Because why not

1. Nate Schmidt
2. Niklas Hjalmarsson
3. Ivan Provorov
4. Mikhail Sergachev
5. Erik Gustafsson
6. T.J. Brodie
7. Jordie Benn
8. Alec Martinez
9. Trevor Daley
10. Kris Russell

This was kind of pointless and pretty difficult since it's hard to determine what side they play on vs. whether or not they primarily play there and such. If you have any input or other defensemen that should make this list feel free to blast me. I'm sure there are off-side defensemen out there that are better than Kris Russell and Trevor Daley lmao

Ron Hainsey and Alex Goligoski are the two guys that come to mind that aren't on the list.

Does Provorov play his off side? I thought Gostisbehere was on the right, but I could be wrong.

Since 60% of players shoot left handers, it's almost impossible for team to find three competent right handed Dmen.

Not almost impossible.

Edit: It's easier to get LHDs but not "almost impossible" for the RHDs.

I wouldn't rank Benn ahead of Martinez.

Also, are you saying Hjalmarsson is better than Provorov?

No, RAIF. The number I put next to each player is how good I think they are on a scale of 1-10.

Tell me how Hjalmarsson is better than Provorov.

Better underlying numbers, better defensively. I think his superior defensive play outweighs the offensive edge Provorov has on Hjalmarsson. Plus I'm just not as high on Provorov as most people.

Provorov isn't a great offensive d-man but better offensively, while both are good defensively. I don't think Hjalmarsson has been as good in Arizona as he was in Chicago.

Hjalmarsson is still one of the premier defensive defensemen in the league, he just gets overlooked now that he plays for an Arizona team that isn't nearly as good as those Chicago teams were + less exposure in a smaller market.

I'd say he's more of a 2nd pairing guy.

How often do you watch Coyotes games to know how he's been performing? As someone who watches just about every Coyotes game, he's been an amazing defensive presence on the backend. He's a shot blocking machine and breaks up passes in the neutral zone all the time. He's a crucial part of why the Coyotes had the best penalty kill in the league last year. While he doesn't put up gaudy offensive numbers (or really any offensive numbers lol), there's a reason he's getting paid $5M per year. The little things he does are so important to the team and without him, they'd be far lower in the standings.

Doc is right about the spotlight not being in Arizona like it was in Chicago. There's probably 10-15 Blackhawk games on national television as opposed to maybe one for the Coyotes. There's much more of a media presence for the Blackhawks as well. For example, can you definitively tell me that Derek Stepan has been less effective with the Coyotes than he was with the Rangers? Or is it just that you haven't heard as much about him, so you automatically assume that he's not performing as well? It's the same deal with Hammer.

He's a beast defensively, which is the point that Doc is making. He's totally capable of playing #2 minutes in a shutdown role. Without question.

You watch more Coyotes than i do. I watch every team but there's not any team who i watch almost every game. I try to watch all teams a lot. Maybe it was unfair to call Hjalmarsson a 2nd pairing guy. But i wouldn't rank him above Provorov, who is a really good 2-way defenseman. He didn't put up as much offence this past year, but he has in previous years. I can't say as much about Hjalmarsson as you can as you watch a lot of Coyotes and i watch more Rangers and Islanders, and i try to watch all teams a lot ... about Stepan, i have seen him play in Arizona and i wouldn't say he's played as well with the Coyotes as he did with the Rangers, at least this past year. The year before he was a lot better. Stepan does more than just scoring but still, he didn't have a great year for him this past season. But i could see him really bouncing back.

I think the Coyotes are a playoff team in 2020. They just have to be there now IMO. We'll see though ...

I will say this, though, i do think Hjalmarsson was better in Chicago than he has been in Arizona. He was a without question top-pairing guy with the Blackhawks. Like i said, maybe it was unfair for me to call him a 2nd pairing guy, but it's arguable. He's either a top pairing guy or an above average 2nd pairing guy.