Paul Pidutti

Last year’s Norris Trophy voting showed just how gridlocked the upper echelon of NHL defensemen is today. While Zach Werenski cruised to his first Norris, it was the rare reveal where a trophy’s finalists could have gone a lot of different ways. Seven defensemen earned at least three first-place votes – a result that hadn’t occurred in 44 years. There’s a wealth of talent roaming NHL bluelines right now.

Welcome to the third annual High Noon rankings — the NHL’s living timeline of the top players by position. In individual sports, there are data-driven hierarchies based on performance. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka are the respective World Number Ones in tennis. In golf, Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda each have strangeholds at the top. Boxing, UFC, track and field, and even chess rank their talent systematically.

Four years ago, the NHL’s competitive landscape looked completely different. The Calgary Flames cruised to the Pacific Division title. The Toronto Maple Leafs finished fourth in the regular season. The New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues had 110 and 109 points, respectively. On the flip side, the Montreal Canadiens had fallen from Stanley Cup Finalists to the NHL’s basement. The Utah Mammoth were still the hopeless Arizona Coyotes, a 57-point team about to move to a college arena. The lesson?