December 2022 NHL fantasy hockey defensemen rankings update number three. Our final rankings before the calendar flips to 2023. Happy new year to all!
Our fantasy hockey defensemen rankings project value for the next 1 to 2 seasons, and consider each player's track record, upside, age, team and injury history. Because fantasy league categories vary widely, these rankings focus on point production. Notes made in previous rankings may carry over to new rankings if they remain relevant.
| Rk | Player | Trend | Min/Max | Notes | Age |
| 1 | Cale Makar, COL | - | 50/95 | | 24.2 |
| 2 | Adam Fox, NYR | - | 45/85 | | 24.9 |
| 3 | Roman Josi, NAS | - | 45/85 | | 32.6 |
| 4 | Quinn Hughes, VAN | - | 45/85 | | 23.2 |
| 5 | Rasmus Dahlin, BUF | - | 35/85 | There's #1 overall potential here | 22.7 |
| 6 | Victor Hedman, TB | - | 45/85 | Production starting to come at last | 32.1 |
| 7 | Charlie McAvoy, BOS | - | 35/80 | | 25.0 |
| 8 | Morgan Rielly, TOR | - | 40/80 | | 28.8 |
| 9 | John Carlson, WAS | - | 45/85 | | 33.0 |
| 10 | Aaron Ekblad, FLA | - | 40/75 | | 26.9 |
| 11 | Erik Karlsson, SJ | - | 30/80 | Bump him higher if you like to gamble | 32.6 |
| 12 | Shea Theodore, VGK | - | 40/75 | | 27.4 |
| 13 | Dougie Hamilton, NJ | - | 35/75 | | 29.6 |
| 14 | Brent Burns, CAR | - | 30/70 | | 37.8 |
| 15 | Alex Pietrangelo, VGK | - | 30/65 | | 33.0 |
| 16 | Kris Letang, PIT | - | 40/75 | Back after stroke scare | 35.7 |
| 17 | Miro Heiskanen, DAL | - | 30/70 | | 23.5 |
| 18 | Thomas Chabot, OTT | - | 30/65 | | 25.9 |
| 19 | Drew Doughty, LA | - | 35/70 | | 33.1 |
| 20 | Devon Toews, COL | - | 30/65 | | 28.9 |
| 21 | Josh Morrissey, WPG | ⟰ | 25/55 | New career highs with plenty of games left to play | 27.8 |
| 22 | Noah Dobson, NYI | - | 20/65 | | 23.0 |
| 23 | Mikhail Sergachev, TB | ⟰ | 30/70 | | 24.5 |
| 24 | Tyson Barrie, EDM | ⟰ | 30/70 | Production shouldn't be surprising, but it is | 31.5 |
| 25 | Seth Jones, CHI | - | 35/65 | He'd be 10 spots higher if team wasn't so bad | 28.3 |
| 26 | Filip Hronek, DET | ⟰ | 25/55 | | 25.2 |
| 27 | Rasmus Andersson, CGY | - | 20/50 | | 26.2 |
| 28 | Justin Faulk, STL | - | 20/60 | | 30.8 |
| 29 | Shayne Gostisbehere, AZ | - | 15/55 | | 29.7 |
| 30 | Hampus Lindholm, BOS | - | 25/55 | | 29.0 |
| 31 | Brandon Montour, FLA | ⟰ | 20/50 | Delivering on increased offensive opportunities | 28.7 |
| 32 | Tony DeAngelo, PHI | - | 25/70 | | 27.2 |
| 33 | Evan Bouchard, EDM | - | 20/65 | | 23.2 |
| 34 | Darnell Nurse, EDM | - | 30/55 | | 27.9 |
| 35 | Moritz Seider, DET | ⟱ | 30/75 | Sophomore slump hits even the best sometimes | 21.7 |
| 36 | Bowen Byram, COL | - | 25/70 | | 21.6 |
| 37 | Neal Pionk, WPG | - | 25/50 | | 27.4 |
| 38 | Torey Krug, STL | ⟱ | 35/70 | Injuries piling up once again | 31.7 |
| 39 | Jakob Chychrun, AZ | - | 25/60 | On the trade block - keep an eye out | 24.8 |
| 40 | Sean Durzi, LA | ⟰ | 15/50 | | 24.2 |
| 41 | John Klingberg, ANH | - | 30/70 | Could be a lot higher if and when he's traded | 30.4 |
| 42 | Vince Dunn, SEA | - | 25/55 | | 26.2 |
| 43 | Jeff Petry, PIT | - | 25/60 | | 35.1 |
| 44 | Jared Spurgeon, MIN | - | 30/55 | | 33.1 |
| 45 | Ivan Provorov, PHI | - | 20/55 | | 26.0 |
| 46 | Gustav Forsling, FLA | - | 15/50 | | 26.6 |
| 47 | Noah Hanifin, CGY | - | 20/50 | | 25.9 |
| 48 | Calen Addison, MIN | - | 15/55 | | 22.7 |
| 49 | Erik Gustafsson, WAS | ⟰ | 15/55 | Enigmatic blueliner clicking again for Caps | 30.8 |
| 50 | Cam Fowler, ANH | - | 15/50 | | 31.1 |
