# The 47 Greatest NHL Defensemen of All Time

> Norris hoarders, stay-at-home bruisers and puck-moving pioneers share this blue line, spanning leather-skate days to the salary-cap era.

*By YPB Team · Published November 4, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-47-greatest-nhl-defensemen-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Nicklas Lidström** — score 1000/1000
   Swedish Detroit Red Wings defenseman who won seven Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cups over 20 seasons.
2. **Drew Doughty** — score 564/1000
   Los Angeles Kings defenseman who won Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014 and the 2016 Norris Trophy.
3. **Cale Makar** — score 564/1000
   Colorado Avalanche defenseman who won the Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe Trophies and the 2022 Stanley Cup within three seasons.
4. **Al MacInnis** — score 564/1000
   Known for his slap shot, he won the 1989 Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with Calgary and the 1999 Norris Trophy with St. Louis.
5. **Duncan Keith** — score 564/1000
   Chicago Blackhawks defenseman who won three Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies and the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy.
6. **Scott Niedermayer** — score 564/1000
   Won four Stanley Cups with New Jersey and Anaheim, the 2004 Norris Trophy and the 2007 Conn Smythe Trophy.
7. **Bobby Orr** — score 518/1000
   Boston Bruins defenseman who won eight straight Norris Trophies, three Hart Trophies and two Art Ross Trophies.
8. **Chris Chelios** — score 518/1000
   American defenseman who played 26 NHL seasons, won three Norris Trophies and lifted the Stanley Cup with Montreal and Detroit.
9. **Pierre Pilote** — score 518/1000
   Chicago Black Hawks defenseman who won three straight Norris Trophies from 1963 to 1965 and the 1961 Stanley Cup.
10. **Bill Gadsby** — score 518/1000
   Played 20 seasons for Chicago, the Rangers and Detroit and was named a first-team All-Star three times without winning a Stanley Cup.
11. **Allan Stanley** — score 518/1000
   Defensive anchor of the Toronto Maple Leafs teams that won four Stanley Cups between 1962 and 1967.
12. **Rob Blake** — score 465/1000
   Won the 1998 Norris Trophy with Los Angeles and the 2001 Stanley Cup with Colorado.
13. **Brent Burns** — score 465/1000
   San Jose Sharks defenseman who won the 2017 Norris Trophy after a 29-goal, 76-point season.
14. **Scott Stevens** — score 465/1000
   Hard-hitting New Jersey Devils captain who won three Stanley Cups and the 2000 Conn Smythe Trophy.
15. **King Clancy** — score 465/1000
   Small, fiery defenseman who won Stanley Cups with the Ottawa Senators and the 1932 Toronto Maple Leafs.
16. **Earl Seibert** — score 465/1000
   Rangers and Black Hawks defenseman who was named a first- or second-team All-Star ten straight seasons from 1935 to 1944.
17. **Zdeno Chara** — score 465/1000
   The 6-foot-9 Bruins captain who won the 2009 Norris Trophy and the 2011 Stanley Cup and played 1,680 regular-season games.
18. **Chris Pronger** — score 403/1000
   Won both the Hart and Norris Trophies in 2000 with St. Louis and the 2007 Stanley Cup with Anaheim.
19. **Serge Savard** — score 403/1000
   Montreal Canadiens defenseman who won eight Stanley Cups and was the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, in 1969.
20. **Jack Stewart** — score 403/1000
   Physical Detroit Red Wings defenseman who won Stanley Cups in 1943 and 1950 and was a first-team All-Star three times.
21. **Doug Harvey** — score 403/1000
   Montreal Canadiens defenseman who won seven Norris Trophies and six Stanley Cups in the 1950s and early 1960s.
22. **Phil Housley** — score 330/1000
   American offensive defenseman who scored 1,232 NHL points over 21 seasons, beginning with eight in Buffalo.
23. **Erik Karlsson** — score 330/1000
   Swedish offensive defenseman who won Norris Trophies in 2012, 2015 and 2023 and scored 101 points in 2022-23.
24. **Jacques Laperrière** — score 330/1000
   Montreal Canadiens defenseman who won the 1966 Norris Trophy and six Stanley Cups.
25. **Roman Josi** — score 330/1000
   Swiss Nashville Predators captain who won the 2020 Norris Trophy and scored 96 points in 2021-22.
26. **J. C. Tremblay** — score 330/1000
   Montreal Canadiens defenseman who won five Stanley Cups in the 1960s before starring for the WHA's Quebec Nordiques.
27. **Sergei Zubov** — score 330/1000
   Russian puck-mover who won the Stanley Cup with the 1994 Rangers and the 1999 Dallas Stars and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
28. **Babe Pratt** — score 330/1000
   Won the Hart Trophy in 1944 with Toronto and Stanley Cups with the 1940 Rangers and the 1945 Maple Leafs.
29. **Marcel Pronovost** — score 330/1000
   Detroit and Toronto defenseman who won five Stanley Cups, four with the Red Wings and one with the Maple Leafs.
30. **Ray Bourque** — score 330/1000
   Spent 21 seasons with Boston before winning the 2001 Stanley Cup with Colorado; holds the NHL career record for goals, assists and points by a defenseman.
31. **Eddie Shore** — score 330/1000
   Boston Bruins defenseman of the 1920s and 1930s who won four Hart Trophies, the most by any defenseman.
32. **Doug Wilson** — score 330/1000
   Chicago Black Hawks defenseman who won the 1982 Norris Trophy after a 39-goal season.
33. **Butch Bouchard** — score 330/1000
   Montreal Canadiens captain and defenseman who won four Stanley Cups between 1944 and 1956.
34. **Victor Hedman** — score 242/1000
   Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman who won the 2018 Norris Trophy, the 2020 Conn Smythe Trophy and back-to-back Stanley Cups.
35. **Brad Park** — score 242/1000
   Rangers and Bruins defenseman who was a first-team All-Star five times and a Norris Trophy runner-up six times.
36. **Börje Salming** — score 242/1000
   Swedish Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman of 16 seasons who was among the first Europeans to star in the NHL and entered the Hall of Fame in 1996.
37. **Mark Howe** — score 242/1000
   Philadelphia Flyers defenseman who was a Norris Trophy runner-up three times and entered the Hall of Fame in 2011.
38. **Paul Coffey** — score 242/1000
   Won three Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cups and set the defenseman record of 48 goals in a season with Edmonton in 1985-86.
39. **Larry Murphy** — score 242/1000
   Won four Stanley Cups, two with Pittsburgh and two with Detroit, and played 1,615 NHL games.
40. **Denis Potvin** — score 0/1000
   New York Islanders captain who won three Norris Trophies and four straight Stanley Cups from 1980 to 1983.
41. **Red Kelly** — score 0/1000
   Won the first Norris Trophy in 1954 as a Detroit defenseman and eight Stanley Cups across his Red Wings and Maple Leafs career.
42. **Rod Langway** — score 0/1000
   Washington Capitals captain who won back-to-back Norris Trophies in 1983 and 1984 as a stay-at-home defenseman.
43. **Larry Robinson** — score 0/1000
   Montreal Canadiens defenseman who won six Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies and the 1978 Conn Smythe Trophy.
44. **Brian Leetch** — score 0/1000
   New York Rangers defenseman who won two Norris Trophies and became the first American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, in 1994.
45. **Tim Horton** — score 0/1000
   Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman who won four Stanley Cups in the 1960s and played 1,446 NHL games.
46. **Shea Weber** — score 0/1000
   Nashville and Montreal captain, a three-time Norris Trophy finalist who won Olympic gold with Canada in 2010 and 2014.
47. **Harry Howell** — score 0/1000
   Played a Rangers-record 1,160 games and won the 1967 Norris Trophy.

Tags: sports, hockey, players, nhl, all time, defensemen