Blue Jackets claim Dante Fabbro off waivers from Predators

A former first-round pick is on the move.

On Sunday, the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed defenseman Dante Fabbro off waivers from the Nashville Predators.

It will be the first time that Fabbro will have a new home, as he has spent his entire pro career with the Predators organization.

Fabbro will join an experienced blueliner on a Blue Jackets team that is showing some improvement from last season. The Boston University product will play alongside Zack Werenski, Ivan Provorov and rising star David Jiricek.

Fabbro appeared in six of Nashville’s first eight games of the season but hasn’t played since Oct. 28 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 26-year-old averaged a hair over 13 minutes per game, registering seven shots on goal and a plus/minus of -3.

Fabbro has been a part of the Nashville organization since the team took him in the first round, 17th overall, of the 2016 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut late in the 2018-19 season and, for the better part of four years, was one of the familiar faces on Smashville’s blue line. However, in 2023-24, Fabbro was a healthy scratch for several games, leading to him playing just 56 games. He only played three of the Predators’ six games during the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks, which Nashville lost in six games.

The Coquitlam, British Columbia native signed a one-year contract with a $2.5 million AAA. It is the same cap hit he had in his one-year deal that carried through the 2023-24 campaign.

Fabbro has played in 315 games, scoring 16 goals and 56 assists for 72 points, with a career +6 rating. He also has one assist in 17 postseason appearances.

The Blue Jackets (5-6-2) have the sixth-best winning percentage (.462) in the Metropolitan Division. Columbus will face the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.