It’s a common conception that defense wins championships. Some of the best NHL teams to have won hockey’s holy grail in recent memory have big, strong, and mobile defensive cores that can play both sides of the ice effectively. From Erik Johnson to Cale Makar, having a strong back end will go a long way to helping a team win in the playoffs. It's a pretty common argument that the left side of the defense in today's NHL is a lot more stacked than the right side. Today we predict the top 5 rated NHL defensemen who play on that left side, and we have some tough choices to make.
5th - Rasmus Dahlin - 89 Overall
Rasmus Dahlin decided the 2022-2023 season was going to be his breakout season, and with good measure. The Swedish sensation put up 73 points in 78 games on a young and growing Buffalo Sabres roster. The 22 year old has been long expected to take his next leap forward as one of the top defensemen in the league, and this past season he took a giant leap into filling those promises when he was selected first overall in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. While he may only be in the 5 spot for this year, if he continues to play at such a high level we'll see him crack the top 3 in no time.
4th - Miro Heiskanen - 89 Overall
Miro Heiskenen is no stranger to being in the top 5 for left handed defenseman rankings as last year he was ranked 5th amongst left handed defensemen. He followed that up with an impressive campaign in which he put up 73 points in 79 games played, along with 12 points in 19 games in the playoffs. The 6' 1" Finnish anchor for the Dallas Stars finished 7th in defensive scoring, and 4th amongst left handed defensemen. Due to his playoff success with Dallas, we have him in the 4 slot slightly ahead of Dahlin.
3rd - Quinn Hughes - 90 Overall
Vancouver Canucks fans, you have yourself one of the better Hughes brothers on your roster. Quinn Hughes finds himself cracking the top 3 after an impressive 2023 campaign in which he put up 76 points in only 78 games. He finished 3rd in defensive scoring, and only trailed Norris winning defensemen Erik Karlsson in assists. All of this while being on a mediocre Vancouver Canucks team that missed the playoffs. As a result, Hughes finds himself falling only behind a few players that have a longer pedigree
2nd - Victor Hedman - 91 Overall
The 2nd best left handed defensemen in NHL 23 finds himself again in the 2nd spot for 24, at a slightly lower overall than before. The 6' 6" Swedish giant only put up 49 points in 76 games this past season, which is quite a disappointment according to his standards. The reason he's still so high up however is as a result of his pedigree the last few years both in the playoffs and regular season. Typically finding himself eating top line minutes and shutting down the opponents best lines, he saves his best for the playoffs where he has a career total of 110 points in 160 games.
1st - Roman Josi - 92 Overall
The top rated left handed defensemen for NHL 23 finds himself on top of the results again in NHL 24. Roman Josi had a subpar season compared to his elite standards, only scoring 59 points. However, he managed that point total in only 67 games, and he did finish 3rd in goals among defensemen. His past season he had 96 points in 80 games, which combines to 155 points in 147 games, or 1.05 points per game. If he's able to play a full 82 games in the 2023-2024 NHL season, expect another fantastic performance from the Swiss superstar.