Welcome fantasy managers to another edition of the Eastern Edge. This week is Part Two of a three-part series where we'll take a look at the Eastern Conference's top-10 defensemen – Olympic Edition. So, without further delay, here are the East's top-10 defensemen currently participating in this year's Olympic Winter Games along with their respective outlooks for the remainder of the current campaign.

Part One, covering the top-10 forwards, can be read here.

Let's get to it!

Zach Werenski – U.S.A.

It has been another banner year for the American defender as the Olympian is at or near the top in several statistical categories. For starters, Werenski ranks first (or tied) in points per game (1.19), individual point percentage (66.0) as well as shots on goal by a defenseman (182 – tied w / Jakob Chychrun). Meanwhile, the first-time Olympian is currently ranked second in goals scored by a defenseman (20), along with logging the second-most ice time per game (26:22).

Werenski is an integral part to what the Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to build and an even bigger part of the team power play where Werenski enjoys 75.7% of the team’s minutes with the man advantage. I see absolutely no reason for any of this to change upon his return from the Olympics and quite frankly we could see a small uptick in his overall usage as long as the Blue Jackets remain relevant to the Eastern Conference playoff race.   

Rasmus Dahlin – Sweden

In what has been a trying season on a personal level for the Swedish defender, he has let his sublime skill to do much of his talking to this point in the 2025-2026 campaign. Dahlin has been an absolute beast along the Buffalo Sabres blue line with 12PTS in his last 7GP before the Olympic break while playing a team high of 24:33 a night. The 6'3" 204lbs defender is also tied with forward Tage Thompson for the team lead in power play points (17) further outlining his importance to Buffalo's overall success.

The Sabres remain fully entrenched in a battle for playoff positioning within the Eastern Conference, leading me to believe that Buffalo will continue to lean heavily on their franchise defenseman from now until season's end, benefitting fantasy managers far and wide regardless of league format.   

Charlie McAvoy – U.S.A.

The Boston Bruins' pillar on defense is reminding us all of his immense raw skill again this year with a phenomenal campaign to this point. McAvoy is pacing the Bruins blue line to the tune of a career-best 0.81PPG (previous career high – 0.78) while logging a team-high 24:10 a night for the Bruins sixth-ranked offence (3.39 GF/GP). The American Olympian headed into the break on a nice little heater with 13PTS in his last 10GP, and three of those games were multi-point performances. McAvoy's status on the American's first defense pairing as well as his spot on the team's PK1 should only cement his importance to the Bruins playoff push.

McAvoy's outlook for the remainder of the season is rather promising seeing as there is no one to threaten his status on PP1 while remaining an integral part at both five-on-five as well as on PK1.   

Jake Sanderson – U.S.A.

McAvoy's fellow Olympian Jake Sanderson is also having himself a rather productive campaign for the Ottawa Senators racking up 46PTS in 57GP, or 0.81PPG. The 23-year-old continues to solidify his place amongst the game's elite ranking ninth in points among defenseman (46) and seventh in overall ice time league-wide (25:01) while providing solid value in multi-cat leagues on the strength of 120 shots on goal / 27 hits / 111 blocked shots.

Sanderson's deployment at both five-on-five as well as on the Senators' eighth-ranked power play (23.1%) will allow the young blue-liner to continue his elite level production as Ottawa will lean heavily on their number one defenseman as they make a big push towards securing a spot in the NHL's postseason.      

Erik Karlsson – Sweden

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a pleasant surprise over the course of the 2025-2026 NHL campaign as the team seems ready to take one last run at Lord Stanley's Cup. A big part of their success is its mobile blue line led by Erik Karlsson who continues to produce at a fairly decent rate with 14 of his 35 points coming from Penguins' fourth-ranked power play.

I would expect a little regression upon his return from the Olympic games with how physically demanding the games have been in Milano-Cortina from a defenseman's point of view, and that is baked into an already condensed NHL campaign. Combine that with the fact that Kris Letang will have had the better part of three weeks rest at home and one could see a scenario where both defensemen split PP1 duties for the remainder of the season in order to alleviate some of the wear and tear on Karlsson. 

Moritz Seider – Germany

Moritz Seider is really beginning to blossom into one of the league’s premier defenders. All Seider has done is log the fourth-most minutes league-wide (25:40) while becoming a multi-cat beast boasting totals of 121 shots / 89 hits / 130 blocks for a Detroit Red Wings team that has served notice in the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Division.  

Seider is enjoying his most productive season since his rookie year and is pacing to set a career high in points with 54. Every major statistical category (G, A, PTS, PPP, SOG, HITS, BLOCKS) is trending up for the 24-year-old German and with a Red Wings team that continues to improve, the future looks rather bright for Detroit's defensive pillar as he continues to grow and develop into one of hockey's elite.

Victor Hedman – Sweden

It has been a very difficult season for the big Swede as the future Hall of Famer has had to deal with an elbow injury as far back as mid-November. That being said, Hedman has been fairly productive when in the lineup with 13PTS in his 21GP this year (82GP pace of 51PTS).

However, there will be some regression upon his return to the Lightning due in large part to Darren Raddysh's season for the ages as the late bloomer has been a revelation in Hedman's absence putting up an astounding 52PTS in 49GP (1.06PPG). Simply put, Raddysh offers a much different look to Tampa Bay's power play with that big shot from the point which has helped the Lightning to an incredible 19-1-1 record over the teams last 21 games played.

The Lightning captain will continue to be a major part of the team’s success, but it may not show up on the scoresheet with as much regularity as in year's past. It may be time to severely lower expectations from a production standpoint.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Sweden

It’s been a little bit of a renaissance for Oliver Ekman-Larsson this year as the two-time Olympian is enjoying his best point-per-game season since 2015-2016. The wily veteran has usurped Morgan Reilly as Toronto's top offensive option from the blue line in quarterbacking the club’s first unit on the power play.

Ekman-Larsson's 34PTS in 57GP may not jump off the page, however, the 6'2" 190lbs blue liner does offer some fantasy value in the form of an injury replacement / potential streamer with some decent peripherals including 81 shots on goal / 69 hits / 48 blocked shots. All that being said, with the likelihood of the Maple Leafs being sellers at the deadline, I would expect some regression simply due to the potential loss of NHL talent from the current roster before season's end.

Jaccob Slavin – U.S.A.

Jaccob Slavin is never going to wow us with astronomical offensive numbers à la Cale Makar, however, what you are going to get is a sound and efficient defensive defenseman who can neutralize and shut down some of the game’s elite. Slavin has been a plus player every year of his 11-year career with a combined total of +177 demonstrating that the ice is tilted in the Hurricanes favor the moment he hops over the boards.

In a pure points league format, it goes without saying that Slavin’s value is quite low, but if your league counts blocks he may be useful as a potential streamer in that particular category throughout the remainder of the season.

Simon Nemec – Slovakia

New Jersey Devils youngster Simon Nemec has taken a solid step forward as the two-time Olympian continues to develop his game during what is his third season (20PTS in 43GP). The Slovakian is currently playing first pair minutes for the Men's National Team while also quarterbacking the first power play unit. In addition to that, Nemec is also part of the team’s second penalty kill unit illustrating his importance in all facets of the game for the Slovaks.

Nemec's outlook for the remainder of the current NHL is muted in part due to the team's willingness to showcase veteran Dougie Hamilton in hopes of a potential trade out of New Jersey as well as the impending return of Luke Hughes from a shoulder injury, and that all but eliminates any chance for substantial time on the team’s first power play unit. He's a hold in deeper leagues / dynasty format but aside from that Nemec is a decent streaming option until further notice.

That's it for this week folks. Keep an eye out for Part Three of our three-part series where we will discuss the top five goaltenders from the Eastern and Western Conferences participating in this year's Olympic Winter Games.

(All stats courtesy of: Dobber's Frozen Tools)  

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See you all again next Tuesday!