On Sunday, the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed for Nashville Predators right-shot defenseman Dante Fabbro.
Given that waiver order is determined by reverse point percentage, that could mean New York Islanders, who are missing three of their six defensemen and are using two fringe NHLers and a rookie right now, could have put in a claim.
But, even if Fabbro fell to the Islanders as a waiver option, he isn’t the right man for the job.
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The first reason is likely the contract, with Fabbro on an expiring one-year deal worth $2.5 million. The Islanders, albeit having $9.031 million, potentially $10.28 million if Mike Reilly ($1.25 M) lands on long-term injured reserve, will have to become cap compliant and use their extra money wisely.
But, forget about the contract for a second, though.
Fabbro’s only played in six games this season, and it’s clear that former Islanders head coach and current general manager Barry Trotz didn’t think Fabro could help his team, one that is 5-9-91 this season after a “successful “off-season.
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The Islanders are in need of a sure thing on the backend. Fabbro isn’t a sure thing and may not be an upgrade over a player like Grant Hutton or Dennis Cholowski.
Fabbro, 26, has no points through his six appearances, averaging 13:06 minutes per game — did we say just six games?
You may be asking, with the emergence of Isaiah George and Alexander Romanov (UBI) joining the team on the road, do the Islanders need to go get another defenseman right now?
George has filled one hole, and the verdict is still out whether George is more of an Adam Pelech replacement or a Mike Reilly replacement — to us he’s filled the Pelech role, given his defense.
Regardless of the role that was filled, the Islanders need a defenseman who can eat minutes and take the weight off of Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, and Scott Mayfield, who are eating over 25 minutes a game, even close to 30 at times.
We have one idea, which we’ll have for you in the morning.
