Blue Jackets lock up Fabbro with $16.5M contract; Lightning place Sheary on waivers

By Canadian Press on June 29, 2025.

Defenseman Dante Fabbro is staying put in Columbus, while forward Conor Sheary’s tenure is ending in Tampa Bay.

The Blue Jackets locked up Fabbro to a four-year, $16.5 million contract on Sunday, two days before the seven-year veteran was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. Columbus acquired the 27-year-old by claiming him in November after Nashville placed Fabbro on waivers.

Fabro finished the season with a career-high 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 62 games with the Blue Jackets, after getting no points in six games with Nashville.

“Dante was a great addition to our team last season and keeping him in Columbus was a priority,” general manager Don Waddell said.

In the meantime, the Lighting placed forward Sheary on unconditional waivers for the purpose to terminate his contract.

The 10-year veteran was limited to playing just five games with the Lightning, and spent a majority of last season in the minors because of the team’s salary cap constraints. The 33-year-old Sheary had one more year left on his three-year contract, and was due to make $2 million next season.

Sheary won Stanley Cups during each of his first two NHL seasons with Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17. He signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent two years ago, and finished with four goals and 15 points in 62 games with the Lightning.

He also played for Buffalo and Washington, and has 124 goals and 267 points in 593 games.

If unclaimed, Sheary will become an unrestricted free agent.

The Seattle Kraken placed forward Joe Veleno on unconditional waivers for the purpose to buy out the final year of his contract, in which he was due to make $2.275 million.

Veleno has five seasons of NHL experience and was acquired by Seattle last week in a trade that sent forward Andre Burakovsky to Chicago. The 25-year-old Veleno spent his first four-plus NHL seasons in Detroit, and has 38 goals and 81 points in 306 games.

The Anaheim Ducks maintained their depth at goalie by signing Ville Husso to a two-year contract extension. The 30-year-old provides the Ducks insurance behind projected starter Lukas Dostal and Petr Mrazek, who was acquired in a trade that sent John Gibson to Detroit on Saturday.

Husso has a NHL record of 71-46-19 and went 1-1-1 in four appearances with Anaheim last season after being acquired in a trade with Detroit in February. Husso spent the rest of his time with Anaheim in the minors.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

John Wawrow, The Associated Press