Fantasy D-men: Flames' Brodie heating up

"The Neutral Zone" Fantasy Hockey Report

TJ Brodie

[TJ] Brodie started to show signs of what he was becoming in 2013-14 when he had 11 points in his final 19 games. Last season, he had NHL-bests in goals (11), assists (30) and points (41), as well as in six other statistical categories. That production made him a hot commodity in fantasy drafts this fall, and he was selected in the 11th round on average in 100 percent of Yahoo leagues. 

But he sustained a broken hand during a preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers that kept him out until Oct. 28. That down time saw his ownership drop and it's still a reason why he's available in some leagues. 

He was held without a point in his first two games and had two goals and six points in his first 14 games. But he's looked every bit as good as last season ever since. He had two goals and six assists during a seven-game point streak between Nov. 28 and Dec. 15, and he has 30 points in his past 36 games. --> Read more on NHL.com

NHL.COM'S TOP 60 DEFENSEMEN RANKINGS

These rankings are based on expectations for the rest of the season. Value is quantified by defense pairings, power-play usage, past performance and overall upside in standard Yahoo categories (goals, assists, plus-minus, penalty minutes, power-play points and shots on goal). 

1. Erik Karlsson, OTT 
2. Brent Burns, D/RW, SJS 
3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI (+1) 
4. John Klingberg, DAL (-1) 
5. P.K. Subban, MTL 
6. Kris Letang, PIT (+2) 
7. Roman Josi, NSH 
8. Duncan Keith, CHI (-2) 
9. Victor Hedman, TBL 
10. Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW, WPG (+1) 
11. Tyson Barrie, COL (+1) 
12. Drew Doughty, LAK (+1) 
13. Shea Weber, NSH (DTD) 
14. Kevin Shattenkirk, STL (+2) 
15. TJ Brodie, CGY (+5) 
16. Ryan Suter, MIN (-2) 
17. Brent Seabrook, CHI (-2) 
18. John Carlson, WSH (-1) 
19. Jake Muzzin, LAK (-1) 
20. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF (+2) 
21. Keith Yandle, NYR (+2) 
22. Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI (+2) 
23. Mark Giordano, CGY (+2) 
24. Andrei Markov, MTL (+2) 
25. Justin Faulk, CAR (-6) 
26. Ryan McDonagh, NYR (DTD) 
27. Sami Vatanen, ANA 
28. Torey Krug, BOS (+2) 
29. Dion Phaneuf, OTT (-1) 
30. Anton Stralman, TBL (-1) 
31. Jason Demers, DAL (+1) 
32. Zdeno Chara, BOS (+3) 
33. Nick Leddy, NYI (+3) 
34. Johnny Boychuk, NYI (-3) 
35. Erik Johnson, COL (-2) 
36. Andrej Sekera, EDM (-2) 
37. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, SJS (+4) 
38. Aaron Ekblad, FLA 
39. Francois Beauchemin, COL 
40. Dougie Hamilton, CGY 
41. Mike Green, DET (-4) 
42. Alex Goligoski, DAL 
43. Seth Jones, CBJ 
44. Mattias Ekholm, NSH 
45. Morgan Rielly, TOR 
46. Niklas Kronwall, DET (NEW - INJ.) 
47. Matt Niskanen, WSH 
48. Brian Campbell, FLA (-2) 
49. Colton Parayko, STL (+4) 
50. Cam Fowler, ANA (-1) 
51. Trevor Daley, PIT 
52. Ryan Ellis, NSH (-2) 
53. Alec Martinez, LAK (-1) 
54. Michael Stone, ARI (+3) 
55. Mark Streit, PHI (-7) 
56. Olli Maatta, PIT (-1) 
57. Dmitry Orlov, WSH (NEW) 
58. Jared Spurgeon, MIN (-2) 
59. Jake Gardiner, TOR 
60. Tyler Myers, WPG 

Dropped out: Cody Franson, Nick Holden  

Key injuries: Alex Pietrangelo, Oscar Klefbom, James Wisniewski