy hockey countdown and look at the top-10 blue liners from the Eastern Conference …

After covering the top five fantasy goalies of the Eastern Conference for the 2015-16 season last week, today we shift our focus to the top 10 defensemen in the East for the upcoming year. Due to this being a list for one-year leagues, age will not be a factor outside of predicting breakout young performers and declines among aging veterans. Offensive production will be the main focus although other scoring categories will be taken into consideration, mostly for tiebreakers. Of course, other factors will be taken into account such as projected power-play opportunities, overall ice time and the quality of teammates.

Just missing the cut

Andrei Markov continued to beat the odds last year by reaching the 50-point mark for the first time since 2009. Amazingly, he continues to avoid injury, which had been a major problem in the past, while logging a ton of ice time in all situations. While Markov should still be a good option in one-year leagues, maintaining a 50-point pace will be difficult. Plus, having Jeff Petry in the fold for a full year should cut a bit into Markov’s overall ice time.

10) Mike Green – Detroit

Green has been an excellent fantasy defenseman over the years and was a great fit with the Washington Capitals. In his final year with the Caps, Green benefited from a more sheltered role than he had in past years. His 19 minutes in average ice time was the lowest since his first full NHL season back in 2007. Obviously, Detroit did not sign Green for $6 million per year to play a limited role. Will Green respond well to added responsibility?

The other issue with Green is injuries which is the true reason why he is not ranked higher. Since the end of the last lockout, he has missed a total of 35 games. This severely hurts his fantasy value, as it could prevent him from reaching his potential.

As long as Green is healthy, he will be given every opportunity to succeed and will be the focal point of their power play. While the Red Wings lack a top goal-scorer at the level of Alexander Ovechkin, their team finished only slightly behind Washington in goals scored and power-play efficiency, and the Red Wings actually scored more power-play goals than Washington. So despite the negatives, Green should still be coveted on draft day this fall.

9) Aaron Ekblad – Florida

Ekblad achieved a rare level of success for an 18-year-old rookie when he posted 39 points last year. He is already established as the team’s best offensive option on the blueline, and the Panthers have a group of immensely talented young forwards looking to take the next step. The added support will help Eklbad avoid the dreaded sophomore slump that has plagued others in the past.

In addition to his offensive abilities, Ekblad also possesses great multi-category potential especially in the physical department. While his plus-12 rating, 109 hits and 170 shots on goal are nice all-around contributions, he is capable of much more. Along with a modest improvement in offensive numbers, Ekblad has a great chance to become more of a dominant all-around contributor in Year 2.

8) Justin Faulk – Carolina

Faulk had a remarkable breakout season last year with 49 points, despite playing for the lowly Hurricanes. While the lack of quality teammates hurts Faulk’s ability to further improve in the short-term, the fact he plays top-level minutes in all situations and fires a ton of pucks at the net (238 shots last year – fourth among defensemen) are signs he will be able to maintain a solid level of production.

In terms of multi-category returns, Faulk is also outstanding. In addition to his shooting, he also holds his own in hits and blocks, although, being a member of the Hurricanes will likely make it impossible to have a good plus/minus rating. Until the team improves the projected minuses will continue to knock him down a peg on the multi-category scale. For now, do not expect more than you’ve already seen from Faulk.

7) Mark Streit – Philadelphia

Streit does not get the credit he deserves for posting 44 or more points in six consecutive full seasons while playing for three different teams. This level of consistency is coveted in fantasy hockey. Last year, he hit the 50-point mark for the third time with his whopping 30 power-play points being the main culprit. That level of production with the man advantage is difficult to sustain, which means Streit will likely fall back short of 50 points next year. He will be turning 38 in December, which makes him a bit less appealing in keeper formats, but for now, he should be considered money in the bank for 45 points, especially with a pair of stars up front in Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek.

6) Kris Letang – Pittsburgh

Like Green, Letang is an oft-injured defenseman capable of putting up impressive point totals even in limited action. While he has been able to push the point-per-game mark at times in recent years, he suffered from severe injuries that put him on the shelf for long periods of time. There is some risk he misses too much action to be effective for your team, but Letang should still reach 45 points, even if he manages to play just 60-70 games.

Additionally, the Penguins received a shot in the arm this summer from an offensive standpoint with the addition of Phil Kessel. Needless to say, the Penguins will be scoring a lot of goals, and Letang is the undisputed leader from the blueline for offensive situations and power-play minutes. The injury concerns makes it impossible to rank Letang any higher, but the totals he is able to achieve, despite spending time on the shelf make him a must-own commodity.

5) Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay

Injuries hampered Hedman last year, as he was on his way to posting his second consecutive 50-point season. He has also missed time in previous seaqsons but generally appears in at least 90 percent of the games. He has the potential to get more than 60 points one day. Unfortunately, he has never averaged more than 2:30 minutes on the power play in any year. The lack of elite-level ulitization on the power play should leave him in the 50-55-point range for now.

Also, do not underrate the impact of the supporting cast on Hedman. The Lightning led the NHL in goals last year and possess many forwards that still have untapped potential. This helps make Hedman more of a sure thing provided he avoids missing significant time.

4) John Carlson – Washington

Like Faulk, Carlson is coming off a breakout year. Amazingly, he did it while averaging just 1:45 minutes on the power play. While the 55-point campaign will be difficult to repeat, especially considering few defensemen can maintain that level of play, Carlson will benefit from the departure of Mike Green. By default, Carlson will see much more time on the power play this season, which will help him keep his point total up.

Beyond his point-producing ability, Carlson is also a great shot-blocker. Over the last two years, he has blocked a total of 377 shots and ranked third in the league with 200 last year. An increase in offensive responsibility could lead to fewer blocks, but he will still be an excellent contributor in that category. In leagues that count blocked shots, you want to have several top blockers on your blueline as defensemen are the heavy-lifters in that department. Carlson gives you what you need in addition to excellent offensive abilities.

3) Keith Yandle – New York Rangers

Yandle has been extremely reliable over the years which should be considered a big asset when drafting your team. Not only has he posted 40 or more points in five straight full seasons, including a combined 105 points over the last two years, he has also played in every game each year since the 2009-10 campaign. Essentially, he combines high-end production without the injury risk that comes with some of the defensemen lower on this list.

Even though his minutes were reduced following the trade to New York, Yandle will still receive prime power-play opportunities, as the Rangers are in need of a natural uarterback for their power play. Besides, it is highly unlikely that he will continue to log just 19:55 per game over a full year. It will probably not be as high as the 24 minutes he received in Arizona but will fall somewhere in the middle.

2) P.K. Subban – Montreal

Subban’s point totals keep rising as he reached 60 points for the first time last year. The fact that he did so with an offensively-challenged Canadiens club with a dysfunctional power play is even more impressive. Strangely, his shot total dropped to 170, which was a career low, if you ignore the lockout-shortened season. The lack of other productive offensive players on the team made Subban’s shooting lanes more of a focus to shut down.

The Canadiens added Alexander Semin this summer with the hope of adding offense. Whether or not he fits and produces remains to be seen, but an effective Semin should help Subban, especially in power-play situations. Without improvements in offensive output, and without more shots on goal, Subban will be in tough to repeat his 60-point performance. With that said, he still deserves his spot on this list and has historically been outstanding in multi-category leagues.

1) Erik Karlsson – Ottawa

Not much needs to be said here. Karlsson’s 66 points led all defensemen last year, but it was actually about 10 points short of what we were used to seeing from him. Additionally, he has eclipsed 20 goals in each of the last two years and his 549 shots over the last two seasons help make this output sustainable. On top of that, Karlsson is underrated as a multi-category guy given his ability to finish close to 100 hits and blocks while being elite in offensive categories. Barring a freak injury, Karlsson should once again cruise to a first place finish in the point-scoring race among NHL blueliners.

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