Four Players Who Have Most to Gain in Nashville Predators Preseason

This Might Be Fabbro’s Last Chance to Prove Himself in a Predators Uniform

The Nashville Predators front office would want nothing more than to fully invest in Dante Fabbro long-term, but for whatever reason, they instead decided to add 33-year-old defenseman Luke Schenn in free agency.

Now Fabbro’s place in this lineup is unclear and in jeopardy. He can’t afford a lackluster preseason campaign otherwise he might find himself as a healthy scratch to open 2023-24.

On the other hand, Fabbro could really impress in the preseason and entice this new coaching staff lead by Andrew Brunette to start him alongside Schenn, or Alexandre Carrier, and leave Jeremy Lauzon on the bench.

Fabbro’s offense has just never really taken off like you would like to see if he’s ever going to be more than a bottom pairing defenseman. That’s the issue here, and he’s got a one-year deal before becoming a restricted free agent in 2024.

Look, Fabbro has excellent defensive qualities. He positions himself well, defends the puck and even registered a career high for blocks in a season with 129 while also playing in a career-high 79 games.

However, only 11 points just isn’t going to cut it. Schenn doubled up Fabbro’s points with 22 while playing in nine fewer games.

As for Lauzon, who might be the direct competition for Fabbro getting a starting spot or not, he’s not much better offensively but he’s the enforcer who laid out 250 hits. He plays a rugged style you like from a bottom pairing defenseman.

It comes down to Fabbro or Lauzon for me, and Fabbro can win this battle if he can flash some offensive improvement in a system that’s going to look much different for the Predators from Hynes to Brunette.