Video montages that honor former players who return to a city for the first time since leaving typically happen during TV timeouts in the first period.
It’s all pre-arranged, put into the game’s production plan, and the honoree usually gets to acknowledge cheers from fans while on or near his team’s bench. That wasn’t the case for Blue Jackets defenseman Dante Fabbro on Oct. 9 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, his former home for parts of seven years to start his NHL career.
Fabbro’s video played shortly after he and Nashville Predators forward Michael Bunting had a heated exchange in the penalty box. Fabbro had barely cooled off from the exchange when he looked up to notice the video playing on the scoreboard.
After its conclusion, he gave a couple waves from the sin bin.
It was a comical sight.
“I honestly didn’t even realize it was going on until halfway through it, because Bunting and I were going back and forth a little bit,” Fabbro said after practice Oct. 10. “It was just kind of a funny thing there. It took me by surprise a little bit, but it was obviously nice of them to do that.”
Fabbro joined the Blue Jackets last season after the Predators put him on waivers, so he brought some extra motivation into the game. He didn’t get a win out of it, but did leave with a humorous moment to remember.
“For me to be in the penalty box is definitely a funny story, for sure,” Fabbro said. “I probably caught about five seconds of it. There was a lot going through my head in the penalty box, so that’s about it.”
Asked if he’d ever cussed at somebody before waving at somebody else, Fabbro smiled.
“Yeah, I guess last night,” he said. “I’d just stopped saying a few cuss words and then waved at the crowd and then probably went back at it (with Bunting). It was just kind of a funny situation.”
Fabbro and the Blue Jackets will try to get into the win column for the first time Oct. 11 against the Minnesota Wild at Grand Casino Arena, formerly known as Xcel Energy Center.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social