Detroit Red Wings: Who Is Newly Acquired Forward Robby Fabbri?
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings have traded away forward Jacob de La Rose in exchange for St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri. Coach Jeff Blashill will have to find a new battery mate, and the question is, who is the new guy?
After the Detroit Red Wings recent loss to the New York Rangers, it was reported that General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman traded away Jacob de La Rose. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill is losing one of his favorite players to plug into the lineup in de La Rose. In return, Blashill will have a new forward to plugin the lineup with Fabbri, who happens to be another former first-round draft selection.
The St. Louis Blues selected Fabbri in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, which is the same first round that produced Dylan Larkin and Brendan Perlini.
The former first-rounder has spent his first four years in the NHL with the Blues, with his rookie seasons being his best yet. Since then, he has shown a steady decline in production mostly due to being injury-plagued. The hope will be that a change of scenery might get Fabbri back on track.
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Fabbri is a 5’10”, left-handed shooting, the center who played his minor league hockey with the Guelph Storm of the OHL. This season, Fabbri played in ten games, he has scored one goal and has a minus-4 plus/minus rating on the year.
Looking at Fabbri analytically, he has a 48.6% Corsi For % (CF%), which is 4.4% above the Blues team average on the year. This essentially means that Fabbri has been on the ice for more offensive shots that the Blues have taken this season.
Continuing to look at analytics, Fabbri has not been one of the luckiest players on the ice this season. Having a PDO of 91.8, which essentially means that he has been unlucky on the ice this season, but hopefully, his trade to the Red Wings will turn things around.
This season, Fabbri has been deployed in the offensive zone way more than the defensive zone. His oZS% is 64.9, meaning that the Blues use him in the offensive zone more than anything. Looking at his Adjusted point values, he should have five according to the analytic adjustments.
All-in-all de La Rose for Fabbri is not a bad deal for the Detroit Red Wings; pointwise, de La Rose has more production, but in the long-term game, Fabbri could pan out nicely. Sometimes a change of scenery is all a player needs, see Olli Maatta with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Next. How long can Steve Yzerman stay with Jeff Blashill?. dark
The Red Wings are in desperate need of a change in the locker room and on the ice, so this trade may spark something, and possibly get the team going.