EDMONTON — They say never to look a gift horse in the mouth.
But in the case of the Edmonton Oilers, they may need to do just that.
The Nashville Predators put 26-year-old right-handed defender Dante Fabbro on waivers earlier today.
Talk about a bombshell.
Barry Trotz had to do something. His Predators team is last in the league in points and points percentage. The team had high aspirations during the summer.
These aspirations led to the signing of free-agent Brady Skjei.
Is Dante Fabbro A Fit For The Oilers?
Fabbro’s minutes have plummeted this season. Of the 14 games the Predators have played, Fabbro has dressed for six.
In those six games, he has played 11:32, 13:06, 10:07, 15:03, 15:55, and 12:50.
Over the past three seasons, he has averaged 19:03, 17:27, and 16:21, respectively. He played 66, 79, and 56 games each season.
Dante Fabbro
Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
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On the Predators blueline, he ranked third last season for dangerous fenwick for percentage (DFF%) among defenders who played at least 400 minutes. Only Ryan McDonagh and Roman Josi had a higher DFF%.
In other words, good things happen for his team when he is on the ice.
Should The Oilers Put In a Claim Or Do Something Else?
With Fabbro on waivers, the easy thing sounds like simply putting a claim in. Unfortunately, the Oilers aren’t at the top of the waiver priority.
Waiver priority is the reverse order of the points percentage in the league. At the time of this writing, here is the list of every team ahead of the Oilers in the waiver priority order: San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Seattle Kraken, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Ottawa Senators.
That’s nine teams standing in the way of the Oilers claiming Fabbro.
Dante Fabbro (NASH) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 9, 2024
Surely, one of the Kraken, Avalanche, or Penguins would be interested in Fabbro and put in a claim ahead of the Oilers. So, what can the Oilers do?
Why, they could make a trade.
It might not take much to make the Predators accept a trade. No matter what happens, if the Oilers go over their allotted $1.3 million in space, they will begin to eat into their LTIR pool.
With extra defenders around the team, one of Ty Emberson, Travis Dermott, or Troy Stecher could find themselves going the other way. But until a deal is…