COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Item No. 1: Fabbro impact
The Blue Jackets’ waiver claim on Sunday of Dante Fabbro is plenty interesting on its own merits. In Fabbro, 26, the Jackets have added a much-needed right-shot defenseman who GM Don Waddell believes could fit well — even in a top-four capacity — in coach Dean Evason’s system.
“We have good reports on him, and we have people in the organization (assistant coach Scott Ford) who have coached him and know him really well on and off the ice,” Waddell told The Athletic. “When he went on waivers (Saturday) we all met to talk about him, and he checked all the boxes.”
Now, the ripple effect of Fabbro’s acquisition bears watching.
Waddell said the Blue Jackets will carry eight defensemen through Tuesday’s road trip finale in Seattle, then decide how to proceed. As much as coaches like having eight blueliners for practice, it’s a luxury most clubs live without due to payroll, the need for players to play and develop, etc.
So who goes?
The two obvious choices are David Jiricek and Jordan Harris, who have both played sparingly even after the long-term injury to Erik Gudbranson last month.
Jiricek, the No. 6 pick in 2022, has played in only five of the Blue Jackets’ first 14 games. He was a healthy scratch in Sunday’s 4-2 loss in Anaheim after dressing in the three previous games — losses to Washington, San Jose and Los Angeles.
The Blue Jackets coaching staff would never say this, but it’s clear they don’t have a lot of trust in Jiricek. His ice time in his three previous games went the wrong direction, from 17:05 vs. the Capitals to 9:15 vs. the Sharks and 8:50 vs. the Kings.
In five games, he has zero goals, one assist and a minus-2 rating, while averaging 11:47 per game.
“We have to think about what’s best for (Jiricek) right now,” Waddell said. “Obviously playing 8-10 minutes isn’t ideal. He’s 20 years old, and he still makes a 20-year-old’s mistakes.
“We’ll sit down (later this week) and talk about it, but we’re not going to make any decisions until we get home.”
Jiricek bristled last season when the Blue Jackets sent him to AHL Cleveland, so one can only wonder how he’d handle a demotion one year later.
In fairness, the Jackets have given Jiricek every chance to claim a top-four job on the right side from the beginning of training camp, but he hasn’t grabbed it. It’s possible — not likely, but possible — that Jiricek would prefer playing heavy minutes in the AHL vs. barely playing in the NHL.
Waddell, a veteran GM, isn’t likely to be swayed by how a player or his agent would handle an assignment to the AHL.
Still, it would be preferable to keep the peace with one of the franchise’s top prospects, a player who is projected as a top-pairing defender with a big power-play role. But Jiricek has not bloomed into that player yet in the NHL, only the AHL.
The other possible move would be to send Harris to the minors, but he would need to clear waivers before he could join AHL Cleveland. Harris, acquired over the summer in the Patrik Laine trade to Montreal, has played in only eight games (no points) for the Jackets.
Beyond taking somebody’s spot in the lineup, the addition of Fabbro is likely to scramble the Blue Jackets pairs, if not immediately then eventually.
After playing all season with Zach Werenski and Ivan Provorov on the top pair, Evason made a change on Sunday, moving Damon Severson up from the second pair to take Provorov’s spot on the right side. Provorov played on the second pair with Jake Christiansen.
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.”
The Blue Jackets bought out Adam Boqvist’s contract over the summer and let Nick Blankenburg depart as a free agent. Late last season, they traded Andrew Peeke to Boston for a minor-league player and a third-round pick in 2027.
There’s no sense that the Blue Jackets or Waddell regret any of those moves, but it changed the roster from one that had too many right-side defenders to one that was heavy on the left. The injury to Gudbranson and Jiricek’s inability to grab a spot has made the right side an even bigger challenge.
Fabbro’s arrival could allow Provorov to move back to the left side, his natural side.
Item No. 2: Be quick, don’t hurry
Last week on the “Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast,” hosted by former NHL player-turned-broadcaster Ray Ferraro and TSN’s Darren Dreger, Evason was asked by Dreger if there was one player on the Blue Jackets roster that had opened his eyes since his arrival this summer.
Evason didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll probably say a guy who’s not even in our lineup right now (due to injury), and it’s Kent Johnson,” Evason said. “He started the season just absolutely fantastic. I didn’t know him. I would have probably said (Adam) Fantilli, but I did get to meet him at the World Championships last summer in Prague.
“Kent Johnson was driving our offense, and off the ice … everybody talks about Johnny Gaudreau being a rink rat, wanting to be at the rink every day, well, Kent Johnson is the same way. He’s still there every day. He was killing penalties for us, playing on the power play, he was doing everything for us.
“As soon as we can get all three injured guys back, but him in particular, that would be fantastic.”
It’s incredible to juxtapose Johnson’s standing within the organization now versus just one year ago.
At this point last season, Johnson was playing for AHL Cleveland and many were starting to question his future as an impact player in the NHL.
Now he’s seen as an indispensable part of the club, perhaps the key to getting the Blue Jackets out of their current offensive funk.
The Blue Jackets have struggled to find a second-line fit with Fantilli, who has 3-4-7 in 14 games but hasn’t been able to really show his offensive wares. On Sunday, Evason pulled Mikael Pyyhtiä off Fantilli’s line and replaced him with big Dmitri Voronkov.
But Johnson is the best playmaker on the roster.
The good news is that Johnson, who suffered a shoulder injury versus Buffalo on Oct. 17, is expected to return before the end of November, a team official told The Athletic. It could be sooner than that, too.
Waddell stressed there is no timeline for Johnson’s return and that they’ll show an abundance of patience before he’s cleared to play.
And yet it can’t be soon enough.
“He was by far our best player,” Waddell said, wistfully.
Item No. 3: Snacks
• 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. “I go back to what I’ve probably said 100 times: I don’t think we’re in a position to give up assets right now,” Waddell said. “If it’s a guy who’s going to go with us for a long time, for multiple years, then I don’t mind giving up a reasonable asset.” Fabbro, who is making $2.5 million this season, can be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2025.
• For the first month of the season, the waiver selection order is set by the previous year’s overall standings, going from worst to first. But at the start of November, this season’s standings (in inverse order) determines the waiver order. The Blue Jackets were 15th in the pecking order for Fabbro.
• 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.”
• The Blue Jackets went 0-2-1 on this season’s swing through California, with an overtime loss in San Jose last Tuesday and back-to-back losses to Los Angeles and Anaheim over the weekend. It marked the fifth time in franchise history, and the second time since the 2021-22 season, that the Jackets have gone 0-for-California on a single road trip. The other seasons: 2003-04, 2005-06 and 2008-09, the first time Columbus qualified for the postseason.
• Quite an honor for former Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen, who on Saturday was inducted into Finland’s Hockey Hall of Fame as an influencer. Kekäläinen became the first European-born GM in NHL history when the Blue Jackets hired him in 2012. He led Columbus to five playoff berths and a 410-362-97 record (.528) during his tenure. Others joining him in Finland’s Hall this weekend were Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne and longtime NHL forward Jussi Jokinen, who played 14 games with the Blue Jackets during the 2017-18 season.
Enormous gratitude for hockey, all the incredible experiences I have been fortunate and priviliged to be part of (with this as close to the top of the list) and friendships that will last a lifetime. Thank you hockey! pic.twitter.com/yljofWvMnt
— Jarmo Kekalainen (@jkekalainen) November 9, 2024
• Blue Jackets Monday Gathering trivia question: The NHL celebrated this year’s Hockey Hall of Fame class over the weekend with two Nashville legends — GM David Poile and defenseman Shea Weber — joining together. Who is the only enshrined member of the Hall of Fame to have played for the Blue Jackets?
• Mathieu Olivier’s second-period fight with Los Angeles’ Andreas Englund on Saturday was the Blue Jackets’ first fight of the season in the club’s 13th game. When the Blue Jackets joined the league in 2000-01, an opening-night fight was pretty much a guarantee. We wondered if the Jackets had ever gone 13 games into a season before registering their first fighting major, so we asked the NHL’s stats department. The answer? Yes. In 2018-19, the Blue Jackets also made it 13 games into the season before their first fight. On Nov. 3, 2018, in Los Angeles, Columbus captain Nick Foligno dropped the gloves with Kings defenseman Dion Phaneuf.
• It was quite a night for milestones on Sunday. Werenski became the 10th Blue Jackets player to dress in 500 games. Jack Johnson, meanwhile, played the 1,200th NHL game of his career. Among active players, only Ryan Suter (1,459), Brent Burns (1,428) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1,296) have played in more games. Finally, Blue Jackets assistant athletic trainer Naoto “Nates” Goto worked his 1,500th NHL game. He spent seven years with the New York Islanders before joining the Jackets in 2012.
• Every time Alex Ovechkin scores another goal, we’re reminded that the Blue Jackets and Capitals have a late-season back-to-back (April 12 in Columbus, April 13 in Washington) that could be the backdrop for a historic moment. Ovechkin (863 goals) now trails all-time NHL goal leader Wayne Gretzky (894) by 31 goals after scoring 10 goals in his first 14 games this season.
• The Blue Jackets are planning to stay in Seattle after Tuesday’s game (a 10 p.m. ET start) and fly back to Columbus on Wednesday. They’ll have Thursday to practice and acclimate before hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
• Trivia answer: Sergei Fedorov, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame with the 2015 class, played with the Blue Jackets for parts of three seasons beginning in 2005-06.
• AHL Cleveland’s Roman Ahcan went to training camp with AHL Charlotte this fall, hoping to catch on with the Florida Panthers after three seasons with Cleveland. With no contract offer forthcoming, Ahcan took a PTO with Cleveland before the start of the season, one that guaranteed him 25 games with the Monsters and paid him a $90,000 prorated salary, per a league official. That contract was torn up last week in favor of a permanent deal, one that Ahcan truly deserves. Ahcan, 25, is eighth in the AHL and tops among Cleveland players with seven goals in only 11 games this season. His career high is nine goals, set in 52 games last season.
(Photo of Sean Monahan passing the puck away from Dante Fabbro: Casey Gower / Imagn Images)
