This is the last week of the regular season, and thus fantasy hockey season, so this will be the last time you’ll see streamer options for defensemen, goalies, and forwards in 2024-25. There are some solid additions for you to take advantage of and take home your championship or even win your final matchup of the year.
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Defensemen to Target for Week 25
Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Opportunity remains at its highest for Luke Hughes as he really steps up his game with more ice time and a bigger role when Dougie Hamilton has been out of the lineup with injuries. That will be the case for the rest of the regular season, and Hughes has been producing. He plays on the top pairing and on the top power-play unit.
Hughes isn’t a big hitter and is hit and miss on blocking shots, but he shoots regularly and gets a lot of assists, especially on the power play. The young defenseman has seven goals and 42 points in 67 games, but has a goal and nine points in his last six games. The New Jersey Devils are fighting to hold their position in the standings, and the team has two games left this week against the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.
Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers
Jake Walman continues to play a big role and is contributing while Mattias Ekholm is out of the lineup. He isn’t expected back that soon either, so you could add and run with Walman on the Edmonton Oilers for the rest of the season with success. He continuously shows his passing and breakout ability, leading to more Oilers chances.
Walman has been able to do it all in fantasy, even prior to coming over to the Oilers. He shoots a lot for a defenseman, gets penalties, hits, and blocks shots. He has one goal and three points in his last four games and one goal and six points in his last nine games. That’s not too bad at all for a d-man you can grab off of the waiver wire. The Oilers have the benefit of playing three more games against the St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and Winnipeg Jets on non-peak days this week.
Cam Fowler, St. Louis Blues
Cam Fowler has been excellent since being acquired by the St. Louis Blues, and he hasn’t slowed down at all. Due to the 12-game win streak that was just snapped, he was really contributing to the offense and giving fantasy managers who happened to already have him a great boost.
In Fowler’s last seven games, he has two goals and nine points, three of which came on the power play. If you are needing a physical player who will also get you hits and penalty minutes, you should look elsewhere. Fowler is a cleaner player who is better using his stick and positioning to defend. The Blues will continue rolling through to the end of the season, so Fowler will be in on the success. The team plays the Oilers and the Seattle Kraken to end this week.
Related: Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Week 25 Forward Streams
If the final week of your fantasy hockey season runs through to the end of the actual NHL regular season, then all of the games by these defensemen I mentioned will increase and benefit you even more, especially the players with two games remaining. We’ll see you for the playing as we provide support for the upcoming playoff pools.
