Pittsburgh Penguins miss out on what could have been a good waiver wire pickup

It was a bit of a surprise Saturday when the Nashville Predators announced that defenseman Dante Fabbro on waivers. Fabbro has not been having a great season in Nashville so far, but the 26-year-old has plenty of time to get his game back on track with a change of scenery.

There were some rumblings that Dante Fabbro would be allowed to clear waivers and work on his game in the AHL before a trade partner was found. His $2.5 million cap hit posed a problem for a few teams that were taking a look.

Enter the Columbus Blue Jackets, who were near the top of the list for a crack at waiver wire players. Dante Fabbro is now on their roster, which is a decent pickup for a team that has had little to cheer about on and off the ice this season.

While not in the position of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Pittsburgh Penguins could have used a boost, especially after head coach Mike Sullivan delivered horrible news on Kevin Hayes and Cody Glass earlier today. Dante Fabbro didn't drop nearly as far down the list on waivers as some felt he might.

Several teams were rumoured to be interested in grabbing Dante Fabbro if the could make the cap hit work. That included names like the Edmonton Oilers, who have defensive concerns, the Montreal Canadiens, and San Jose Sharks. My guess is he'll spend the rest of the season in Columbus barring a complete turnaround in his game, in which case he'll used as a trade chip at the deadline.