Counting stats
NHL Power-Play Assists Leaders: Defensemen
2025-26All situations
Quinn Hughes (MIN) leads NHL defensemen with 32 assists in 2025-26, ahead of 
Evan Bouchard (EDM) (26).
Showing 2025-26 · 2026-27 becomes the default after ~10 games per team2026-27 so far →
Leaders: PP Assists: defense, 2025-26
- 1stQuinn HughesMIN · 74 GP32
- 2ndEvan BouchardEDM · 82 GP26
3rdMiro HeiskanenDAL · 77 GP26
4thMoritz SeiderDET · 82 GP25
5thCale MakarCOL · 75 GP25
The full ranked table, with filters, follows.
What PP Assists: defense measures
This board ranks NHL defensemen by total assists, power play, this season. Players under the minimum sample are hidden, and every row shows the games or minutes behind the number. Total assists, power play, this season.
Special-teams scoring follows special-teams ice time: a player's share of his team's PP minutes repeats much better than his PP points do.
The power-play split shows who scores with the man advantage. Defensemen only. Assists credit the last one or two players to touch the puck before a goal. Playmaking centres and power-play quarterbacks on the blue line top the list, and secondary assists make the totals noisier than goals suggest. In 2025-26, 115 defensemen qualify for this board; the median is 3 and Quinn Hughes leads at 32.
PP Assists: defense leaderboard
- Strength comes from the play-by-play skater counts; a few players differ from NHL.com by one goal or point where a penalty expired at the moment of the goal.
| # | Player | Team | PP A | GP | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quinn HughesDMIN | MIN | 32 | 74 | 100 | 100% |
| 2 | Evan BouchardDEDM | EDM | 26 | 82 | 99 | 100% |
| 3 | Miro HeiskanenDDAL | DAL | 26 | 77 | 99 | 100%▲1.5 |
| 4 | Moritz SeiderDDET | DET | 25 | 82 | 97 | 99% |
| 5 | Cale MakarDCOL | COL | 25 | 75 | 97 | 100% |
| 6 |  Erik KarlssonDPIT | PIT | 22 | 75 | 96 | 95% |
| 7 |  Mikhail SergachevDUTA | UTA | 21 | 78 | 95 | 100%▲1.4 |
| 8 |  Charlie McAvoyDBOS | BOS | 20 | 69 | 93 | 97%▲1.3 |
| 9 |  Roman JosiDNSH | NSH | 20 | 68 | 93 | 98% |
| 10 |  Vince DunnDSEA | SEA | 19 | 81 | 92 | 93%▲1.5 |
| 11 |  Adam FoxDNYR | NYR | 19 | 55 | 92 | 99% |
| 12 |  Lane HutsonDMTL | MTL | 18 | 82 | 90 | 100%▲0.6 |
| 13 |  Dmitry OrlovDSJS | SJS | 17 | 82 | 88 | 33%▲7.5 |
| 14 |  Filip HronekDVAN | VAN | 17 | 82 | 88 | 94% |
| 15 |  Zach WerenskiDCBJ | CBJ | 17 | 75 | 88 | 100% |
| 16 |  Jake SandersonDOTT | OTT | 17 | 67 | 88 | 96%▼0.7 |
| 17 |  Rasmus DahlinDBUF | BUF | 16 | 77 | 86 | 99%▼0.5 |
| 18 |  Darren RaddyshDTBL | TBL | 16 | 73 | 86 | 98%▲0.5 |
| 19 |  Jackson LaCombeDANA | ANA | 14 | 82 | 84 | 97% |
| 20 |  Josh MorrisseyDWPG | WPG | 14 | 77 | 84 | 96%▼2.5 |
| 21 |  John CarlsonDWSH | WSH | 12 | 71 | 82 | 98% |
| 22 |  Shayne GostisbehereDCAR | CAR | 12 | 55 | 82 | 96%▲0.6 |
| 23 |  Brandt ClarkeDLAK | LAK | 11 | 82 | 80 | 94% |
| 24 |  Luke HughesDNJD | NJD | 11 | 68 | 80 | 83% |
| 25 |  Seth JonesDFLA | FLA | 11 | 52 | 80 | 90%▲15 |
Frequently asked questions
Who leads the NHL in PP Assists: defense in 2025-26?
Quinn Hughes leads with 32. The median of the 115 qualified defensemen is 3.
How is PP Assists: defense calculated?
Total assists, power play, this season. Regular season only, from the NHL's official game data.
How reliable is PP Assists: defense?
Special-teams scoring follows special-teams ice time: a player's share of his team's PP minutes repeats much better than his PP points do.