from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,
In 51 games with the Wings before the NHL shut down March 12 because of COVID-19, Fabbri recorded 14 goals and 17 assists; his 31 points ranked third on the team in that time frame, behind only Dylan Larkin (41) and Tyler Bertuzzi (34). One area Fabbri needs to improve is his defense — he was a whopping minus-29. If he can make better decisions in that area, he will gain trust from the coaching staff.
Fabbri looks like he can be a 20-goal scorer as soon as 2020-21, especially if the Wings add a defenseman — possibly top 2019 pick Moritz Seider — other than Filip Hronek who is adept at getting the puck to the forwards. Given how well Larkin, Bertuzzi and Mantha play together, Fabbri is a good fit on the second line, possibly with Valtteri Filppula and Filip Zadina. That would give the Wings two scoring lines, something they rarely had this past season. Down the road, as the rebuild takes shape and more high-end players are added to the lineup, Fabbri could emerge as a 30-goal scorer.
He’s a restricted free agent this summer, coming off a $900,000 one-year contract, and certainly has earned a raise. A two-year deal seems to make sense, since Fabbri would still be restricted when it expires, and it’d give Fabbri the opportunity to make a case for a long-term deal at that point.
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