Thursday's Defenseman Value Rankings
Here are theScore's defenseman value rankings for Thursday, March 17:
Top Options
| Name | Opponent | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Burns (SJ) | at ARI | 9 |
| Shea Weber (NAS) | vs. NYI | 8 |
| Aaron Ekblad (FLA) | at TOR | 8 |
| David Savard (CLB) | vs. DET | 8 |
| Calvin de Haan (NYI) | at NAS | 8 |
You're better off paying big bucks for Burns or Weber or going for deeper value with Savard or de Haan because it's the least productive position on the regular. Burns is the only sure thing on the night, because even if he doesn't score he'll pepper G Mike Smith with shots and he'll block a few on the other end.
Best of the Rest
| Name | Opponent | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Murray (CLB) | vs. DET | 7 |
| Roman Josi (NAS) | vs. NYI | 7 |
| Kris Letang (PIT) | vs. CAR | 7 |
| Mike Green (DET) | at CLB | 6 |
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SJ) | at ARI | 6 |
Letang and Josi represent your best offensive upside in this group while Murray is a deep dive to save money elsewhere. Green and Vlasic have cushy matchups that could increase the odds of them finding the score sheet.
| Name | Opponent | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Johnny Boychuk (NYI) | at NAS | 5 |
| Jake Muzzin (LA) | vs. NYR | 5 |
| Keith Yandle (NYR) | at LA | 5 |
| Ryan McDonagh (NYR) | at LA | 5 |
| Michael Stone (ARI) | vs. SJ | 5 |
Boychuk blocks about two shots per game and fires more than three SOG. He's a little too expensive in DFS for this kind of return, but that's what you pay for consistency.
Muzzin is almost identical in his output. Yandle's severe minus-nine rating over the his 10 games doesn't help him much, but he has seen an increase in time on the power play. He's not a given, but you can do much worse.
Nothing to See Here
| Name | Opponent | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI) | vs. SJ | 4 |
| Drew Doughty (LA) | vs. NYR | 4 |
| Ryan Suter (MIN) | at NJ | 3 |
| Seth Jones (CLB) | vs. DET | 3 |
| Victor Hedman (TB) | at DAL | 2 |
Here, it gets much worse. Ekman-Larsson is questionable to play. Doughty and Suter cost obscene amounts relative to their productions. Jones and Stralman average similar numbers to players who cost a good chunk less than either of them. Find value somewhere else.