In the 2025-26 NHL season, the top defense pairs that have shone the brightest and the ones that have struggled the most are revealed. With every team striving for Stanley Cup contention, the performance of top players becomes crucial. While elite top lines and first pairs can often mask weaknesses, it's time to dive into the numbers and uncover the best and worst defense pairs. The criteria for defining a 'top pair' involves analyzing the defenseman who has consistently played on the first pair, and the methodology focuses on tracking performance through goal differential and play-driving numbers.
Colorado Avalanche: Cale Makar and Devon Toews' partnership drives elite results, transitioning play, generating offense, and shutting down defensively. Their numbers are impressive, but injuries have forced them to adapt, and the recent success of the Toews-Malinski pair offers an interesting alternative.
Montreal Canadiens: Lane Hutson, a Calder Trophy winner, solidifies himself as a superstar in Year 2. His quickness and agility make him an excellent defender, and his defensive game is an underrated storyline. However, the rotating partners and tough matchups impact his performance.
Tampa Bay Lightning: J.J. Moser, an underrated defenseman, leads a dominant top pair. Despite Victor Hedman's decline, Moser's emergence as a shutdown defenseman and Darren Raddysh's offensive spark have transformed Tampa Bay's blue line.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Erik Karlsson, a future Hall of Famer, clicks at a 72-point pace under Dan Muse. Parker Wotherspoon, an underappreciated defensive safety net, completes the pair.
Winnipeg Jets: Josh Morrissey's pair, despite lacking a true top-pair caliber partner, wins its minutes handily. Their offensive impact is best-in-class, but their defensive numbers could use improvement.
Boston Bruins: Charlie McAvoy, a strong bounce-back campaign, drives a positive scoring chance differential. Jonathan Aspirot's unexpected rise complements McAvoy's performance.
Buffalo Sabres: Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson's partnership has been a revelation. Samuelsson's turnaround has been the bigger story, and he's the unsung hero behind Buffalo's rise.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Zach Werenski's pair is scoring 3.25 goals per 60 minutes, the sixth-best mark among all top pairs. Their defensive numbers are also impressive, taking care of their own zone.
Edmonton Oilers: Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm's duo has been one of the best defense pairs in the NHL, earning nearly 60% of high-danger chances and driving a plus-23 goal differential.
Detroit Red Wings: Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson are arguably the best shutdown pairs in the NHL, with their athletic prowess and powerful skating ability.
New York Islanders: Matthew Schaefer, at 18, transforms the Islanders' blue line. His offensive impact and defensive maturity make him an elite young defenseman.
Vegas Golden Knights: Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb's partnership has had tremendous defensive success, giving up only 2.07 goals against per 60, and their expected goal differential ranks sixth-best.
Dallas Stars: Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley's partnership was special, but Glen Gulutzan's balanced top-four approach has split them for most of the season.
Ottawa Senators: Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub are an excellent lockdown pair, giving the Senators a 57.6% control of high-danger chances and an elite expected goals against rate.
Minnesota Wild: Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber are one of the best top pairs in the NHL, despite Minnesota's middle-of-the-pack goal differential for the season.
Philadelphia Flyers: With a lack of a true No. 1 defenseman, the Flyers' top pair has been anchored by Travis Sanheim. Jamie Drysdale's breakout on the second pair complements the top pair's performance.
St. Louis Blues: Philip Broberg's development into a premier top-pair defenseman has been a silver lining in an otherwise disappointing season. Their defensive numbers are rock-solid.
Washington Capitals: The Capitals have iced two balanced top-four pairs, with Jakob Chychrun and John Carlson/Martin Fehervary as the 'top pair'. Carlson and Fehervary's partnership was excellent, but it suffered mightily after Carlson's trade.
Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson's partnership is a microcosm of the team's strengths and weaknesses. They're lackluster offensively but defend well.
Seattle Kraken: Seattle has two balanced top-four pairs, with Vince Dunn and Brandon Montour. The Dunn/Adam Larsson pair is holding up, but their underlying process is concerning.
Utah Mammoth: Mikhail Sergachev's overall game has taken a step back, and his pair ranks bottom-10 in both expected and actual goals against rate.
Anaheim Ducks: Jackson LaCombe has continued his rise, but his pair's goal differential has lagged due to a lack of a true first-pairing caliber partner and the rotating partners.
Calgary Flames: With no established top-pair caliber defensemen, Kevin Bahl has taken on an even bigger role. Their numbers aren't pretty, but they haven't looked as outmatched as expected.
New York Rangers: Adam Fox's health is the only reason the Rangers rank this low. When healthy, he and Vladislav Gavrikov have been terrific.
Florida Panthers: Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad have had a down year, but their defensive numbers have fallen hard. Their statistical decline is likely due to factors outside their control.
Vancouver Canucks: The Canucks' top pair has deteriorated significantly without Quinn Hughes, but Filip Hronek's performance has remained steady despite the changes.
Carolina Hurricanes: Carolina's first-pair results are disappointing due to health concerns and rotating partners. Jaccob Slavin and K'Andre Miller's partnership has been impacted by injuries.
Nashville Predators: Roman Josi is still an excellent player, but his pair concedes many Grade-A scoring chances. Their defensive numbers have fallen hard this season.
Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago's back end is young, promising, and inexperienced. Alex Vlasic is the de facto No. 1, but his pair has been overmatched on most nights.
