Blue Jackets’ Fabbro exits preseason game against Red Wings with injury

The Columbus Blue Jackets are gearing up for a big season in which they will look to snap the second-longest active Stanley Cup Playoff drought in the Eastern Conference, and they may be down a man heading into the regular season after an injury during a preseason game Monday night.

The team announced in the middle of the team’s game against the Detroit Red Wings that defenseman Dante Fabbro would not return to action with an upper-body injury.

Fabbro is currently projected to begin the year on Columbus’ third defensive pairing alongside Jake Christiansen behind fellow righties Damon Severson and Denton Mateychuk.

A native of British Columbia, Fabbro has nine NHL seasons under his belt split between the Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators, who chose him with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft.

Fabbro is entering the second season of a four-year contract with Columbus that carries a salary cap hit of $4.125 million that he signed with the club in the summer of 2025. The 28-year-old is coming off a season that saw a considerable decline from the year prior in terms of his offensive production.

The righty notched 11 points in 74 appearances last season after putting together a 26-point effort across 62 games played in 2024-25. In 451 regular season games throughout this career, Fabbro has accrued 109 points on 30 goals and 79 assists.

If Fabbro is forced to miss some time in the regular season as a result of Monday’s injury, veteran Erik Gudbranson would be the primary option to draw into the lineup.

Monday’s showdown with Detroit marks the first of four preseason games for Columbus before the regular season, with engagements against the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and a rematch against the Red Wings still on the schedule.

The Blue Jackets will be on home ice at Nationwide Arena for their regular season opener, which will come on October 1 against the Sabres.