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Dante Fabbro

Central Notes: Strome, Fabbro, Fiala, Schenn, Pietrangelo

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It might be tough for Dylan Strome to duplicate his performance with the Chicago Blackhawks this season. The under-performing center found his game once he was traded to Chicago and posted 51 points in 58 games. However, Strome could be in line for another breakout season as the Blackhawks have concentrated their focus of Strome’s offseason workouts on strengthening his lower-body, which the team feels is his biggest weakness, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Because the 6-foot-3 Strome uses a short stick which forces him to play leaning slightly forward. The down side to him doing that is that his vision is limited as his head is leaning downwards towards the ice. The team’s plan is to develop his lower-body and core, so he can play more upright and increase his vision.

“He has all the potential to be able to do exactly what he wants to do,” said Paul Goodman, the Hawks’ strength and conditioning coach. “But physically, [he’s] just going through a maturation process and understanding how his body can actually be pushed further and also be able to translate into better speed, better power, better change of direction, better vision.”

  • Of course it’s still quite early to decide who any team might be losing to Seattle in the upcoming expansion draft in 2021, The Athletic’s Adam Vingan (subscription required) writes that quite a bit has already changed for the Nashville Predators as the team now must protect defenseman Dante Fabbro, which complicates matters for the team. Nashville was hoping to only have to protect Roman Josi (with the assumption that he re-signs with Nashville), Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm. That would have allowed the team to protect seven forwards. Instead, the team will be forced to protect Fabbro and will only be able to protect four forwards instead, thereby exposing an extra three forwards to Seattle.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that with the recent signing of Ryan Donato to a two-year deal at $1.9MM, the Minnesota Wild’s top priority is to ink restricted free agent Kevin Fiala now. While Donato opted to sign a two-year bridge deal to prove his value to the franchise, Russo believes that with general manager Paul Fenton’s familiarity with Fiala, the GM might consider trying to lock up Fiala to a much longer deal and hope to get a bargain out of him down the road. Evolving Hockey’s contract projections suggest that it would cost Minnesota about $4.97 AAV to lock him up for five years, but is the team willing to gamble on him is the real question.
  • The St. Louis Blues have had a relatively quiet offseason this summer, but that could change next season as the team has two key players who will be unrestricted free agents next season, including center Brayden Schenn and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Both are critical to the team, but St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Tom Timmermann writes that keeping both will be challenging as they are both still quite young and should garner quite a bit of attention on the open market next summer unless general manager Doug Armstrong can find a way to lock them up early.

Central Notes: Zuccarello, Honka, Perlini, Fabbro

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Despite earlier rumors that the Dallas Stars and unrestricted free agent Mats Zuccarello have mutual interest to get a deal done, it looks like it might not be as easy as it seemed. Dallas general manager Jim Nill said that Zuccarello has decided he wants to test the open market before deciding, according to NHL.com’s Mike Heika.

That doesn’t mean a deal will come about as both sides could be interested in what Zuccarello could fetch on the open market. At 31 years of age, the Stars may be hesitant to give him anything more than a four-year deal, but if both teams are truly interested in staying together, they could just be looking to see what other teams offer him first.

“We’ve talked a little bit with his agent, but he wants to test the free-agent market and he’s got that right,” Nill said. “So they going to look into the market and see what else is out there and then we will swing back and see where he’s at. We’ve got an interview period that starts Sunday, so we’ll start talking to other people and he’ll do the same thing and we’ll see where things go.”

Zuccarello came to Dallas in a trade deadline deal with the New York Rangers for a 2019 second-round pick, which turned out to be defensive prospect Matthew Robertson, and a conditional first-round pick, meaning if Dallas does sign Zuccarello to an extension, the Stars would give the Rangers a 2020 first-rounder. If not, they would give New York a third-round pick instead. However, Zuccarello looked to be a good fit, helping Dallas fill out its second line. Despite suffering a broken arm in his first game with the Stars and only playing two regular season games, the 31-year-old scored four goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games before the Stars fell to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Blues.

  • Sticking with the Stars, The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that the trade value of Dallas defenseman Julius Honka has increased since the NHL announced the salary cap to be set at $81.5MM for the 2019-20 season. Despite the struggles that Honka has had in finding a role with the Stars, several teams should be looking for an inexpensive defenseman with potential. Honka, a restricted free agent, requires a qualifying offer of $874K, and could be valuable to teams such as the Toronto Maple Leafs and the San Jose Sharks, who might need some solid depth options on their defense. Shapiro, however, indicates, that the return for Honka still wouldn’t be that significant.
  • Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports that Chicago Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman confirmed the team will give a qualifying offer to forward Brendan Perlini. The 23-year-old struggled after initially coming over from Arizona in November, but started to improve late in the season, finishing with 12 goals and 15 points in 46 games with the Blackhawks. Bowman did admit that the Blackhawks might let some of their restricted free agents walk, although newly acquired John Quenneville will be signed as well.
  • The Tennessean’s Paul Skrbina writes that one reason that Nashville Predators general manager David Poile felt comfortable trading defenseman P.K. Subban Saturday was because of the play of Dante Fabbro. The 21-year-old, the team’s first-round pick from 2016, signed with Nashville after completing his junior season at Boston University and played in four regular season games, as well as six playoff games, scoring one goal and one assist in those 10 combined games. Fabbro is the likley candidate to take over Subban’s minutes next season.

 

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Duchene, Webber

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When NHL players buy property in a city, particularly free agents, it is often blown out of proportion. Many players have ties to cities throughout the league, but may not necessarily have any intention of signing with the local team. However, when players sell property in the city they played in, that carries some more weight. An impending free agent usually has enough on his plate without house hunting, unless it’s part of a move to a new team. So, when Sergei Bobrovsky put his place on the market today, most Blue Jackets fan saw it as the last piece of evidence pointing to his departure. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that Bobrovsky’s $3MM condominium in downtown Columbus has been put up for sale, likely ruling out a possible return for the superstar goalie. Bobrovksy has hinted for more than a year now that he was likely to leave Columbus as a free agent, but there were surely some fans holding out hope that the team’s postseason run may have changed his mind. His real estate move today would suggest otherwise. Bobrovsky, who is undoubtedly the best netminder on the free agent market and arguably the best player overall, will be donning a different jersey next season.

  • Speaking of ties to a city, Bobrovsky’s Blue Jackets teammate Matt Duchene was again spotted in Nashville this week, writes Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean. However, Skrbina is quick to note that Duchene was joined by several other teammates who were all in town to celebrate Riley Nash’s 30th birthday. This is not the first time that Duchene has been linked to the home of the Predators, though. In fact, the country music fan owns property in the area and many Nashville fans have hoped he would one day call the city home. The Predators were the third team in on the now-infamous trade that sent Duchene to Ottawa last year, but only because they were initially interested in acquiring Duchene himself. While they settled for Kyle Turris instead, that was a decision that didn’t play out so well this season, as Turris missed 27 games due to injury and contributed only 23 points on the year. The Predators find themselves in need of scoring again this off-season, but is Duchene a realistic target? Skrbina notes that GM David Poile recently commented that he feels the team has the flexibility to add up front in free agency, but Duchene is the top center on the free agent market and is likely to command at least than $9MM annually on his next deal. Having just acquired Mikael Granlund and handed Turris a major extension, it seems unlikely that Nashville will be willing to make the commitment in dollars and term that it would take to land Duchene, even if he does enjoy the city.
  • One player who knows for sure where he’s playing next season is draft-eligible prospect Cade Webber. Webber, a hulking defenseman out of The Rivers School in Massachusetts, has signed on with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL for next season, the team announced. Webber had previously committed to Boston University as part of the 2020 recruiting class, but there was uncertainty about whether he would return to Rivers or play elsewhere in the upcoming season. With Penticton, Webber will have the opportunity to face tougher competition but also to develop in a program that has turned out plenty of talent in recent years, including another BU defenseman in Dante Fabbro. At 6’6″ and nearly 200 lbs., Webber is about as big as they come at 18 years old. However, he does not let his size define his game; Webber is a strong skater and isn’t afraid to carry the puck and get involved in the offensive end. He recorded 12 goals and 26 points in just 29 games for Rivers this season and also featured for Team USA at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Recently ranked No. 87 among draft-eligible North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, Webber is a candidate to be drafted as early as the third-round in June and teams could be tempted to reach for a player with size you can’t teach. After that, the Vees will get a major boost next season from the talented blue liner before he joins the Terriers a year later and likely jumps to the pro level not long after that.

Hockey Canada Announces 2019 IIHF World Championship Roster

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The 2019 IIHF World Championship will begin next month, and Hockey Canada has finally announced their roster for the tournament. 22 players were named to the group (that could be increased to 25), including many that have represented the team at international events in the past. The full roster is as follows:

G MacKenzie Blackwood
G Matt Murray
G Carter Hart

D Thomas Chabot
D Brandon Montour
D Troy Stecher
D Damon Severson
D Shea Theodore
D Darnell Nurse
D Dante Fabbro

F Jon Marchessault
F Anthony Cirelli
F Mark Stone
F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Anthony Mantha
F Sam Reinhart
F Mathieu Joseph
F John Tavares
F Kyle Turris
F Dylan Strome
F Adam Henrique
F Sean Couturier

Central Notes: DeBrincat, Strome, Hamhuis, Bishop, Schuldt

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With the signing earlier today of former Chicago Blackhawks forward Nick Schmaltz to a seven-year, $40.95MM contract extension, The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) wonders what kind of extensions might forwards Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome earn, as both will be eligible to sign new deals on July 1.

DeBrincat, who is in the second year of his three-year, entry-level contract, has already tallied 68 goals in two years, including a 40-goal campaign this season. With those numbers, Powers writes that the Blackhawks are most likely going to get DeBrincat to eventually sign a six-year deal, likely heading into the $8MM AAV-range, pointing out that a seven or eight-year deal is unlikely since a six-year deal will leave him looking for a third contract at age 27, the perfect age for a long-term extension. If he can continue posting 30-to-40 goal seasons, DeBrincat could be in line for double digit cap hits in the future.

As for Strome, the team may be better off waiting for another year to lock up the young forward. Strome has played well in Chicago with 14 goals and 45 points in 53 games, but both sides would be better off to wait another year for more proof that he deserves a big contract extension. Plus, it would be wise if Chicago doesn’t have two big contracts handed out in the same year, which could get expensive, possibly between $13-15MM combined.

  • The Athletic’s Adam Vingan reports that the Nashville Predators have activated defenseman Dan Hamhuis from injured reserve. The veteran blue liner has been out with a leg injury since February 23rd, but it finally ready to return. The team’s third-pair defender has played 53 games this season for the Predators and will now partner up with rookie Dante Fabbro, who is expected to make his debut Saturday against Columbus. The Predators also announced they have assigned Troy Grosenick to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.
  • SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks reports that the Dallas Stars will be without goaltender Ben Bishop on Saturday and likely longer, as he is considered to be day-to-day. The 32-year-old Bishop has been a key reason why Dallas has been playing so well as they fight to hold onto their wildcard spot. Bishop has a 2.03 GAA and a .933 save percentage so far this year and may even be a Vezina Trophy finalist at this rate. NHL.com’s Mike Heika writes that he suffered a lower-body injury while going down into the butterfly in the Stars’ last game. DeFranks also adds that Mats Zuccarello and Justin Dowling are about three days away from returning to the lineup.
  • The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that the Minnesota Wild are expected to be one of the most active teams in trying to sign St. Cloud State defenseman Jimmy Schuldt in the next few days. Schuldt finished his four-year college career Friday night, posting 38 career goals. Russo reports that the Wild hope to sign the four-year blue liner by burning the first year of his deal this season and allowing him to play in the NHL for the team’s final few games.

Nashville Predators Sign Dante Fabbro

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Though the news had broken a few days ago, it wasn’t official until this morning. Dante Fabbro has officially signed his three-year entry-level contract worth $925K at the NHL level with the Nashville Predators, forgoing his senior season at Boston University. Fabbro’s deal will start this season and he is eligible for play with the Predators right away. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Fabbro’s contract will include the full Schedule A bonuses in years two and three, meaning he can make up to $850K more in incentives each season.

Importantly, as CapFriendly points out on Twitter, if Fabbro plays in a single game down the stretch for the Predators he will accrue a professional season and be eligible for the 2021 expansion draft. That is certainly a concern for Nashville who already have several exceptional defensemen who will need protection, but it very well could be the thing that convinced the young defensemen to leave college in the first place. Fabbro could have potentially returned to BU for one more season and become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020. Now however he’ll join an organization that is known best for developing elite defensemen.

The 20-year old was picked 17th overall in 2016 after an outstanding year for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, and only impressed further during his collegiate career. Recording 33 points in 38 games this season, Fabbro was a Hobey Baker nominee and co-captain of the Terriers. A two-time U20 World Junior medalist, he even competed for Canada at the most recent Spengler Cup and was named to the tournament All-Star team. There is little that Fabbro hasn’t accomplished in his amateur career, but will have to take on a new challenge in joining the Predators.

Notably, the team already has four top rated defensemen on the roster that are bound to eat up most of the minutes. Fabbro is used to being on the ice a ton for BU, but will likely have to slide in somewhere behind P.K. Subban, Mattias Ekholm, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis, all of whom are averaging at least 22:42 of ice time this season. Josi is only signed through the end of next season, but the other three are locked up long-term.

Dante Fabbro To Sign With Nashville Predators

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It’s not a very good day to be a Boston University hockey fan. After Jake Oettinger and Joel Farabee both signed earlier today, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet is now reporting that Dante Fabbro will also forego his final season with the Terriers and sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators. Getting Fabbro under contract was extremely important for the Predators, as the highly touted defenseman could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer had he returned to BU.

There was some speculation that Fabbro was interested in waiting and testing the free market due to the depth on the Nashville blue line, but instead he’ll join an organization that has made a habit of developing high-end defensemen over the years. The 20-year old certainly has that pedigree, after being selected 17th overall in 2016 and steadily improving his game over three years at BU. In fact, Fabbro recorded 33 points in 38 games this season as captain for the Terriers and was a nominee for the Hobey Baker award.

Fabbro also brings a wealth of international experience, as he was a key part of the last two world junior tournaments, winning a silver and gold medal as part of the Canadian contingent. Still even with all that success, it’s unclear where he stands in the Nashville pecking order. The Predators already have seven defensemen signed to one-way contracts for next season, including one of the best top-four in all of hockey. Fabbro could certainly slide into the third pairing, but wouldn’t be getting the kind of minutes that Nashville may want for him. That could lead to him at least starting the year in the AHL, where the Milwaukee Admirals would likely use him as an all-situations option including on the powerplay.

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