Latest On Dante Fabbro

While the Nashville Predators haven’t missed the playoffs since 2013-14 (save for a qualifier loss during the 2020 bubble), this season is certainly heading in that direction.

The performance of some of Nashville’s key players has faltered, leaving coach John Hynes’ side seven points behind the Minnesota Wild to earn the final wild card spot. While the team has been 6-4 in the last ten games, they recently lost Ryan Johansen to an injury that could sideline him for a while.

This has led many to believe that the best way forward for the Predators is to move on and start a rebuild this season. Some market observers see the best path for the franchise to be fully focused on building the future. However, given the track record of GM David Poile and the Predators as a whole, a full teardown seems unlikely to be considered.

Instead, the Predators may prefer to work on the fringes of their roster in hopes that a resurgence in their core players and minor additions could help the team return to competition.

One of those smaller moves Nashville might be considering is trading defenders Dante Fabbro. Speaking on The Jeff Marek Show today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Predators have “explored” the Fabbro move and specifically points to the San Jose Sharks as a potential target.

While the basement-dwelling Sharks doesn’t seem like a natural place to add a player, Fabbro turns 25 in June, meaning he’s still young enough to be a legitimate consideration for the Sharks’ plans.

Additionally, acquiring Fabbro now and not during the offseason (where he will be an arbitrator-able restricted free agent) would give the Sharks a valuable run of games from Fabbro in their roster so they could see how he fits into their organization and evaluate their plans for his next contract.

The 2016 smooth-skating first-round pick was a key blueliner for Sharks head coach David Quinn during his time at Boston University, and though his offensive performance has faltered this season (to just eight points in 52 games), if there’s anyone Who could get the best of Fabbro it would be Quinn. This could be an opportunity for San Jose to buy an asset relatively cheaply that could grow into something bigger as it clicks with its new environment.

For the Predators, rationale for trading Fabbro could center on how they view the prospect of arbitration with him. Last season’s breakout defender Alexandre Carrier will also be a restricted free agent eligible to arbitrate in the summer, as will Tanner Jeannot And Cody glass. It’s possible that the Predators simply see receiving a quid pro quo and moving on from Fabbro as the best way forward for the player and team.

In any case, Fabbro will be a name to watch through the March 3rd close, as a Fabbro trade could be either a relatively small move or even the opening salvo of a long-awaited Nashville rebuild process.

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