The Blue Jackets have claimed defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Predators, in line with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Columbus doesn’t have an open roster spot and might want to make a corresponding transaction, which can probably be transferring winger Kent Johnson to injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 17 together with his shoulder damage.
Fabbro, a 6-foot right-shot defender who was a first-round pick of Boston College in 2016, is now in his seventh NHL season and had been a fringe top-four choice for many of his time in Nashville. However after signing a one-year, $2.5M extension in March to maintain him off final summer time’s restricted free-agent market, Fabbro tumbled down the Preds’ depth chart and was a wholesome scratch in 5 straight video games earlier than landing on waivers Saturday.
In hindsight, 2023-24 marked the writing on the wall for Fabbro’s tenure in Nashville. He was a wholesome scratch on quite a lot of events final season, too, solely making 56 appearances and averaging a career-low 16:21 when within the lineup. This yr, Fabbro went scoreless in six video games with a -3 ranking and set a brand new career-low with a 13:06 ATOI earlier than hitting the waiver wire.
Some thought Fabbro’s $2.5M cap hit meant groups would stray away from submitting claims, however Columbus has the second most cap house within the league, at $22.92M, per PuckPedia. It’s not a problem to suit him on the roster financially, though they now carry eight defensemen. With Erik Gudbranson probably out for the remainder of the season after shoulder surgery last month, there probably received’t be a ton of roster motion relating to Columbus’ again finish from right here on out until extra accidents strike.
Fabbro’s addition does give the Jackets one other skilled identify on the again finish, and he has first rate profession possession numbers with a 50.0 CF% and 49.5 xGF% at even power. Nonetheless, his presence on the roster means further competitors for 20-year-old right-shot defender David Jiříček, who’s been a wholesome scratch for all however 5 video games this season and has averaged beneath 12 minutes per recreation within the lineup. It’s not a promising signal for his improvement after Columbus chosen him sixth general in 2022.
Since Nov. 1 is within the rearview mirror, waiver precedence is set by reserve standings order when it comes to factors proportion. Meaning the Canadiens, Sharks, Blackhawks, Geese, Flyers, Kraken, and Penguins all handed on Fabbro.
