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Dante Fabbro, Columbus Blue Jackets (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Blue Jackets Should Prioritize Fabbro Extension Over Provorov’s

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By William Espy | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 8:25 AM ET

When the trade deadline passed, the Columbus Blue Jackets kept two key members of their defensive corps who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. General manager Don Waddell will undoubtedly try to keep both, but if it comes down to the organization only keeping one of Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro, it certainly won’t be an easy choice.

Elevating an Elite Partner

Fabbro was acquired by the Blue Jackets early in November after the Nashville Predators placed the defenseman on waivers. Almost immediately, Fabbro was paired with Zach Werenski, who has had a phenomenal season for the Blue Jackets, and he elevated his name to talks for the Norris Trophy.

Fabbro’s defensive responsibility has allowed Werenski to be more aggressive offensively than we’ve ever seen. Fabbro doesn’t bring the same offensive production as Provorov, but he doesn’t need to in order to make a major impact for the Blue Jackets. In fact, his ability to focus on the defensive side of the game is something that the organization doesn’t have much of.

Too Much Offense From the Defense

Columbus has a lot of defensemen who like the puck on their stick and want to put points on the board. The team has scored at a high rate for most of the season, despite some struggles in that regard this month.

Werenski, Provorov, and Damon Severson are all fantastic offensive-minded defensemen, and although they do contribute defensively, none of them provide a shutdown option. It’s hard to complain about players putting up points, ultimately, that’s the point of hockey. With that being said though, the Blue Jackets already have a long-term commitment to the veteran Severson.

Committing long-term to Provorov would lock the Blue Jackets into a second-pairing that isn’t the most reliable in key moments. Severson specifically has had some moments that have been hard to watch, especially with some key turnovers resulting in scoring chances for the opposition. As a result, if it was a choice between keeping Severson or Provorov, it would be clear at this point. However, since the Blue Jackets are going to have Severson on their roster for the foreseeable future, it would be wise to find a defensive-minded defenseman to play alongside him and clean up some of his shortcomings.

Provorov vs. Fabbro

In an ideal world, the Blue Jackets would lock down both Fabbro and Provorov to team-friendly deals with a respectable amount of term. However, at 28 years of age, this will likely be Provorov’s last major contract if he’s looking for a long-term deal, and he’ll likely want to get as much out of it as possible.

Fabbro is a few years younger, which makes a shorter-term deal a bit more realistic. However, it may be worth giving him five or six years to lock him up. For Provorov, anything over three or four years has the potential to age very poorly. As a result, the priority for the Blue Jackets needs to be signing Fabbro first.

Fabbro is undoubtedly going to be looking for a significant salary increase from his current cap hit of $2.5 million, however, it shouldn’t be a colossal number like Provorov could be demanding.

As a younger, right-handed defenseman who has elevated his defensive partner’s game to new heights, Fabbro is going to be a major part of the Blue Jackets moving forward if they’re able to convince him to stay. Provorov would be a great signing for a team looking to win now, and although the Blue Jackets are exceeding all expectations this season, risking the future for a player nearing the age of 30 wouldn’t necessarily be the wisest move.