Defencemen rankings

Hockey Hearsay will resume next week.

For ’11-12 SINGLE SEASON fantasy pools which equally weigh goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power play points and shots on goal.

Most fantasy leagues tend to average a need for four or five defencemen per team.

In head-to-head formats it’s often more advantageous to leave your last few D spots empty and use extra bench space for rotating free agent forwards, since they’ll tend to come with higher odds of delivering points on any given night. A hot winger playing a weak team is usually a target-rich environment compared with a 30-35-point rearguard who chips in fairly randomly.

In roto leagues you’ll have game maxes by position that should obviously be met (or exceeded... hello, slingshot!) in order to maximize your chances for pointage. You can certainly win with or without big-name D. Don’t underestimate the value of a high-scoring back end and how it can set the table for the rest of your offence.

Nos. 1-10

1. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings: No. 1 in perhaps his finale. Legen...wait for it...dary.

2. Lubomir Visnovsky, Anaheim Ducks: 81 points in 95 GP with ANH. Ridiculous.

3. Dan Boyle, San Jose Sharks: All-around contributor is ‘safe pick’ defined.

4. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins: Poised for another points/ PIM/ SOG bonanza.

5. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins: Can anchor any fantasy roster; chips in everywhere.

6. Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets: Weight issues totally overblown. Overall stats A+.

7. Mike Green, Washington Capitals: Likely available later than this; his worth could slot here.

8. Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes: 100 points in past two years; took next step last season.

9. P.K. Subban, Montreal Canadiens: Multi-category beast in the making here. PIM spikes value.

10. Shea Weber, Nashville Predators: 6-4 stud cashing in on his one-year, $7.5M award.

Nos. 11-20

11. Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers: Coming off miserable injury year. Still the man on D.

12. Christian Ehrhoff, Buffalo Sabres: Begins to earn 10-year, $40M contract after leaving VAN.

13. Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks: Potential is there for great things in standard leagues.

14. Mark Streit, New York Islanders: Missed all of last season; possible draft day steal.

15. Tobias Enstrom, Winnipeg Jets: 5-10, 180-pound Swedish points delight.

16. James Wisniewski, Columbus Blue Jackets: Six years. $33M. Nash. Carter. Cha-ching.

17. Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks: Restful summer should pay off.

18. Alexander Edler, Vancouver Canucks: His fifth full season could see career bests sans Ehrhoff.

19. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues: So that’s why they took him 4th overall. Franchise blueliner.

20. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings: Contract situation not a worry - yet.

Nos. 21-30

21. Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators: 17th in D points last year and ready for more in ’11-12.

22. Dion Phaneuf, Toronto Maple Leafs: Strong peripherals hold key to his fantasy value.

23. Tomas Kaberle, Carolina Hurricanes: All things told, he should be a great bargain this year.

24. Alex Goligoski, Dallas Stars: Loss of Richards hurts, but he proved worth in No. 1 role post-trade.

25. Ryan Whitney, Edmonton Oilers: 38 points in 54 GP with Oil. Keys transition game for young stars.

26. Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche: Time for him to step up to star plateau befitting first pick in 2006.

27. Joe Corvo, Boston Bruins: +/- should drastically improve with Bruins; quality PP time coming.

28. Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens: Already with injury worries? Move up 10+ spots when healthy.

29. Dennis Wideman, Washington Capitals: Fully recovered from leg hematoma. Later-round deal.

30. Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks: First-year D was beyond impressive. Incredible potential.

Nos. 31-40

31. Sergei Gonchar, Ottawa Senators: One awful season can’t erase storied stats career.

32. John-Michael Liles, Toronto Maple Leafs: Quietly a decent options for points.

33. Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks: Decrease from last year’s 48 points seems in the cards.

34. Brian Campbell, Florida Panthers: New team covets his PP1 skills, a role he lost in CHI.

35. Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames: Solid depth option with PIM boost.

36. Jack Johnson, Los Angeles Kings: Entering fifth full campaign with team still on the rise.

37. Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers: Prone to ice-cold stretches, end results generally there.

38. Joni Pitkanen, Carolina Hurricanes: Passable depth D for standard leagues especially.

39. Ryan Suter, Nashville Predators: Not many SOG, but some PIM and 40 points attainable.

40. John Carlson, Washington Capitals: Building-block material for Caps; nowhere near potential yet.

Nos. 41-50

41. Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues: Opened many eyes in rookie campaign. Must deliver again.

42. Anton Babchuk, Calgary Flames: Jay Feaster says he thinks Babchuk is capable of 50 points.

43. Tyler Myers, Buffalo Sabres: Ehrhoff & Gragnani could hamper Myers’ production a bit.

44. Kevin Bieksa, Vancouver Canucks: More points, helpful +/- and those PIM are nice.

45. Matt Carle, Philadelphia Flyers: Better than many depth choices with solid +/-.

46. Sheldon Souray, Dallas Stars: Fantasy equivalent to buying a lottery ticket. Why not?

47. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning: Modest points increase coming; PIM offer nice boost.

48. Ian White, Detroit Red Wings: Has been fantasy filler in past; Opening camp with Lidstrom.

49. Marc-Andre Gragnani, Buffalo Sabres: Showed a lot late-season, playoffs. PP1 with Ehrhoff?

50. Travis Hamonic, New York Islanders: Slides into final slot with big PIM bonus and some points.

A few guys that didn’t make the cut here but are worth considering to fill various holes: Marc Staal was slated to be in the low 40s today, but the lingering headache issue from his concussion has bumped him out.

Grant Clitsome could be a forgotten man among poolies with Wisniewski in Columbus, but the youngster proved something last season and could still be quite helpful in fantasy. Marc-Andre Bergeron is a power play specialist with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but sticking in the line-up has been an issue. Need some PIM? Hard not to like Matt Carkner with the Ottawa Senators. Could this be Zach Bogosian’s year to finally break out? Andrew MacDonald is a severely underrated blueliner who fared quite well last year for the New York Islanders with Mark Streit out of action.

Finally, he was mentioned in the sleeper section and Anton Stralman could evolve into a valuable depth asset in pools if he can make the Devils on this camp tryout. He's the perfect solution to their PP1 needs. Matt Taormina is a guy I had been hoping would sneak into that slot based on the little bit we saw of him last year, but Stralman's experience would seemingly easily supplant Taormina. And for what it's worth, rookie stud Adam Larsson impressed the vets with his PP work on Tuesday.

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.