News Article: Fabbro on waivers

[Kat Predator]

Emma is with The Hockey News and a little bit with Lower Broad Hockey. Don’t expect much from her when it comes to tough questions to the team.

Thanks. Wasn't sure if she was still there.

And, yeah. I know she's more of a propaganda spreader than a probing interviewer. Those seem to be extinct.

 

[ShagDaddy]

Thanks. Wasn't sure if she was still there.

And, yeah. I know she's more of a propaganda spreader than a probing interviewer. Those seem to be extinct.

not even sure she qualifies as a propaganda spreader anymore, she basically just summarizes games and events (like the Fabbro claim) after the fact and posts them. Haven’t seen an actual interview or presser question from her since she left the organization.

 

[101st_fan]

Wait. What? There's media?

PS: Where in the world is Emma?

Emma is still on X and does a feed during the week. She's no longer with the team.

 

[101st_fan]

Our "media" sucks

 

[nine_inch_fang]

"Quite frankly," and "Bud," are interesting ways to start responses to a question that thousands of fans are asking. Who is Nick? A 102.5 guy?

These two couldn't rub a couple nickles together and come up with ten cents much less ask informed probative questions.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

"Quite frankly," and "Bud," are interesting ways to start responses to a question that thousands of fans are asking. Who is Nick? A 102.5 guy?

These two couldn't rub a couple nickles together and come up with ten cents much less ask informed probative questions.

Listen pal...

Imagine signing a press box-bound "security" defenseman for $2.5M when up against the cap. These guys are clowns.

 

[ShagDaddy]

"Quite frankly," and "Bud," are interesting ways to start responses to a question that thousands of fans are asking. Who is Nick? A 102.5 guy?

These two couldn't rub a couple nickles together and come up with ten cents much less ask informed probative questions.

Yes, Nick is a 102.5 guy. Best I can figure is that Daugherty has got some compromising pictures of his boss, that’s the only logical reason I can think of why he still has a job in media. I guess in today’s everybody gets a trophy and equal outcomes regardless of effort society, retweeting other people’s information or rewording other people’s tweets and articles is considered journalism.

 

[101st_fan]

Listen pal...

Imagine signing a press box-bound "security" defenseman for $2.5M when up against the cap. These guys are clowns.

The extent of our beat coverage is tweeting scores and parroting news other outlets break. There is no depth to their coverage.

 

[herzausstein]

Listen pal...

Imagine signing a press box-bound "security" defenseman for $2.5M when up against the cap. These guys are clowns.

Pressbox security guy wouldve been like MDG and Stastney. Just plan on them both being up. Weve seen them in a 3rd pairing capacity and theyvare adequate.

It was clear we didnt have a plan for Fabbro. Bruno really likes running Josi as a rhd. He prefers lauzon/carrier for some reason. That just leaves 1 pairing to determine and he likes schenns size/grit. Fabbro wasnt gonna get a fair shake which is whatever. But why hang on to him then? Bad asset/cap management.

 

[braindead]

Arguments seem to be getting convoluted here. Signing him to 1 year 2.5m and then waiving him shortly after isn’t de facto bad asset management. We wanted to run at the cap with the best possible combination of players. Our bad stumble/face plant out of the gate makes it clear we have one or more holes and will need cap space to address. If MDG can fill the role adequately, we create cap space.

Would I rather waive Schenn? Sure. Beyond that, my assessment is much closer to management and coaches- Fabbro is a fungible mid-pack player on a one year deal that we weren’t going to re-up. For a reason. His value to the Preds right now is less than that $2.5m.

 

[Kat Predator]

Stop-gap emergency use only d-men don't get a $2.5M contract. There are guys for that role that can be had for $1M or less for a season. Contract-wise though, Fabbro got a starting d-man contract comparable to Schenn and more than Lauzon.

On the other hand, this wouldn't be the only contract that Trotz put out there that people have questioned.

 

[MadMax5150]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm still a relatively new hockey fan so don't be too hard on me for what I'm about to say. I don't understand the hand wringing over Fabbro. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I'm missing a lot - but I held my breath every time Fabbro handled the puck and panicked every time he tried to pass it. Again, I'm sure I miss out on more of the intricacies of defense so I'm missing his actual value. I'll start paying more attention to the D.

 

[Viqsi]

Meanwhile, the media up here is sharing encouraging things.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5914578/2024/11/11/blue-jackets-dante-fabbro-nhl/

Waddell said multiple times on Sunday that Fabbro’s “best years (in Nashville) were playing with (Roman) Josi.” On that surface, that seems like a rather “duh” comment, because Josi — who won the Norris Trophy in 2020 and has been a finalist three other times — is among the NHL’s best defensemen.

But Waddell thinks he can pair well with an offensive defenseman, perhaps even Werenski on the top pair.

“He’s a good defender,” Waddell said. “Not a lot of points, but we did all of the analytics on him and have watched him closely. He plays well with an offensive-leaning player. He’s fine to sit back and defend, and I think he’ll fit in very well with our guys.”

Waddell sees. He SEES.

Now of course the real question is if Evason sees, and if Fabbro can still deliver. But we're already off to a good start in that regard in that we're not the only ones who've noticed his quality moments.

 

[Scoresberg]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm still a relatively new hockey fan so don't be too hard on me for what I'm about to say. I don't understand the hand wringing over Fabbro. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I'm missing a lot - but I held my breath every time Fabbro handled the puck and panicked every time he tried to pass it. Again, I'm sure I miss out on more of the intricacies of defense so I'm missing his actual value. I'll start paying more attention to the D.

I must say while I didn't think he was *that* bad, I don't think it's a huge loss for us either. I just think that we really didn't have 6 defensemen better than him and that's why I am upset about the decision. That, and why waive him if you're not going to do anything with the cap space? You still need bodies up there.

 

[jumb0]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm still a relatively new hockey fan so don't be too hard on me for what I'm about to say. I don't understand the hand wringing over Fabbro. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I'm missing a lot - but I held my breath every time Fabbro handled the puck and panicked every time he tried to pass it. Again, I'm sure I miss out on more of the intricacies of defense so I'm missing his actual value. I'll start paying more attention to the D.

Jeremy Lauzon. Luke Schenn.

 

[Predsanddead24]

I must say while I didn't think he was *that* bad, I don't think it's a huge loss for us either. I just think that we really didn't have 6 defensemen better than him and that's why I am upset about the decision. That, and why waive him if you're not going to do anything with the cap space? You still need bodies up there.

With how cap space is accumulated moving him now would provide us more cap space later though right. So even if we don't do anything now it should give us more options in the future. I also suspect that Fabbro may have asked Trotz to move him and Trotz seems to be willing to move someone if they don't want to be here.

 

[Armourboy]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm still a relatively new hockey fan so don't be too hard on me for what I'm about to say. I don't understand the hand wringing over Fabbro. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I'm missing a lot - but I held my breath every time Fabbro handled the puck and panicked every time he tried to pass it. Again, I'm sure I miss out on more of the intricacies of defense so I'm missing his actual value. I'll start paying more attention to the D.

Fabbro wasn't going to set the world on fire but he was better than Lauzon and Schenn and depending on whether you want more offense or defense he was as good if not better than Carrier.

Fabbro had a good first pass out of the zone and was decent at handling the puck, so I'm not real sure who you have been watching.

Fabbro's downside was he wasn't physical and despite having some offensive tools he never used them.

Losing Fabbro isn't that big of deal team wise because Brunette refused to play him. It's still silly to lose an asset for nothing, impending UFA or not. Just about every team in this league is looking for a RHD so getting nothing for him means Trotz didn't do something right.

 

[Scoresberg]

With how cap space is accumulated moving him now would provide us more cap space later though right. So even if we don't do anything now it should give us more options in the future. I also suspect that Fabbro may have asked Trotz to move him and Trotz seems to be willing to move someone if they don't want to be here.

Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast that Fabbro didn't ask to be put on waivers.

 

[Viqsi]

By the way, some other bits from that Athletic article specific to Fabbro and possibly of interest here:

• Waddell was among the GMs who had trade talks with Nashville GM Barry Trotz regarding Fabbro in recent weeks, but he wasn’t willing to pay the price, likely a prospect or draft pick. He waited a couple of weeks and claimed him on waivers.

• Here’s Fabbro on how he handled being on waivers Saturday into Sunday, not knowing if he was heading to the minor leagues for the first time in his career or heading to a new organization: “I was trying to prepare myself for both situations. Whatever was thrown my way, I knew I had to roll with it. If that’s playing in the AHL, I would have gone with a good attitude, ready to work hard, get my game back to how I know I can play. No matter what, I was going to have a positive attitude and try to be a leader, show what my work ethic’s like.”

• Fabbro was asked if, after almost a decade in the Nashville organization, he was ready for a change. “I did think that, yeah,” he said. “This is my sixth season (with the Predators). Sometimes change is good. In my case, I think it is good. A fresh start with a new team and a new organization and a bunch of new faces. I think it’s great for me. I’m extremely excited to meet the team and get back in the swing of things.”

 

[cjerina]

• Waddell was among the GMs who had trade talks with Nashville GM Barry Trotz regarding Fabbro in recent weeks, but he wasn’t willing to pay the price, likely a prospect or draft pick. He waited a couple of weeks and claimed him on waivers.

So, Rich Peverley all over again. Checks notes to see who the GM of the Thrashers was at that time...

 

[Roman Yoshi]

I'm really getting tired of this management group.

 

[Viqsi]

So, Rich Peverley all over again. Checks notes to see who the GM of the Thrashers was at that time...

Oh, wow. That didn't even occur to me, but yeah.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Losing Fabbro is about the same as losing Tolvanen IMHO. We make a big deal about it just because we have a general collective consensus that they were better players than our coaches/management thought. End of the day, though you have a #4/5 D and a middle-lineup winger who might chip in 15-20 goals. Those are not the kinds of assets that are going to tip a team over the top. They are relatively easily replaced. From within or without. We don't really feel their loss in any significant way.

They ARE a little better than some of the players we've kept instead (yes, Fabbro is better than Schenn or Lauzon, and Tolvanen is better than Smith or Jankowski), but not by so much we'd win a playoff round with them playing instead, or change more than a point or two in the standings probably. The bigger thing to me is that a) that's 2 more of our 1st round picks gone for nothing, and b) that's 2 players our coaches/management don't seem to have been able to evaluate properly at the NHL level for some reason - and if they can't evaluate players properly shouldn't that worry us?

 

[Armourboy]

Losing Fabbro is about the same as losing Tolvanen IMHO. We make a big deal about it just because we have a general collective consensus that they were better players than our coaches/management thought. End of the day, though you have a #4/5 D and a middle-lineup winger who might chip in 15-20 goals. Those are not the kinds of assets that are going to tip a team over the top. They are relatively easily replaced. From within or without. We don't really feel their loss in any significant way.

They ARE a little better than some of the players we've kept instead (yes, Fabbro is better than Schenn or Lauzon, and Tolvanen is better than Smith or Jankowski), but not by so much we'd win a playoff round with them playing instead, or change more than a point or two in the standings probably. The bigger thing to me is that a) that's 2 more of our 1st round picks gone for nothing, and b) that's 2 players our coaches/management don't seem to have been able to evaluate properly at the NHL level for some reason - and if they can't evaluate players properly shouldn't that worry us?

Not having a mid level player isn't a huge loss, but losing them for absolutely nothing is. Ok so maybe you only get a 4th for him, but a 4th is better than nothing. It at least gives you another dice roll.

What we may be figuring out through the last couple of years is that Trotz doesn't know how to properly value his players and its costing him in being to make trades sometimes.

 

[Predsanddead24]

Losing Fabbro is about the same as losing Tolvanen IMHO. We make a big deal about it just because we have a general collective consensus that they were better players than our coaches/management thought. End of the day, though you have a #4/5 D and a middle-lineup winger who might chip in 15-20 goals. Those are not the kinds of assets that are going to tip a team over the top. They are relatively easily replaced. From within or without. We don't really feel their loss in any significant way.

They ARE a little better than some of the players we've kept instead (yes, Fabbro is better than Schenn or Lauzon, and Tolvanen is better than Smith or Jankowski), but not by so much we'd win a playoff round with them playing instead, or change more than a point or two in the standings probably. The bigger thing to me is that a) that's 2 more of our 1st round picks gone for nothing, and b) that's 2 players our coaches/management don't seem to have been able to evaluate properly at the NHL level for some reason - and if they can't evaluate players properly shouldn't that worry us?

Yeah I like Fabbro and think he will impress pretty well in a complimentary role in Columbus much like Tolvanen has been pretty good for the Kraken, but at the end of the day they aren't game breaking players or anything. I think it's more just seeing yet another high draft pick fall by the wayside while we've been stuck in mediocrity for years. It's hard for me to even get excited about our prospect pool anymore since it seems like fait accompli that they will all just wash out or get traded before they reach UFA status.