The Columbus Blue Jackets signed defenseman Dante Fabbro to a four year contract extension on Sunday worth a total of $16.5 million dollars. This is a deal that makes sense for both sides.
After being picked up by the Jackets via waivers on November 9th, Fabbro stepped right into the top defense pairing with the team and never looked back. He went on to play 62 games in his first season in the Union Blue, scoring 9 goals and 26 points while carrying a +23 rating alongside Norris Trophy runner-up Zach Werenski.
From the moment he joined the team, he looked like he belonged in Columbus. His calm, steady game allowed Werenski to open up more of his own potential, and the two quickly formed one of the most reliable pairings in franchise history this season.
If you look at it from that perspective, this is a bit of a steal for the Blue Jackets. They lock up a guy who looks like a long-term fit inside of their top-4 to a contract that pays him just $4.125 million against the cap for the next four years. With the way the salary cap is set to rise, that makes him comparable to a #4/5 defenseman on most teams. I think he's going to be a tremendous value at that rate.
Like this deal! He is worth much more pic.twitter.com/0lVssAgAPJ
— Benchrates (@benchrates) June 29, 2025
From Dante's perspective, I have to imagine this is a win as well. Just 9 months after being placed on waivers by the team that drafted him in the first round in 2016, he has found some job security. He worked hard this season, and took full advantage of the opportunity presented to him by the Blue Jackets. As a result, he gets rewarded with a big raise over his previous AAV of $2.5m.
It goes without saying that, had he hit the open market, Dante could have probably squeezed someone for more AAV or term. Perhaps both. But, he saw the value that he was able to provide in this role in Columbus, and decided that testing free agency wasn't worth the uncertainty that could come from hitting the open market.
This signing helps solidify things for the Blue Jackets on the back-end, though we still think there are moves to come to the defense corps on this roster. With free agency just around the corner, this is tidy work by Don Waddell.