Blue Jackets Defenseman Giving Former Team Regrets

The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to keep their magical season alive. With nine games remaining in the regular season, they are battling with the Montreal Canadiens for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Blue Jackets' run is impressive already, and it's headlined by breakout seasons for multiple players. One of the skaters is defenseman Dante Fabbro. The 26-year-old puck mover was a waiver claim earlier in the season after falling out of favor with the Nashville Predators. Still, he's performed like a major deadline trade addition since joining Columbus.

The Jackets and Predators met in a recent contest, and Fabbro was excellent. He recorded a goal and an assist, finished the game with a plus/minus of +2, and played in 20:41 minutes of ice time. As the Jackets cruised to a victory, the Preds' coaching staff and management surely felt regret watching Fabbro play like the top defender they always envisioned.

Fabbro has found a perfect spot in the Blue Jackets' blue line. Skating on a pair with Norris Trophy candidate Zach Werenski, Fabbro reached a new level of performance and production. The pair has played nearly 900 minutes of ice time together this season, according to MoneyPuck, and they are controlling over 54% of the expected goals when on the ice. Of all the defensive pairings in Columbus with at least 300 minutes of ice time, their expected goals are the best by at least 2%.

And the way Werenski and Fabbro are dominating the ice is translating to statistical production. Werenski is having a career year with 74 points in 72 games. He ranks second in scoring among defensemen this season.

Meanwhile, Fabbro is also having an excellent year. His seven goals are a career high, and his 22 points are just two shy of his previous best. However, he's done this in just 53 games with Columbus, whereas it took him 66 games to record 24 points back in 2021-2022.

Fabbro has been a perfect yet under appreciated addition to the Jackets' lineup. As their playoff pursuit ratchets up intensity with each game, so too does Fabbro's performance. It's enough to give the Jackets more hope about their chances while simultaneously forcing the Nashville Predators to kick themselves over such a short-sighted decision.