NHL Network’s latest top-20 defensemen list left out a familiar name, and for Flyers fans, that omission stands out.
When the league network rolled out its rankings on Sunday, no Flyers defenseman made the cut. That includes Travis Sanheim, who once again appears to have been overlooked despite another heavy-lift season in Philadelphia.
The list, compiled by members of NHL Network, NHL.com, and other league media, opened with the obvious choice at No. 1: Cale Makar.
Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski followed, with Rasmus Dahlin and Miro Heiskanen taking the next two spots. Lane Hutson and Matthew Schaefer landed at 6 and 7, while Josh Morrissey checked in at 16.
Between Morrissey and Schaefer were Roman Josi, Brock Faber, Adam Fox, Jaccob Slavin, Charlie McAvoy, Evan Bouchard, Mo Seider, and Jake Sanderson.
Only after that stretch do the snub questions really start to heat up. Jackson LaCombe came in at 17, followed by Victor Hedman, Shea Theodore, and Devon Toews.
Sanheim, 30, put together another true workhorse season for the Flyers. He averaged 24:13 of ice time per game in 2025-26 and held that workload across 81 games, plus 10 postseason games and an Olympic role.
He also turned in his most disciplined season yet, finishing with just 20 penalty minutes. And while offense isn’t his calling card, he still managed a career-high 11 goals.
At the Olympics, Sanheim again showed he belonged in the top six and maybe even had a case as a top-five defender on that team. That kind of performance is why his absence from this list feels notable.
The strongest comparison may be LaCombe. His season was almost a mirror image in terms of workload, with 24:15 of ice time per game, 10 goals, and 19 penalty minutes. The edge likely came from his 48 assists and 17 power-play points, even though Sanheim has the stronger reputation as a true defender.
Hedman’s placement is harder to measure cleanly because his season was interrupted. The future Hall of Famer posted one goal and 17 points in 33 games, along with 10 penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating. A major injury, along with a leave of absence for mental health, limited him to a career-low number of games.
Theodore and Toews round out the final spots on the list. Theodore scored 10 goals and finished with 39 points in 70 games for the Golden Knights. Toews, meanwhile, remains one of the league’s most respected blue-liners, though a down year dropped him to 20.
If the list is strictly about who the best defensemen are right now, Sanheim has a real case. It’s not just about what Hedman has done in the past, and it’s not about projecting LaCombe’s future. It’s about the present.
Sanheim isn’t the only notable omission. Jakob Chychrun, Mikhail Sergachev, Mattias Samuelsson, and even Erik Karlsson also missed the cut. But if you’re talking about the biggest snubs from this top-20, Sanheim belongs in the conversation.
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