Defenseman Dante Fabbro was claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday after 315 games played with the Nashville Predators. As the 12-day road trip begins the Predators now have one roster spot open with six defensemen listed.
Fabbro’s one-year $2.5 million salary will be taken on by the Blue Jackets for the rest of the season. With the British Columbia native off the books the Predators have $3,282,276 in cap space. It could be more down the road depending on if Ryan Johansen loses his grievance with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Waiver order is in reverse of the NHL standings, therefore, Fabbro fell past the Anaheim Ducks, Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, & Chicago Blackhawks to end up six hours north of Nashville.
His last goal at home came 364 days ago when Nashville fell 7-5 to the then-Arizona Coyotes who moved to Utah this summer.
Nashville just shut out the Utah Hockey Club 4-0 last night without Fabbro in the lineup for the sixth consecutive game.
Fabbro consistently played with captain Roman Josi during his time in a gold sweater & dressed for six games this season picking up 0 points.
When Fabbro got his start with Nashville (2019-20) he primarily played alongside former Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm.
Aside from being Josi’s defensive partner, Fabbro also spent significant time with Jeremy Lauzon & former Nashville D-man Ryan McDonagh.
Since 2016, the Predators have seen Fabbro (waived), Eeli Tolvanen (waived), Samuel Girard (traded), Egor Afanasyev (traded), and Yaroslav Asakrov (traded).
Fabbro joins a 5-6-2 Blue Jackets squad & will presumably play his first game against Nashville this coming spring on April 1 in Columbus.
Before the claim, Columbus placed forward Kent Johnson on injured reserve with a shoulder ailment which in turn opened a spot to take on Fabbro.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Photos courtesy of the Nashville Predators
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