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Dante Fabbro is an interesting pickup at an interesting time for the Blue Jackets, with plenty of upside

On Sunday, Columbus claimed former 2016 first-rounder Dante Fabbro off of waivers from the Nashville Predators. He's an essentially free flier-type acquisition that could be a future part of the defensive corps here in Columbus. Or, perhaps flipped for assets at the trade deadline.

ByMike Stump|
Oct 20, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro (57) skates with the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Gustav Nyquist (14) in the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Oct 20, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro (57) skates with the puck against Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Gustav Nyquist (14) in the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

As I was making my late brunch on Sunday afternoon while some NFL games played in the background, a surprising notification popped up from SportsNet's Elliotte Friedman on X:

When NHL Insiders announced on Saturday that Nashville had waived Dante Fabbro, I didn't pay much attention. After all, the Blue JAckets already have seven defensemen on their NHL roster, and this has encouraged a debate among Jackets fans all season regarding the usage between Jack Johnson, David Jiricek, and Jordan Harris. I didn't consider the CBJ a likely claim candidate for the former 2016 17th overall pick.

And yet, here we are: Dante Fabbro is a Columbus Blue Jacket. So, what kind of value does the 26-year-old bring to a club infamous for its defensive woes for nearly half a decade?

Fabbro has slashed a decent 16-56-72 line in 315 career NHL games while posting a +6 rating and 159 PIM during the same period. Per JFreshHockey (see below) and other advanced statistics observers, Fabbro thrives in three areas: puck movement & distribution, retrievals, and active stick play. These are indeed three areas in the relatively young Blue Jackets' defensive corps that could use some assistance in moving forward.

Despite his seemingly decent results, Fabbro has seen his time on ice totals cascade consistently over the past four seasons in Nashville, culminating in him being a healthy scratch through much of the beginning of this season for the Predators. Some members of the Nashville media also found this to be a headscratcher of a move, and Michael Gallagher of Athlon Sports even indicated that the young defenseman even had some trade value recently.

Fabbro likely fits into the lineup around the same area as the aforementioned Harris, Jiricek and Johnson: he will be battling it out for a consistent spot on the third pairing here in Columbus with the potential to move up further in the lineup. He'll do that if he shows some positive results right out of the gate for a team that is currently scuffling at the dish with, losses in five straight stretching back to the end of October.

Dante Fabbro in October.
Oct 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro (57) takes a shot on goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

It isn't easy to see if Fabbro will end up panning out in Columbus' flans. He is a UFA at the end of this campaign regardless of his GP totals (aka, he's not a Group 6 UFA like Jake Christiansen or Trey Fix-Wolansky). Based on some of the trade speculation from the national media on this move, the Jackets could end up flipping him for assets at the trade deadline if the claim doesn't look like it will pay dividends in the long term.

I, for one, see a situation where Dante ends up sticking in Columbus. His skill set is a positive addition in several areas where Columbus has weaknesses, and he could end up supplanting one of the veterans in the defense corps before the end of this campaign.

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