The NHL’s Best Bargains Of 2025-26: Cheapest Cost Per Point Among Defensemen
This series has already covered the forwards who gave their teams the cheapest and most expensive cost per point last season. The blue line is next. Cost per point is a blunt measure for defensemen, who are paid to do far more than score, so treat this as a breakdown of the numbers rather than a ranking of the league’s best. With that in mind, here are the ten defensemen whose production came cheapest in 2025-26.
This list excludes players on entry-level contracts and requires at least 42 games played last season.
The list:
1. Brent Burns ($24K Per Point) — The cheapest points on last season’s books belong to the oldest player in the league. Burns, 41, put up 35 points and a career-best plus-33 across all 82 games for Colorado, then re-signed in late June for one more year at an $850K base. The motivations are obvious on both sides: Burns is 57 games from Phil Kessel’s all-time ironman record and still chasing his first Cup, and the Avalanche get a Norris winner’s twilight at the league minimum.
2. Charle-Edouard D’Astous ($30K Per Point) — The best story on the list. An undrafted 28-year-old who’d won defenseman-of-the-year honors in the ECHL, Finland’s Liiga, and the SHL before ever playing an NHL game, D’Astous made his debut in October, stepped into Tampa Bay’s injury-ravaged blue line, and produced 29 points in 70 games. The Lightning didn’t wait to see how the story ended, and they extended him in January on a one-year deal with an $875K AAV.
3. Parker Wotherspoon ($33K Per Point) — A career year with a twist ending. Wotherspoon spent the season on Pittsburgh’s top pair next to Erik Karlsson, setting career highs with 30 points in 80 games while leading the Penguins in blocked shots. He won’t be there to build on it: Pittsburgh traded him to Vegas on June 30, and with the Penguins retaining half his contract, the Golden Knights get his final year at an effective $500K.
4. Louis Crevier ($37K Per Point) — The 6-foot-8 throw-in who might become the best part of the summer blockbuster Bowen Byram trade. Crevier climbed from Chicago’s seventh defenseman to top-pairing minutes, finishing with 25 points in 78 games and one of the hardest shots in the league, before being packaged to Buffalo alongside the fourth-overall pick in June. He’ll suit up for the Sabres in 2026-27, with restricted free agency waiting next summer.
5. Matthew Robertson ($47K Per Point) — Six years and some 250 AHL games after New York drafted him, Robertson finally arrived, playing 72 games and chipping in 18 points as one of the few bright spots on the East’s worst team last season. He’s back with the Rangers for 2026-27 in the final year of his deal, after which he can become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent.
6. Adam Wilsby ($53K Per Point) — Nashville’s quiet Swedish find gave the Predators 16 points across an injury-interrupted 58-game season while drawing regular penalty-kill duty. He returns to Nashville for 2026-27 on the one-way portion of the extension he signed as a virtual NHL rookie, with restricted free agency to follow.
7. Tyler Tucker ($54K Per Point) — The Blues’ rugged depth defenseman turned a regular lineup spot into a career year, posting 17 points in 69 games. He’s signed in St. Louis through 2026-27, one more cheap season on the back end before he’s due for a new deal.
8. Uvis Balinskis ($58K Per Point) — The Latvian blueliner managed 15 points in 54 games in a depth role, exactly the kind of near-minimum contributor a cap-strapped contender needs. He stays in Florida for 2026-27, and, on a deal running through 2027-28, the season after that too.
9. Shayne Gostisbehere ($64K Per Point) — The one genuine star-value season on the list. Gostisbehere put up 50 points in just 55 games, a 0.91 points-per-game rate that laps this field, while helping Carolina win the Stanley Cup. He’s back with the Hurricanes for 2026-27 in the final year of his deal, one of the better bargains among puck-moving defensemen before unrestricted free agency beckons next July.
10. Logan Mailloux ($65K Per Point) — The youngest name took the strangest route. Acquired from Montreal in last summer’s Zachary Bolduc swap, Mailloux weathered a rough St. Louis debut, including an early AHL stint GM Doug Armstrong called a “reset”, before settling in for 13 points in 67 games. The Blues re-signed him in January, so he’s back in St. Louis for 2026-27, betting a full season turns the former first-rounder into a fixture on the right side.
Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Bowen Byram
Buffalo Sabres’ defenseman Bowen Byram has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, as reported by Elliotte Friedman with Sportsnet.ca. The full terms, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta: Chicago also acquires forward Jordan Greenway, while Buffalo receives the No. 4 and No. 45 overall picks in the 2026 Draft along with defenseman Louis Crevier.
Byram, 25, is the centerpiece of the deal and the reason Chicago was willing to part with a top-five selection. The fourth overall pick in 2019 and a Stanley Cup winner with Colorado in 2022, he’s coming off a career year: 11 goals, 31 assists, and 42 points with a plus-15 rating across all 82 games, plus four goals in 13 playoff games as Buffalo won the Atlantic Division and a playoff round for the first time in over a decade. He’s a mobile, transition-driving puck-mover who spent the year bouncing between the top two pairings alongside Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin, and at 25 he fits the Bedard-era timeline far better than the veteran options on this summer’s market. The underlying numbers draw some skepticism, and the Sun-Times’ Ben Pope flagged exactly that when he floated Byram as a Chicago fit, but the skill, age, and pedigree are real.
The contract backdrop is seemingly what got him back on the trade block. Byram is entering the final season of the two-year, $12.5MM deal ($6.25MM AAV) he signed last July and was a year from unrestricted free agency. He’d made clear to Buffalo he wasn’t prepared to commit long-term, per Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, with agent Darren Ferris reportedly seeking around $10MM annually, a number that would have made him Buffalo’s highest-paid defenseman behind Dahlin. The Blackhawks now have a year to convince him to stay long term before he can reach the open market, with plenty of cap space to make a deal work. Darren Dreger with TSN has reported that sources say Byram is happy to be joining the Blackhawks, and he wants to take on a bigger role than he previously had in Buffalo. Early signs are pointing to an extension getting done in the near future.
For Chicago, surrendering the No. 4 pick is the aggressive part. GM Kyle Davidson had been viewed as unlikely to move the selection, with the Hawks tied to several top prospects there, and Chicago has leaned on premium picks throughout its rebuild: Connor Bedard, Artyom Levshunov, and Anton Frondell all came inside the top four over the last three drafts. Trading out of the slot signals a pivot from accumulating lottery talent toward rounding out a young core that’s meant to start competing.
Chicago also takes on Greenway, a 6-foot-6 winger whose value here is size and salary more than scoring. Greenway, 29, carries a $4MM cap hit through 2026-27, mirroring Byram’s expiry, leaving both a year from unrestricted free agency, and is coming off an injury-wrecked season: one goal and six points with a minus-10 in just 40 games, with a career-low 12:27 of ice time. Multiple sports hernia surgeries have limited him to 74 games over the past two years. When healthy, he’s an effective fourth-line forechecker and penalty-killer, not the scoring complement to Bedard the Hawks have chased, but with north of $40MM in space, Chicago can absorb the contract easily, and the added money helps push the club toward the cap floor.
The piece coming back to Buffalo with real upside is Crevier, a towering 6-foot-8 right-shot defenseman fresh off a breakout. A seventh-round pick (188th overall) in 2020, Crevier opened 2025-26 as Chicago’s seventh defenseman and finished it on the top pairing next to Alex Vlasic as the Hawks’ shutdown duo, posting seven goals, 18 assists and 25 points with 95 blocks and 124 hits over 78 games at 17:08 a night. At a $900K cap hit through 2026-27 with restricted free agency to follow, he gives the Sabres a cheap, controllable, right-shot body; a genuine asset, not a salary makeweight.
For Buffalo, GM Jarmo Kekäläinen turns a player a year from walking, plus the unloading of Greenway’s contract into the No.4 overall pick, and mid second rounder, and a very serviceable right shot defenceman, and additonlly holds the No. 20 selection after moving up earlier this offseason. It will be extremely interesting to see what Buffalo does with their two first round selections in the days leading up to the draft. After what we have seen in the last 72 hours, it would be of no surprise to see Buffalo flip these picks to aquire a piece that makes them a more serious contender next season.
Blackhawks Notes: Injuries, Lardis, Boisvert
The Blackhawks were without a pair of players for their game tonight against Colorado. Head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that winger Andrew Mangiapane and defenseman Louis Crevier were both injured on Thursday in Minnesota. There’s no word on how much time either player might miss. Mangiapane has a goal and an assist in seven games since coming over in a trade from Edmonton earlier this month while Crevier has held his own as a full-time NHLer this season. He has 17 points in 66 games along with 73 blocks and 107 hits while averaging a little under 17 minutes of ice time per night.
More from Chicago:
- When Chicago recalled winger Nick Lardis after the trade deadline, it looked like he was in line to get an extended look down the stretch. However, he has averaged just 10:33 per game of ice time since the promotion. That led Pope to question how the team has used the 20-year-old. While Blashill has talked about trying to see how Lardis fares in a more limited role to give him a better opportunity to establish himself in the NHL, the youngster has averaged just shy of a point per game in the minors this season and could use a boost in their top six. Giving him a chance in that role could have longer-term benefits than showing that he can handle a fourth-line role if needed.
- Prospect Sacha Boisvert’s NHL debut will have to wait a little longer. Scott Powers of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old’s visa paperwork has yet to be processed. Accordingly, it’s more likely that he debuts next week on Chicago’s road trip. Boisvert, a first-round pick in 2024, recently signed his entry-level contract and is burning the first year of that down the stretch. He won’t play enough to accrue a year of service time toward UFA eligibility and if he doesn’t play in at least 10 games down the stretch, Boisvert wouldn’t be eligible for an offer sheet in 2028.
Blackhawks Re-Sign Louis Crevier On Two-Year Contract
The Blackhawks have re-signed defenseman Louis Crevier to a one-way, two-year, $1.8MM contract, the team announced. He’ll carry a cap hit of $900K through the 2026-27 season.
Crevier lands his first one-way contract after seeing NHL action in two straight seasons with Chicago. The retention of Crevier will leave Chicago with only one unsigned restricted free agent skater, fellow defender Wyatt Kaiser. The club now has four defensemen signed to one-way deals for 2025-26 – a low number at first glance, but the rest of the spots will presumably be filled by some combination of Kaiser and their large group of high-end young rearguards on entry-level contracts.
Chicago reached an agreement with Crevier quicker than they did last summer, when it took until July 29 to get the young rearguard signed to a two-way contract. He wasn’t arbitration-eligible at the time, and despite gaining that status for 2025, he chose not to file.
Crevier, 24, again bounced between the Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs throughout the season but remained on the NHL roster from March 3 to the end of the campaign. He scored three goals – his first in the NHL – with one assist for four points and a minus-six rating in 32 games, eight more appearances than he logged in 2023-24. He saw 17:17 of ice time per game, and the 6’8″, 228-lb righty recorded 49 blocks and 70 hits.
While he won’t command an everyday role over the Blackhawks’ higher-ceiling prospects, the multi-year one-way commitment suggests they envision him remaining on the NHL roster as a No. 7/8 option on the depth chart. His deal will only be worth slightly above the league minimum in 2026-27 as that figure jumps to $850K.
The Quebec native was drafted by the Hawks in the seventh round in 2020 and has also made 118 appearances for Rockford in the last three years, posting a 4-16–20 scoring line and a plus-seven rating.
Blackhawks Place Philipp Kurashev On IR, Louis Crevier Recalled
The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Philipp Kurashev on the injured reserve and recalled defenseman Louis Crevier from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL (as per NHL.com). Kurashev is dealing with a hand injury, and his IR placement is retroactive to February 27th.
Kurashev is having a tough season with just six goals and four assists in 42 games. The timing for him is unfortunate as he will be a restricted free agent on July 1st and has gone from potentially signing a long-term extension to a possible non-tender candidate. A season ago, the Swiss-born center looked like a piece of the Blackhawks core as he posted career highs with 18 goals and 36 assists in 75 games. However, a big drop in his production has been due to his lack of time on the powerplay. Kurashev has gone from 221 minutes of powerplay time last season to just 20 minutes this year and has just one point with the man advantage this season compared to 19 points last year.
The Blackhawks will have an interesting decision to make this summer on Kurashev as they weigh what to do with the talented but inconsistent 25-year-old. His injury likely prevents them from dealing him before the NHL Trade Deadline and it is hard to imagine they let him walk for nothing in the summer.
Crevier returns to the Blackhawks where he has suited up in 23 games this season. The 23-year-old has three goals and an assist this season along with 47 hits and 34 blocked shots. Crevier has logged almost 18 minutes a game at the NHL level this season and Chicago has not done him any favors with their deployment starting him in the defensive zone on 68.9% of his shifts. As you would expect with a young defenseman, this has led to struggles as Crevier has been caved in on his possession numbers (37.8% all situations CF%) and has caused a lot of turnovers (26) as he’s tried to force zone exits while under pressure.
Blackhawks Place Jason Dickinson On IR, Assign Louis Crevier To AHL
The Blackhawks have made some roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Columbus. The team announced that defenseman Louis Crevier was activated off injured reserve and was assigned to AHL Rockford. The team also placed center Jason Dickinson on IR.
Crevier has spent time with both the Blackhawks and IceHogs this season but the bulk of his time has been spent with Chicago. He has one assist in 11 games with Rockford while suiting up in 23 NHL contests where he has three goals and an assist along with 34 blocks and 47 hits in 17:48 of playing time. He last played on February 1st before suffering a concussion so the assignment to the minors will give him some time to get back to form before likely being recalled for the stretch run.
As for Dickinson, he has been out since suffering a lower-body injury on February 5th so his placement on IR should come as no surprise. Assuming it’s back-dated, he’ll have already missed enough time and thus can be activated as soon as he’s cleared. The 29-year-old hasn’t been able to duplicate his breakout performance from last season which saw him score 22 goals but he has 16 points in 53 games in just under 16 minutes a night of playing time.
With these roster moves, Chicago now has two open roster spots and only the minimum number of healthy forwards available. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a recall or two from them in the near future.
Blackhawks Recall Artyom Levshunov, Place Louis Crevier On Injured Reserve
The second-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft is set to join the Blackhawks for the first time. Chicago announced they’ve recalled defenseman Artyom Levshunov from their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, and have placed defenseman Louis Crevier on injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.
Levshunov was the undisputed top defensive prospect entering last summer’s draft. The Michigan State University product scored nine goals and 35 points in 38 games in his only year with the Spartans leading to a bevy of individual rewards. The Zhlobin, Belarus native secured bids on the All-Big Ten First Teams and All-Big Ten Freshman Teams, was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and was named to the AHCA West Second All-American Team.
His size and explosive skating ability already made him an intriguing defensive prospect to start but his ability to be an offensive threat put him in a different category altogether. Shortly before the start of training camp, Tracey Myers of the NHL listed Levshunov as the top prospect in the Blackhawks’ organization.
Initially, his transition to professional hockey has been challenging. Levshunov decided to skip his sophomore season at Michigan State to pursue a professional career, and the Chicago organization insisted that he begin the year in the AHL. This approach is consistent with their new strategy for other top prospects, as they avoid rushing players too quickly into the NHL.
Still, he’s not expected to play in any games for the Blackhawks before their break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Tracey Myers reported that Levshunov’s recall is for development purposes only, and he’ll only practice with the team while the AHL is on their All-Star break.
He has scored three goals and a total of 13 points in 38 games for Rockford this season, which places him tied for 13th among rookie defensemen in scoring. Although Chicago was likely expecting more offensive production from their young defenseman, they will have the opportunity to evaluate him more closely in the NHL during practice.
Unfortunately, Levshunov’s recall comes with bad news. Reports indicate that Crevier suffered a concussion during the recent game against the Florida Panthers, resulting in his placement on injured reserve.
Crevier may not have the same prospect pedigree as Levshunov, but he came very close to reaching his career-high for games played in a single season, getting hurt just two games short. This year, he has scored three goals and one assist in 23 games with the Blackhawks, averaging 17 minutes and 48 seconds of ice time per game.
Blackhawks Place Seth Jones On IR, Recall Louis Crevier
Nov. 20: Jones will miss four weeks with the right foot injury, head coach Luke Richardson said Wednesday (via Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). He’s already missed two games and is now on pace to miss around 11 more, ruling him out for more than 15% of Chicago’s season in total. A four-week timeline from the date of the injury means his return target is during their back-to-back against the Devils and Islanders on Dec. 14 and 15.
Nov. 16: The Blackhawks have placed defenseman Seth Jones on injured reserve with a right foot injury, relays Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link). Taking his place on the active roster is blueliner Louis Crevier who has been recalled from Rockford, per the AHL’s transactions log. Chicago currently has 22 players on its roster following the moves.
Jones sustained the injury against Seattle on a blocked shot but remained in the game, adds Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, who adds more information will be known when they return home from their road trip on Sunday.
The 30-year-old has once again been a significant piece on Chicago’s back end, leading the team in average ice time at 25:43 per night. Jones also leads the Blackhawks in points by a defenseman with 10. Covering his absence will certainly be a difficult task, one that won’t be handled by just one or two players.
To that end, Crevier is more of a depth recall over someone who could be expected to play a little higher in the lineup. The 23-year-old, who stands 6’8, got into 24 games with Chicago last season in his first taste of NHL action, compiling three assists, 50 blocks, 30 hits, and a minus-16 rating. This year, he has played in 11 games with the IceHogs, notching one assist.
While this might have seemed like a situation to bring up Kevin Korchinski (who logged 19:37 per night for the Blackhawks last season and could have helped cover some of the missing offense), it appears Chicago feels that he’s best served staying with Rockford for the time being. Artyom Levshunov, a right-shot option like Jones, is also available but just eight games into his pro career, they’d like to keep him away from the top level for at least a little while longer.
Blackhawks Recall Nine Players, Sign Austin Strand To PTO
While some teams will be dressing close to their full lineups to end the preseason, the Blackhawks will not be one of them. Instead, the team announced that they’ve recalled nine players from AHL Rockford while also signing defenseman Austin Strand to a PTO agreement.
The forwards getting the brief promotion are Colton Dach, Cole Guttman, Frank Nazar, Zach Sanford, Samuel Savoie, and Landon Slaggert. Meanwhile, the blueliners receiving the extra preseason game are Louis Crevier, Ethan Del Mastro, and Kevin Korchinski.
Nazar and Korchinski are the headliners of the group. Both are projected to be key players long-term for the Blackhawks and should see regular NHL action at some point this season. Korchinski spent last season in Chicago as he was ineligible to play in the minors, notching 15 points in 76 games while Nazar was a late-season signing after leaving the University of Michigan. He scored in his NHL debut, his lone point in three contests.
Among the others, five of the seven recalls saw NHL action last season with only Dach and Savoie waiting for their first regular season opportunity at the top level. Of that group, Guttman saw the most action with 27 games (notching eight points) while Crevier had three helpers in 24 contests. Slaggert had four points in 16 appearances, Sanford had four helpers in 18 games after being claimed off waivers, while Del Mastro was held off the scoresheet in two outings.
All of these players had already been cut from training camp and barring any injuries of note in the coming days, are all expected to be returned to the IceHogs, potentially as soon as after tonight’s contest against St. Louis.
Blackhawks Re-Sign Louis Crevier, Isaak Phillips To Two-Way Deals
The Blackhawks have re-signed RFA defensemen Louis Crevier and Isaak Phillips to two-way deals for this season, per a team announcement. They’ll carry $775K cap hits if on the NHL roster.
Crevier, 23, was selected in the seventh round out of QMJHL Chicoutimi in 2020. He turned pro and signed his entry-level contract with Chicago in 2022, joining their AHL affiliate in Rockford. The hulking 6’8″, 227-lb stay-at-home defender made his NHL debut last season after spending all of 2022-23 in the minors, playing 24 games largely as an injury replacement. The Quebec City native notched his first three NHL assists, understandably struggling to maintain possession in defensively-oriented minutes on one of the league’s worst teams. His -16 rating, 37.7 CF% and 33.2 xGF% were in the league-wide basement last season, but understandable for a developing blue-liner making his NHL debut ahead of schedule.
It’s worth noting that after being a relative non-factor in Rockford in 2022-23, Crevier did take a demonstrable step forward in AHL action last season. He played increased minutes and showcased increased efficiency on both sides of the puck, logging 11 points (3 G, 8 A) and a +12 rating in 41 games. His above-average skating for his size clicked, a promising sign. That’s likely his ticket to a full-time NHL role somewhere down the line.
That full-time role likely won’t come next season after the Blackhawks bolstered their defensive depth earlier this month with a pair of veteran signings in T.J. Brodie and Alec Martinez. He’ll likely receive some outside consideration for the seventh D-man spot on the opening night roster, but he’ll face competition from a few other young blue-liners in the Chicago system, including Phillips.
Phillips, who was selected two rounds ahead of Crevier in 2020, entered RFA status this summer with more NHL experience than his counterpart. Also coming off the completion of his entry-level contract, he appeared in 33 games for the Hawks last season, posting six assists and a -26 rating while clocking in at over 17 minutes per night. The left-shot defender has 53 NHL games under his belt spread over the last three seasons, totaling a goal and 10 assists with a -37 rating.
He’s not as massive as Crevier, but he still has good size at 6’3″ and 205 lbs. He’s been a stronger all-around player in the minors, where he has 71 points (22 G, 49 A) in 171 games with Rockford over the past four seasons. He got an early start to his professional career after suiting up for Rockford in 2020-21, thanks to the OHL pausing operations due to COVID-19.
Crevier and Phillips were the Hawks’ last remaining unsigned RFAs this summer. Neither were eligible to file for salary arbitration last month, and Crevier was ineligible to sign or receive offer sheets as a 10.2(c) free agent. Both will be RFAs again in 2025.