NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Defensemen Pickups March 11 - Skjei, Predators Face Porous Sharks

On every game day this season, THN Fantasy will highlight players and goalies for fantasy managers to stream or roster for the rest of the season. The recommended players and goalies are rostered in less than 50 percent of Yahoo leagues and can be selected in standard fantasy leagues or for daily fantasy games.

Filip Hronek, VAN vs. MTL (45% rostered)

Still no signs of Quinn Hughes’ impending return, which means Hronek will serve as their PP QB once again. He has four assists in his past three games though he doesn’t shoot the puck very often, which makes him a somewhat frustrating fantasy player. Still, there’s no one else on the Canucks blue line that has more fantasy upside than Hronek.

Brady Skjei, NSH at SJ (40% rostered)

Skjei hasn’t produced much even after taking over PP1 from Roman Josi. His game’s not built on offense; he’s more of a steady, two-way defenseman who can skate, make good passes and occasionally shoot the puck. I like this matchup, however, because the Sharks and Preds have engaged in some really high-scoring games in recent seasons. The Preds have averaged 4.58 goals per game during their 12-game (!) winning streak against the Sharks that dates back to 2019.

Darren Raddysh, TB at CAR (12% rostered)

Keep your eyes and ears open for Victor Hedman’s status, who missed Saturday’s game. If Hedman does not play, look for Raddysh quarterback their power play. The Lightning were shut out, 4-0, against the Bruins with Raddysh finishing minus-3, but also played at least 20 minutes for the third time in four games.

Rasmus Ristolainen, PHI vs. OTT (10% rostered)

The Flyers power play is really hard to figure out and it’s not particularly good; generally speaking, it’s best to just save yourself the headache and avoid them. However, with the Sens allowing 49 saves and playing the second half of a back-to-back, the Flyers have a chance to take advantage of a potentially tired and porous opponent. Ristolainen’s ice time on the power play has been quite consistent lately – he played 6:21 against the Kraken and split with Jamie Drysdale against the Devils, playing about a minute each – and put 23 shots on goal in his past eight games.

Matt Grzelcyk, PIT vs. VGK (4% rostered)

Are we back on this wagon again? Grzelcyk notched a power-play assist in Minnesota, his third point in six games and his first power-play points since Jan. 17. Erik Karlsson still quarterbacks PP1 so Grzelcyk won’t see a lot of minutes, but it’s worth noting he’s scoring points again after going through a seven-game stretch where he had just one assist.

Zac Jones, NYR at WPG (1% rostered)

Tough matchup against arguably the best team in the West and definitely the best goalie in the league. Jones has earned more of Peter Laviolette’s trust and quarterbacks the top unit, but I find he’s a low-upside offensive producer because he doesn’t have a particular standout skill from the blue line. Jones is a streaming option if you desperately need someone with PP exposure.

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