Somewhat analogous to the second line of forwards, the second defensive pairing should consist of players who will provide solid minutes of generally mistake-free hockey and occasionally chip in on offense. Like second liners, the third and fourth defensemen also bring more value if they can contribute in specific areas, especially penalty killing or on the powerplay.

Second Pairing Defenseman #1: Christoph Schubert (Ottawa Senators)

The German-born Shubert more than pulls his weight defensively and has enough offensive skill that he’s filled in at forward at times for the Senators. Though he doesn’t own top-end offensive talent, even for a defenseman, Schubert is a good enough puck-mover and has enough offensive awareness to man the point on the second powerplay unit and although he’s overmatched against the league’s best forwards, Schubert handles himself quite well in his own end most of the time and was seventh in the league in hits this past season.

Second Pairing Defenseman #2: John-Michael Liles (Colorado Avalanche)

Lilies is a very solid skater with good offensive instincts and ability to quarterback any powerplay. In his own end, Liles has the agility, speed and defensive awareness to match up with most of the league’s better forwards. However his smallish frame (he’s listed at 5’10’’, 185) means he can have a tough time against bigger opposing forwards. Though Liles does have enough overall ability to play in any situation, he’s best utilized by having him play a moderate number of even strength minutes and then deploying him on the powerplay, where he’s most effective.

Others considered: Niklas Kronwall, Andrej Meszaros, Rostislav Klesla