Dante Fabbro, Blue Jackets Discussing Long-Term Extension

The Blue Jackets have progressed in extension talks with pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Dante Fabbro, Andy Strickland of FanDuel Sports Network reports Monday. Strickland adds that it’s expected to be a long-term deal if finalized.

Fabbro isn’t Columbus’ top pending UFA in terms of market value, even among defensemen. That honor goes to the minute-munching Ivan Provorov. Yet getting a commitment from Fabbro is a highly important piece of business as well.

Perhaps no pending UFA saw their stock rise in-season as much as Fabbro. The soon-to-be 27-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Predators early in the season after failing to land a regular job in their lineup in his sixth full NHL season. Initially, the only hope was that Fabbro could provide some needed right-side depth on the Jackets’ blue line after losing veteran Erik Gudbranson for most of the season early on due to a shoulder injury.

Instead, Fabbro was given a trial in top-pairing duties at even strength alongside Norris Trophy finalist Zach Werenski and never left. The Werenski-Fabbro pairing was just one of seven league-wide to play over 1,000 minutes together at 5-on-5. Among the seven, they were the fifth-best at controlling play with a 54.4% share of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. It was Werenski’s best play-driving season with his primary partner since his second year in the league, when he and Seth Jones posted a 54.9 xGF% back in 2017-18.

Individually, Fabbro solidified himself as one of the best right-shot options available on the open market this summer behind Panthers pending UFA Aaron Ekblad. He made 62 appearances for Columbus after the waiver claim, posting a 9-17–26 scoring line and a +23 rating while averaging 21:39 per game. All were career highs, even when including his brief six-game sample with Nashville before the move. He also featured alongside Provorov on Columbus’ top penalty kill unit for most of the season, aside from when Gudbranson was healthy.

He would have been an extremely desirable target if he decided to test free agency as virtually the only defensively responsible righty with legitimate puck-moving ability and a recent history of substantial possession impacts in a top-four role. Instead, he’ll likely continue to play a key role with the Blue Jackets as they enter 2025-26 well-armed with the tools to enter a playoff contention window and end a five-year postseason drought.

Fabbro was projected to land a four-year deal worth around $4.5MM per season on the open market, according to AFP Analytics. A long-term deal that eats up more of the 2016 first-rounder’s prime will likely come in closer to the $5MM-$6MM range, though. With over $40MM in cap space to burn this summer, that shouldn’t impact their ability to make a competitive offer to retain Provorov while also leaving space to acquire one of the market’s top forwards.