The Blue Jackets have picked up Dante Fabbro from the Predators, as reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Columbus must now shuffle their roster because they don’t have an open spot. It looks like they’ll move Kent Johnson to injured reserve due to his shoulder issue dating back to October 17th. Fabbro, a 6-foot defender with a right-handed shot, was drafted in the first round in 2016 after playing at Boston University. This marks his seventh NHL season, primarily spent on the edge of Nashville’s top four defenders. Although he signed a one-year extension worth $2.5M in March to avoid becoming a restricted free agent last summer, he fell down Nashville’s lineup and was scratched for five consecutive games before being placed on waivers Saturday.
In hindsight, this season has signaled the end of Fabbro’s time with Nashville. Last year wasn’t much better; he sat out many games and only played in 56 matches while averaging just over 16 minutes per game—a career low. In six games this year, he didn’t score and had a -3 rating with an even lower average ice time of 13:06 before hitting waivers. Some thought teams would avoid him due to his $2.5M salary cap hit, but Columbus has plenty of cap space—$22.92M according to PuckPedia—so fitting him financially isn’t an issue despite already having eight defensemen on their roster .
Roster Changes Ahead:
With Erik Gudbranson likely sidelined for the rest of the season following shoulder surgery last month, major changes aren’t expected unless more injuries occur among Columbus’ defensemen. Fans might wonder if bringing in Fabbro is good or bad news for the team’s future.
Fabbro brings experience and decent career possession stats (50% Corsi For percentage and 49.5% Expected Goals For percentage) during even strength play to Columbus’ lineup. However, his arrival means more competition for David Jiříček—a young right-shot defender who’s been benched most of this season except for five games where he averaged less than 12 minutes each time on ice—which could hinder Jiříček’s growth after being picked sixth overall by Columbus in 2022.
Now that November has begun, waiver priority depends on standings based on points percentage; hence teams like Canadiens, Sharks, Blackhawks Ducks Flyers Kraken Penguins all decided not to claim Fabbro off waivers.
What do you think about these changes?
