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Dante Fabbro

Blue Jackets Sign Dante Fabbro To Four-Year Extension

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The Blue Jackets have signed defenseman Dante Fabbro to a four-year, $16.5MM extension to keep him from becoming a free agent on Tuesday, the team announced. The deal will carry a cap hit of $4.125MM. Fabbro receives a no-trade clause for 2025-26 as part of the deal, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. His deal is paid entirely in base salary aside from a $1MM up-front signing bonus, per PuckPedia. His full no-trade clause drops to a 10-team NTC for 2026-27 and 2027-28 and again to a five-time NTC in 2028-29.

It’s a major bit of business for Columbus, and the expected outcome after FanDuel Sports Network’s Andy Strickland reported earlier this month that a long-term deal was on the horizon. Fabbro was one of two top-four defenders for them who could have hit the open market alongside Ivan Provorov. He was the No. 16 UFA on our Top 50 board and the third-highest-ranked right-shot defenseman behind Aaron Ekblad and Brent Burns.

While Provorov’s future remains uncertain, the Jackets will at least keep their top pairing intact heading into next season. It’s also a remarkable turnaround for Fabbro, who goes from waiver claim to a well-compensated top-four piece in a matter of months. The first-round pick of the Predators in 2016 had fallen out of a regular spot in their lineup at the beginning of this past season, going pointless in six games before landing on the wire in early November.

Columbus picked him up as a replacement for veteran d-man Erik Gudbranson, who needed early-season shoulder surgery and was going to miss most of the campaign. They experimented with Fabbro in top-pairing duties alongside star Zach Werenski and never looked back. Fabbro remained stapled to Werenski’s side for the remainder of the year, posting a career-high 26 points and +23 rating in 62 games for the Jackets while averaging 21:39 per game.

The Blue Jackets, already armed with plenty of spending flexibility, now have their top pairing locked in for the next three seasons, the remaining term on Werenski’s deal, for a quite reasonable $13.71MM combined cap hit. There’s no reason to believe Fabbro will get separated from Werenski anytime soon – he excelled in a support role, and only five pairings in the league spent more time together than they did (1,009 minutes) despite Fabbro spending the first few weeks of the year in Nashville.

Columbus GM Don Waddell called Fabbro’s extension a “priority” in the team’s announcement. The 27-year-old will now spend his peak years in Columbus on a deal that he could have likely beaten to some degree on the open market, and he’ll have the opportunity to be compensated again at age 31 in 2029. Their attention now turns to either re-upping Provorov or finding a replacement, either on the open market or via trade, to serve as their No. 2 lefty behind Werenski. They could also look to elevate 2022 first-rounder Denton Mateychuk into that role – he already spent a lot of time with Provorov in 2024-25.

The Jackets still have $28.53MM in cap space after signing Fabbro, according to PuckPedia. They still need new deals for pending RFAs Dmitri Voronkov and Jordan Harris, although the latter could be a non-tender candidate.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report Fabbro’s extension.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

Dante Fabbro, Blue Jackets Discussing Long-Term Extension

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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.

Metropolitan Notes: Devils, Shaw, Fabbro

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New Jersey Devils’ forward Ondrej Palat was back at practice today after suffering an undisclosed injury in the final week of the regular season that required him to miss Wednesday night’s game against the Red Wings, per team reporter Amanda Stein. Palat left a game against Boston after blocking a shot, but his x-rays came back negative, and he appears ready to go for the playoffs.

On the year, Palat scored 15 goals and 28 points while averaging 13:45 of ice time per night. The veteran also brings a wealth of playoff experience to the table, having played in 150 career playoff contests. The two-time Stanley Cup champ has shown an ability to take his game to another level in the playoffs, scoring 101 points in those contests, including seven points in 12 games for the Devils last season.

While Palat looks good to go, head coach Sheldon Keefe said today that “it would be a surprise” if defender Jonas Siegenthaler is ready for their first-round matchup against Carolina. Siegenthaler, 27, posted nine points in 55 games on the season, while adding 92 blocked shots and 75 hits. Siegenthaler has been out of the lineup for a little more than a month due to a lower-body injury and was moved to LTIR in recent days before Jack Hughes’ season-ending shoulder surgery. His defensive-minded play would support the Devils if he were able to return.

Elsewhere in the Metro:

  • Brad Shaw, who served as the Flyers interim head coach after the team fired John Tortorella, said today he would be happy to remain with Philly’s coaching staff even if the club does select an outside hire for the lead role, per Jordan Hall of NBCS Philly. Shaw noted that he would be interested in the head coaching position, and he’ll meet with GM Daniel Briere next week to see where things stand. This is the second interim head coaching position for Shaw, who experienced a similar situation with the New York Islanders during the 2005-06 season when head coach Steve Stirling was fired. Shaw guided the Isles to an 18-18-4 record and was not retained. He has since bounced around the league in various assistant coaching roles.
  • Columbus Blue Jackets’ defender Dante Fabbro said he was “shocked” when the Predators placed him on waivers, but that being claimed by Columbus was a blessing in disguise, per team reporter Jeff Svoboda. Fabbro, now a free agent, added that he would love to continue his career with the Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old put up career high numbers this season with Columbus, scoring nine goals, 17 assists, and 26 points in 62 games for the club. He added a plus-23 rating, 136 blocked shots, and 66 hits. Based on his success with the team, it would be surprising if the Blue Jackets didn’t feel similar about a reunion.

East Notes: Norris, Greenway, Staal, Fabbro, Roy

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The Buffalo Sabres are working on winning their second consecutive game without a pair of forwards. Earlier today, TSN reported that Sabres’ Joshua Norris wouldn’t make his return to Ottawa this evening as he remains away from the team due to a mid-body injury, and Jordan Greenway has missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury (Tweet Link).

Despite being acquired by Buffalo at the trade deadline, Norris has only appeared in three games for the Sabres. He’s been productive in those contests, scoring one goal and one assist, averaging 18:36 of ice time a night, and maintaining a 54.0% playoff race. There’s no word on whether or not Norris’s season has ended, but he may be better served by fully healing from his current injury to start the 2025-26 season fresh for Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Greenway is similarly prone to injuries, especially this season. The gritty middle-six forward has only appeared in 34 of the Sabres’ 74 games this season, scoring three goals and eight points. Still, although he’s missed over half of the team’s regular season contests, the Sabres to a two-year, $8MM extension with mild trade protection.

Other injury notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • According to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer, Carolina Hurricanes’ captain Jordan Staal is unlikely to suit up tomorrow against the Washington Capitals. Staal is dealing with a lower-body injury, but it’s not considered severe, as Alexander notes he would only be withheld from the lineup for precautionary reasons. Depth forward Tyson Jost will likely take Staal’s place in the lineup should he miss a second consecutive contest.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets benefited greatly tonight from the return of defenseman Dante Fabbro from an undisclosed injury (Tweet Link). After tallying three points in the team’s recent win against the Vancouver Canucks, Fabbro missed against the Senators before returning tonight. In an equally promising game, Fabbro scored one goal and one assist in 20:41 of ice time.
  • Defenseman Dylan McIlrath has already made his presence in the Washington Capitals lineup felt tonight after engaging in a heavyweight bout with Boston Bruins’ forward, Jeffrey Viel. The only reason McIlrath is in the lineup tonight is that Matt Roy is out for familial reasons, as reported by Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post. There’s no timeline for Roy’s return.

Metropolitan Notes: Tippett, Kuzmenko, Pelletier, Fabbro, Crosby

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Flyers winger Owen Tippett has been ruled out of Philadelphia’s final two games before the 4 Nations Face-Off, notes Jackie Spiegel of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  The 25-year-old suffered an upper-body injury last Wednesday against New Jersey and hasn’t played since.  After setting new career highs last season offensively with 28 goals and 25 assists, Tippett has been a bit quieter this season with 14 goals and 20 helpers through 52 games although his 30 points still put him third on the team in scoring.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Also from Spiegel’s column, the Flyers are hoping that newcomers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier will be available for Saturday’s contest versus Pittsburgh. The two were acquired from Calgary last Friday but are still in the process of securing a work visa.  Neither player is presently on their 23-man roster so once they get clearance to suit up, Philadelphia will need to open up two roster spots before they can be activated.  Moving Tippett to IR retroactively is one way they can free up one of the spots.
  • The Blue Jackets will look into signing defenseman Dante Fabbro to a contract extension, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 32 Thoughts column. The 26-year-old has fit in quite nicely since being claimed off waivers in November, putting up 13 points in 37 games with Columbus while logging over 21 minutes a night.  Fabbro will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and with how well he has played with the Blue Jackets, he could be in line for a small raise on his current $2.5MM price tag.
  • Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that more information about Sidney Crosby’s status should be known on Friday. He was injured on Tuesday versus New Jersey.  Crosby is over the point-per-game mark for the 20th straight season and is set to be Canada’s captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off if the injury doesn’t force him to withdraw from the tournament.

Blue Jackets Notes: Fabbro, Johnson, Chinakhov, Greaves

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The Columbus Blue Jackets received a series of injury and roster updates on Wednesday, headlined by an update on defenseman Dante Fabbro’s injury. Fabbro left Columbus’ Tuesday loss to Tampa Bay in the second period, after receiving a scary knee-to-knee hit from Lightning rookie Conor Geekie. But Fabbro has avoided the worst possible outcome, nursing more of a charley horse than a bad knee injury per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Fabbro was not available for Columbus’ optional Wednesday practice.

Fabbro will be working to maintain his hot streak in Columbus if he does play. He has seven points, 16 penalty minutes, and a +11 in 18 games since the Blue Jackets claimed him off waivers in November. It’s been a 180-degree turnaround from his start to the season with Nashville, which saw Fabbro record no scoring, no penalties, and a -3 through six games. The 2016 17th-overall pick has been a fixture of the Predators’ lineup since turning pro at the end of the 2018-19 season, establishing a confident role on the team’s second pair. But he never seemed to favor either zone, with low-scoring totals complemented by negative plus-minuses and poor advanced stats. He ultimately totaled just 72 points in 315 games, and seven seasons, with the Predators. 24 points in 66 games of the 2021-22 campaign stand as his career-high in scoring. But Fabbro could surpass that mark this year, with his hot start in Columbus putting him on pace for 26 points – even despite no scoring in Nashville. That pace would require he play in all 50 games remaining on the Blue Jackets’ schedule, though – a mission that will start by returning from this lower-body injury.

Other notes out of Ohio:

  • Veteran defenseman Jack Johnson will join Fabbro as questionable for Wednesday night’s game per Portzline. Johnson took a stick to the eye in Sunday’s match against Carolina and is scheduled to see an eye doctor in Columbus on Wednesday. He has rotated out of Columbus third pairing, averaging 13:32 in ice time and recording just one assist in 18 games this season. With both Fabbro and Johnson both questionable, Portzline adds that Columbus is likely to recall a defenseman from the minors ahead of Thursday’s game. That could be the opportunity for top prospects Denton Mateychuk or Stanislav Svozil to earn their jump to the top flight. Mateychuk has 23 points in 25 AHL games this season, while Svozil has 13 in 22 games.
  • Forward Yegor Chinakhov was on the ice for Wednesday’s optional skate shares NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. It’s Chinakhov’s first time skating since suffering an upper-body injury on November 27th. He has since missed Columbus’ last 11 games and was placed on injured reserve on December 11th. Chinakhov is having a strong year outside of the injuries, with 14 points – split evenly – through 21 games this season. He ranks in the top five of scoring among Blue Jackets forwards, despite averaging the least amount of ice time of anyone above him. Chinakhov is also hitting more and blocking more shots, with his 2024-25 numbers (32 hits, 10 blocks) already narrowing in on his totals from 53 games of 2023-24 (43 hits, 28 blocks). He’ll quickly slot back into Columbus’ middle-six when he returns to full health – a path that started with a return to the ice today.
  • Finally, Columbus has loaned goaltender Jet Greaves back to the AHL. Greaves was recalled on December 11th and stepped into three games, but posted a measly 0-1-2 record and .895 save percentage. He’ll now return to the minors, where he’s already managed an 8-4-2 record and .902 save percentage in 15 appearances. Greaves’ assignment will leave Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov as the sole pair in Columbus’ goaltending room.

Blue Jackets Claim Dante Fabbro Off Waivers From Predators

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2:15 PM: Columbus has moved Kent Johnson to injured reserve to make space for this waiver claim, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. Johnson hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury on October 17th. Columbus will be able to make this IR placement retroactive to that date, making this move purely a paper transaction and Johnson eligible to return as soon as he’s back to full health.

1:00 PM: The Blue Jackets have claimed defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Predators, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Columbus’ assignment of Kent Johnson to IR opens the roster spot to make this possible.

Fabbro, a 6’0″ right-shot defender who was a first-round pick out of Boston University in 2016, is now in his seventh NHL season and had been a fringe top-four option for most of his time in Nashville. But after signing a one-year, $2.5MM extension in March to keep him off last summer’s restricted free-agent market, Fabbro tumbled down the Preds’ depth chart and was a healthy scratch in five straight games before landing on waivers yesterday.

In hindsight, 2023-24 marked the writing on the wall for Fabbro’s tenure in Nashville. He was a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions last season, too, only making 56 appearances and averaging a career-low 16:21 when in the lineup. This year, Fabbro went scoreless in six games with a -3 rating and set a new career-low with a 13:06 ATOI before hitting the waiver wire.

Some thought Fabbro’s $2.5MM cap hit meant teams would stray away from submitting claims, but Columbus has the second most cap space in the league, at $22.92MM, per PuckPedia. It’s not a challenge to fit him on the roster financially, although they now carry eight defensemen. With Erik Gudbranson potentially out for the rest of the season after shoulder surgery last month, there likely won’t be a ton of roster movement regarding Columbus’ back end from here on out unless more injuries strike.

Fabbro’s addition does give the Jackets another experienced name on the back end, and he has decent career possession numbers with a 50.0 CF% and 49.5 xGF% at even strength. However, his presence on the roster means additional competition for 20-year-old right-shot defender David Jiříček, who’s been a healthy scratch for all but five games this season and has averaged under 12 minutes per game in the lineup. It’s not a promising sign for his development after Columbus selected him sixth overall in 2022.

Since Nov. 1 is in the rearview mirror, waiver priority is determined by reserve standings order in terms of points percentage. That means the Canadiens, Sharks, Blackhawks, Ducks, Flyers, Kraken, and Penguins all passed on Fabbro.

Predators Place Dante Fabbro On Waivers

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Dante Fabbro has been a speculative trade candidate in Nashville for a few years now and it appears he could be on the move although not via a trade.  Instead, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Predators have placed the blueliner on waivers.

A few years ago, the 26-year-old looked like another fixture on the back end for the Preds.  He had three seasons averaging more than 19 minutes a night (primarily on the second pairing) between 2019-20 and 2021-22, even putting up a breakout 24-point effort in the 2021-22 campaign, making his then-$2.4MM price tag look like a bargain.

However, things haven’t gone as well since then.  Fabbro’s playing time has dipped since then, dropping to 17:27 per night in 2022-23 and then 16:21 last season.  This year, it’s even lower when he has been in the lineup as he has logged just 13:06 per game in his six appearances where he has been held off the scoresheet thus far.  In Nashville’s other eight games, Fabbro has been a healthy scratch.

Fabbro is making $2.5MM this season on a one-year deal he signed at last year’s trade deadline, locking him in at the same rate as the year before without any potential for uncertainty in what would have been his final year with arbitration eligibility; he could have very easily been a non-tender candidate had he been unsigned heading into late June.

That price tag would be difficult for quite a few cap-strapped teams to absorb but even so, it’s possible that Fabbro could be claimed.  A rebuilding team might want to get a look at him to see if he’s worth keeping around longer-term or to try to build up his value and then flip him (possibly with salary retention) closer to the March 7th trade deadline.  With over 300 NHL games under his belt, he could be a worthwhile pickup for some teams looking for depth and experience on their back end.  Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on him.

Central Notes: Chisholm, Marchment, Faksa, Fabbro

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The Wild picked up one of the more interesting young players who hit waivers this season – defenseman Declan Chisholm. A Jets 2018 fifth-round pick who played just two games for Winnipeg in the first few months of the season, Chisholm immediately became an everyday player in Minnesota, posting three goals and eight points in 29 games while averaging 16:52 per game, 1:53 of which came on the power play.

He’s had a strong enough showing to earn him more runway in Minnesota as the club is expected to extend or issue a qualifying offer to the pending RFA, notes The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Chisholm was an RFA last summer, too. Without being eligible for arbitration and hoping for a one-way deal, he was one of the last remaining holdouts league-wide when he signed a one-year, two-way pact with Winnipeg in September. He’s arbitration-eligible this time around, though, putting a yet-to-be-disclosed firm end date on negotiations if he ends up in another lengthy dispute.

All indications point to Chisholm earning the first one-way contract of his career, and he should slot in as a cheap, puck-moving option near the bottom of the lineup for the cap-strapped Wild. Minnesota owes him a qualifying offer of $813,750, a cap hit he’s likely to eclipse when all is said and done.

Other updates out of the Central:

Predators Recall Spencer Stastney With Dante Fabbro Week-To-Week

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The Nashville Predators have made their first move since the Trade Deadline, recalling defenseman Spencer Stastney. Stastney will fill in for Dante Fabbro, who the team shared is out for two-to-three weeks with an upper-body injury. Fabbro suffered the injury in the first period of Nashville’s Sunday night loss to the Minnesota Wild, exiting the game early.

This is the third recall of Stastney’s season, with the 24-year-old previously serving two weeks on the Predators roster in late November and one week in December. He’s totaled nine NHL games on the season, with his first career goal marking his only scoring on the year. Stastney has also managed five goals and 20 points in 44 AHL games this season. It’s his second full year as a pro, after joining the Predators at the end of the 2021-22 season. He recorded five goals and 13 points in 56 games as an AHL rookie last year, adding two assists in his first eight NHL games.

Stastney will enter the lineup as a depth option, with the team likely to ice Jérémy Lauzon ahead of him. Lauzon has appeared in 66 games this season, netting six goals and 13 points. He is one of six Predators defenders, including Fabbro and Stastney, to not yet reach the 20-point mark. Stastney could also slot in for Luke Schenn – Nashville’s least-used defenseman, with just 15 minutes of average ice time across 47 games. Schenn has six points on the season, the lowest of Nashville’s current blue-line.

Stastney’s recall will limit the Predators to just three remaining this season.

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