Predators expect Dante Fabbro to fill the void left by PK Subban’s departure

The Nashville Predators had to make a tough decision by trading star defenceman PK Subban to the New Jersey Devils earlier this summer.

Not only did the deal help create cap space to sign players such as Matt Duchene, but it also provides some of their younger, more inexperienced defenceman an opportunity to take their game to the next level with increased responsibility.

One of those players expected to make major improvements in 2019/2020 is 21-year old defenceman Dante Fabbro, who impressed upper management enough in limited time last season to convince them to explore a Subban trade in the first place.

“I probably would not have made the Subban trade if Dante Fabbro hadn’t signed with the Predators and hadn’t played at the end of the year and hadn’t played as well as he did,” said Nashville general manager David Poile late last month.

“That gave me good confidence that our defense, led by our captain Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis, and now with Fabbro being a really good young player, that we could still have a good defense and trade somebody like Subban.”

Fabbro joined the Predators on a three-year, entry-level contract in late March after an impressive three season stint at Boston University.

He compiled one assist in just four regular season games in 2018/2019, and also tallied one assist in six playoff games during their first round loss to the Dallas Stars. He may have not lit up the score sheet, but showed a lot of consistency in his role as a third-pairing defenceman and fit well alongside Dan Hamhuis.