Exiled Predators Defenseman Finds New NHL Home with Blue Jackets
Earlier in the season, the Nashville Predators gave away defenseman Dante Fabbro for free, placing him on waivers for the other 31 NHL teams to claim. That was one of a few short-sighted moves that set the Predators back this season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, as we know, took advantage of that and claimed Fabbro from the Predators.
In 37 games in his new threads, the 26-year-old has four goals, nine assists, and 13 points, marking the second-most productive season of his NHL career with plenty of hockey still left to play.
Playing on the one-year, $2.5 million contract he signed with the Predators on March 8, Fabbro will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. It's especially bizarre from Nashville, who signed Fabbro before the offseason started when he was a pending RFA, then gave him away for free anyway only months later.
And, although Fabbro would be free to sign with any team of his choosing as a UFA, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest "32 Thoughts" column that the Blue Jackets will try to keep Fabro in Columbus beyond 2025.
"In addition to [Mathieu] Olivier, the Blue Jackets will try to extend Dante Fabbro, who has found a nice role there," Friedman wrote.
There is an element of risk to keeping Fabbro long-term, as the struggling Damon Severson, 30, is anchored down in Columbus until 2031.
The up-and-coming Blue Jackets team also has young prospects like Corson Ceulemans, Daemon Hunt, and Stanislav Svozil pushing for NHL time, while Fabbro, Ivan Provorov, Jordan Harris, and Jack Johnson are all on expiring contracts.
For the Predators, this is not the first time moving on from a capable defenseman has burned them; youngster Justin Barron has struggled mightily since arriving in the Alex Carrier swap with Montreal.
In the past, the Predators swapped captain Shea Weber for three years of P.K. Subban; who helped the team to a Stanley Cup Final berth in his first season but crashed and burned by Year 3.
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