Brenden Dillon

After signing Dillon to a four-year, $15.9 million extension in October of 2020, much was expected of the blueliner in the 2020-21 season and he largely delivered. After failing to record a single point in the 10 games following his arrival at the previous season's deadline, Dillon notched two goals and 19 points while posting a solid plus-15 rating in 56 games last season - a career-high scoring pace for the defensive stalwart. Expected to be a key cog in Washington's defense corps for years to come, salary cap constraints led to the 29-year-old being traded to Winnipeg in July of 2021. While it remains unknown if Dillon will continue to improve his offensive game, he figures to reprise his top-four role in his new home and will contribute enough in peripheral categories like hits (143) and blocked shots (61) to merit consideration in fantasy formats that truck such metrics.

Dillon has yet to open his scoring account with the Capitals after he went scoreless in 10 games after getting traded from the Sharks at last year's deadline. He's not known to be a prolific scorer, and on a pairing with John Carlson, Dillon's role will first and foremost be defensive. Fantasy managers will hope the 30-year-old defenseman can repeat his 104-PIM, 194-hit form from last season, and any scoring will be icing on the cake. He'll see a ton of ice time in Washington, but the defensive usage will limit Dillon's draw to fantasy managers in deeper formats.

A model for consistency, Dillon's turned in back-to-back 22-point seasons, but the brawny defenseman leading all Sharks skaters with a plus-19 rating last year qualifies as his most impressive top-level accomplishment to date. The B.C. native has compiled exactly 100 points (21 goals, 79 assists) through 529 career contests between the Stars and Sharks, and he's fearlessly committed to 1,186 hits and 720 blocked shots over that span. Since blueliners Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson account for so much offense in San Jose -- those two combined for 128 points last season -- Dillon won't be asked to pinch and join the attack all that often, but if history is any indication, he'll supply fantasy owners with the occasional goal or assist to supplement his regular defensive contributions. Target him near the back end of fantasy drafts in deep leagues only.

Dillon enjoyed one of his best seasons as a pro in 2017-18, setting career highs in goals (five) and points (22) while averaging 17:19 of ice time through 81 games. The 6-foot-4 blueliner is a high-end bottom-pairing option for San Jose, but he'll be hard-pressed to surpass the 20-point mark for a second consecutive season in 2018-19, and he doesn't rack up enough PIM to hold value in leagues that reward the gritty side of the game. Dillon is a rock-solid option for his real-life squad, but he doesn't have enough offensive upside to warrant consideration in all but the deepest of fantasy formats.

The bruising defenseman play 81 games last season as a third-pair man, and he scored two goals and ten points. His main contributions in 2016-17 came from hits (174) and blocked shots (81) since he's yet to find legitimate power-play minutes.

Dillon performed well in his first full NHL season, putting up six goals, 11 assists, a plus-17 rating, 86 penalty minutes and 97 shots in 80 games. He's going to climb the depth chart a bit with the departure of Stephane Robidas, and his numbers should improve slightly as a result. But Dallas has plenty of young, hungry defensemen who will want to pass him, so that spot is Dillon's to keep or lose. We think he'll not only win that gig, but line up with Jordie Benn to form the Stars' shutdown duo. Sadly, there's not much fantasy value in that, unless you're in a super-deep format.

One of the true bright spots in Dallas' 2012-13 season was discovering Dillon. He's not going to be any sort of contributor on the offensive side of the score sheet, but he provided a nice anchor to Dallas' blue line and was the team's best defensive defenseman by the end of the year. Expect more of the same this season.

Dillon was the talk at the Stars' development camp over the summer, building on a nice season (six goals, 23 assists) for the Texas Stars (AHL). He has good size and is expected to begin the year on Dallas' third defensive pairing.