Blue Jackets Place Dante Fabbro On IR

On a day where many teams are trimming their training camp rosters, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been forced to tend to injuries. Defenseman Dante Fabbro has been placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury sustained in Monday night’s preseason matchup against the Detroit Red Wings. Fabbro recorded seven minutes of ice time, one shot block, and one hit before sustaining the injury.

An IR designation will limit Fabbro’s availability for the start of Columbus’ regular season on October 1st. His absence should promote Erik Gudbranson up the lineup. The 34-year-old defender is entering his 16th NHL season. He has spent the last five years with the Blue Jackets, often as the team’s extra defender. Gudbranson has 46 points and a minus-31 in 201 appearances with the Blue Jackets. Fabbro’s absence could also open opportunity for Carson Soucy who remains with the Blue Jackets on a professional tryout contract.

Fabbro should have claim over a third-pair role as soon as he’s back to full health. That’s where he has spent the last two seasons after joining the Blue Jackets off of waivers from the Nashville Predators in November 2024. His first season in Columbus was a career-year marked by a personal-best 26 points and plus-23 in 62 games. Fabbro was the hot hand that season, averaging over 21 minutes of ice time and leading the team with 136 shot blocks.

Unfortunately, that momentum didn’t carry into the 2025-26 season. Fabbro recorded 11 points, a minus-16, and just 16:34 in ice time through 74 games last season. He returned to a modest, bottom-pair role though stuck ahead of veterans like Gudbranson on the depth chart. He also finished second on the team in shot blocks with 120, behind Ivan Provorov’s 134. Fabbro is a defensive stalwart who can fill a depth role, though the 2026-27 season will be about proving to Columbus that he can return to his 2024-25 form. He is set to enter year-two of a four-year, $16.5MM contract signed with the Blue Jackets in June 2025.