After a whirlwind tour over the past month looking at the best goalies, centers, wingers, along with the top 100 players overall. We conclude things with perhaps the most overlooked position, the defensemen. Ok, so the blueliners do not score like the centers and wingers � and don�t carry the importance and prestige of the goaltenders. But in the CDM game, defense is actually the most important position of all. The key to having a successful defense in this game is to identify those defenders who come at a tremendous value, and outperform everyone else at the position on a per dollar basis. This frees up the dollars to take those premium goalies, centers, and wingers. They may not be players who were seen on my recent top 100 list, but may prove to be as important as anyone on your roster. Last year, if you had Zdeno Chara (OTT) and Kim Jonsson (PHI) � you where far ahead of the crowd and did not need to waste valuable buys later on for those two � just to staying within shouting distance of those who had those two from opening night.
So who is this years Chara, and this year�s Jonsson � the candidates start with the following�
Jeff Jillson (SJ - 1150) � That�s right, 1000. That�s dirt cheap. And everyone loves this second year collegiate graduate. Scored 18 points in 48 games last year, 15 of them on the power play � that bodes very well. Promising defender, guaranteed power-play time � and playing for a contender. There is nothing not to like.
Eric Brewer (EDM � 1320) � Tom Poti became too expensive for the penny-pinching Oilers, and as a result was dealt to NYR at the trade deadline. That puts this third-year player on the first unit � who did score 25 points last year. I see an improvement at least to the 30-35 pt. plateau.
Martin Skoula (COL � 1740) � Has not taken off like some have projected � yet. Is coming off years of 25 and 31 points. But remember, he is still only 22 years old � or young enough to be Ray Bourque�s son. I look for 40 points and not a bad option for four game weeks to combo up with Forsberg, Hejduk, et al.
Janne Laukkenan (PIT � 1160) � Here�s how durable he�s not � he managed to get hurt playing floor hockey at a teammate�s wedding reception. Whatever. When healthy he gets the Pens power-play minutes which isn�t bad with Lemieux, Straka, Kovalev around.
Zdeno Chara (OTT � 1770) � Still not a bad value. 30 points and 156 PIM�s last year � I�ll take it again at that price.
Daniil Markov (PHX � 1540) � Good bet to land first-unit time with the �Yotes. 36 points in 72 games last year.
Calle Johansson (WSH � 1390) � Like Martin Straka, a player who missed nearly all of last year who can�t be ignored. Still listed on the Caps first line along with Sergei Gonchar � and feeding the puck to Jagr, Lang, and Bondra can�t be too bad.
Colin White (NJ � 1530) - No scoring but is good for about 150 PIM�s.
Brent Sopel (VAN � 1660) 25 points and a +21 last year, that isn�t bad.
Now for the more expensive plays�
Rob Blake (COL � 4160) � With Chris Pronger out until mid-season he is by far the best d-man from a fantasy perspective. Stick him in your lineup if the cap space allows.
Sergei Gonchar (WSH � 4170) � 59 points, and 26 goals v. Blake�s 56 points but only 16 goals. Blake gets the edge in the plus/minus department (+16 to -1) so the bottom line is the two are dead even for virtually the same price. A platoon between those two may be the way to go.
Ed Jovanovski (VAN � 3010) � Now one of the league�s top blueliners with 48 points and 101 PIM�s last year. Downisde was his -7.
Nicklas Lidstrom (DET � 3940) � Hockey News ranks Nick as the game�s best player at any position. I�m not going to argue with that. But the cold facts are Nick only had nine goals out of 59 points and came out with only a +3, so his value pales compared to Blake and Gonchar.
Chris Pronger (STL � 3510) � A nice value compared to Blake/Gonchar, and Pronger thinks he can make it back from knee/wrist surgery by Opening Night, which would be way, way ahead of schedule. December at the earliest is a more realistic scenario � but a definite consideration when he does get to 100 percent.
Brian Leetch (NYR � 3490) � Currently battling a sore groin plus I get a little queasy about recommending Ranger D-men.
Brian Rafalski (NJ � 3070) � 47 points, but only 7 goals. Nothing wrong with plus/minus� of +21, +36, and +15 but still not worth the cap space.
SPECULATIVE PICKS
Jiri Fischer (DET � 1240) � Moving up the Wings depth chart but would like to see him dent the score sheet more.
Matthieu Dandenault (DET � 1600) � Wings toy with the idea of putting Matt on offense every year, but nothing ever comes of it. He remains what he is, a solid second-line performer for Detroit.
Sami Salo (VAN � 1350) � That�s right, recently traded from Ottawa. That make�s him a second liner behind the likes of Jovo, Sopel, and Mattias Ohlund.
Kim Johnsson (PHI � 2200) � Tailed off badly the second half of last year, his power-play time is in question, and is not a must have this time around.
Bryan Berard (BOS � 1100) � Recent acquisition from NYR, has not been a scorer since resuming his career.