Hey everybody, it's Sunday, and you know what that means! Time for another installment of Geek of the Week. Last week we officially kicked off the 2022-23 season with a look at goaltenders who found new homes in the offseason. This week we continue that trend and move out from the crease, and shift our focus onto the blueline. It's very easy to overlook your fantasy teams' defensive corps. There are as many flashy names on defense as you get up front at forward, but at the same time, not having good defensive depth can really set you back. There's only a handful of elite scoring d-men, but there's a ton of guys who earn their keep with blocks and hits. Let's take a look at some defenders who donned new jerseys this summer.

John Klingberg

After eight consistent and successful seasons as a member of the Dallas Stars, 30-year-old Swedish defenseman Klingberg opted to test free agency this offseason. He landed a one year, seven-million-dollar deal with the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks addressed a few things with this signing. First and foremost, they needed another top-four defenseman. Klingberg more than fits that bill, and should easily be getting top-pairing minutes this season. Aside from that though, the Ducks needed a bit of veteran presence on the team. Along with fellow signee Ryan Strome, the two should add some well needed experience to help guide this extremely young roster.

In my opening statement I mentioned the different ways defensemen could be of use to your fantasy team, but if you are taking Klingberg, you are doing it purely for his offense. Currently on Yahoo his ADP is sitting at around 121, which is around the 10th or 11th round. I think that's pretty good spot on for where you should target him. He's been a solid 50-point defenseman for most of his career. While that could be obtainable this season, you have to account for Anaheim being a bit weaker of a team than what Dallas has been over the past decade. I think a safe floor for him is 40-45 points, assuming he stays healthy (and that may be a bold assumption given his injury history). 

He will get no shortage in opportunities and deployment both in even-strength and power-play time. He's averaged two shots per game throughout his career, which is good enough for a defenseman, and on top of that he should be good for about one blocked shot per game or so. He won't get you much in terms of hits, but that isn't what you are drafting him for. I think targeting Klingberg as a solid number two defensemen on your team is your best bet, and I wouldn't recommend reaching too early for him. 

Mackenzie Weegar

It was the blockbuster deal of the summer that made the hockey world go crazy! Who could forget "THE MACKENZIE WEEGAR DEAL"!? All jokes aside, what an incredible deal that was, and good for Brad Treliving to pull an absolute 180 on the way Calgary's offseason was going. Things were looking utterly miserable after Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk both made it clear they wanted out. Then out of nowhere, the news came down from the heavens that the Flames had sent Tkachuk to the Panthers for Jonathan Huberdeau of all people! But that wasn't all, the deal also included the aforementioned Weegar, a prospect, AND a first-round pick. Since then, the Flames have already locked up Huberdeau long-term, but for now it seems like Weegar will remain a one-year rental piece for Calgary. 

The addition of Weegar is undoubtedly a substantial one. The 28-year-old has quietly developed into an incredible two-way defenseman who excels across the board on both ends of the ice. The one giant question mark in this scenario is what kind of deployment will he see this season. To say there's a logjam on the blueline in Calgary would be an understatement, but you can never have too much defensive depth on your hockey club. While it's a good problem for head coach Darryl Sutter to have, it's an absolute nightmare for fantasy hockey owners. 

Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson both seem to have cemented their spots as the top pair defensemen. Aside from them you still need to consider Oliver Kylington, Nikita Zadorov, Juuso Valimaki and Chris Tanev.  It's a hell of a defensive corps, but trying to measure where Weegar fits into all of that is a bit of a nightmare. My best guess is that he plays on the middle pair, but he will probably be relegated to the second power-play unit, which will hurt his offensive production. Luckily though, he is a multi-category monster and he still can hold a ton of value. 

Where it gets tricky is deciding how early you are willing to take him. On Yahoo his ADP is 81 which puts him around the seventh round. That's the 13^th-highest ADP for all defenseman, which makes him a low-tier number one d-man or a high-tier number two d-man. I know personally, if I'm drafting my top defenseman, I need him to have top-line deployment across the board, so for me, I'd probably pass on Weegar at his current ADP. However, with that being said, if he were to drop a round or two, I'd love him as my second defenseman. 

As I said before, he can help you in a lot of different places. He will rack up hits and blocks no matter what line he plays on. More recently over the last couple of seasons his offensive game has come on much stronger. Last year saw him average 2.5 shots per game, which was a career high, but keep in mind he was also playing over 23 minutes per game. I recommend keeping an eye on his ADP going into your draft and I'd caution you not to reach too hard for him, though he does bring a lot to the table.

Brent Burns

After spending over a decade with the San Jose Sharks, Burns was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes in July. The Sharks made numerous deep playoff runs with Burns, but could never seal the deal and hoist the Cup. Despite that, the veteran defender had collected a number of accolades with the Sharks including multiple All-Star Game appearances, and even winning the Norris Trophy in 2017-18. But now, the 37-year-old will be donning the black and red this season (no, not the nWo Wolfpack), and it should be intriguing to see how he performs.

If you boil it down, Burns should slide right into Tony DeAngelo's spot from last season. I think Burns will be on the top pair as well as the top power-play unit. If he can find chemistry with the incredible talent already on this team, Burns could be in for a massive rebound season. Literally the only thing that has me the least bit concerned is his age. When it comes to age and hockey, I am pretty wary of anyone on the wrong side of 30. More and more this game is becoming a young man's game. Yahoo has him being drafted around pick 99, which is late eighth round or early ninth. That has him going at roughly the 21st defenseman. Dobber, on the other hand, has him ranked as the 30th best defenseman in his Top 120 Defensemen Rankings. 

 Burns is a shot machine, averaging three shots on goal per game throughout his career. While he doesn't hit a ton, he is absolutely fearless when it comes to blocking shots, so if your league tracks those, give him an extra little boost. I think Burns is your prototypical high-risk, high-reward player for this season. His ceiling could be a 60–65-point season if everything pans out. But I think his floor could also be pretty low if things don't work out well in Carolina. If you believe he can make an impact as a top-level defenseman at 37 years of age, take a risk on him. I think getting him in the ninth round is absolutely fine, and I think I'd even reach a bit higher depending on the circumstances.

Well folks, that'll be a wrap for this week. We will finish previewing players on new teams next week when we check out some forwards who found new homes this summer. Be sure to check that out next Sunday. Until then good luck drafting!