Breaking: Blues trade Robby Fabbri

This just in, the St. Louis Blues have traded forward Robby Fabbri to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Jacob de la Rose.

Further details and confirmation from the Red Wings organization to come.

Read below for the full press release announcement of this transaction, courtesy of the Blues' official website:

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday night that the Blues have acquired forward Jacob de la Rose from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Robby Fabbri.

De la Rose, 24, was originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (No. 34 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. This season, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward has appeared in 16 games with the Red Wings, collecting a goal and three assists.

Overall, de la Rose has dressed in 195 career regular-season games between the Canadiens and Red Wings, totaling 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) and 71 penalty minutes. In addition, the Arvika, Sweden native captured a gold medal with Team Sweden at the 2018 World Championships.

Fabbri, 23, was originally drafted by the Blues in the first round (No. 21 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft. In four seasons with the Blues, the Mississauga, Ontario native amassed 73 points (32 goals, 41 assists) and 60 penalty minutes in 164 regular-season games. Fabbri also appeared in 30 postseason games with the Blues, including 10 last season when he helped the team capture the 2019 Stanley Cup Championship.

UPDATE: The Red Wings have officially confirmed the deal with the Blues. It's a one for one deal, Fabbri for de la Rose straight up.

The Red Wings also released a statement on their website concerning the transaction, read below:

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings today acquired center Robby Fabbri from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for center Jacob de la Rose.

Fabbri, 23, has appeared in 164 NHL games, all with St. Louis, since 2015-16, notching 73 points (32-41-73) and 60 penalty minutes. In 2019-20, Fabbri has skated in nine games, posting one point (1-0-1), two penalty minutes and seven shots on goal in 9:42 average time on ice. A 5-foot-10, 190-pound forward, Fabbri ranked seventh on the Blues in points in 2015-16, totaling 37 points (18-19-37) in 72 regular-season games as a rookie and tied for the team lead in postseason scoring with 15 points (4-11-15) in 20 games during the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was limited to just 83 games played over the next three seasons, including missing the entire 2017-18 campaign due to knee injuries. Fabbri was a member of the Blues' 2019 Stanley Cup championship run, chipping in six points (2-4-6) in 32-regular season games and one point (1-0-1) in 10 playoff games after returning to the lineup on Nov. 1, 2018 vs. Vegas in what was his first game since Feb. 4, 2017.

Originally drafted by St. Louis in the first round (21st overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Fabbri jumped straight to the NHL after his final season of major junior hockey, where he racked up 171 points (80-91-171) in 147 games with the Ontario Hockey League's Guelph Storm from 2012-15, in addition to 33 points (14-19-33) in 30 postseason games. Fabbri posted a junior career-high 87 points (45-42-87) in 58 games with Guelph in 2013-14, where he was a teammate of Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi on the eventual OHL-champion Storm. Fabbri won the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the most-valuable player in the playoffs after notching 28 points (13-15-28) in 16 games en route to capturing the OHL's J. Ross Robertson Cup as league champions. The Mississauga, Ontario, native owns two gold medals from international play with Canada from the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (0-1-1 in five games) and 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship (2-4-6 in five games).

This trade represents another interesting gamble from new Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman. Just last week Yzerman and the Red Wings picked up former 12th overall pick Brendan Perlini from the Chicago Blackhawks in a similar transaction. In both the Fabbri trade and the Perlini trade, Yzerman is taking a chance on a skilled player whom many feel has untapped potential. Surely Yzerman is hoping that a change of scenery might help kick start Perlini's and Fabbri's performance. 

 In Fabbri, the Red Wings acquire a 23 year old forward who has struggled since his rookie season in 2015-16. Fabbri was limited to just 32 regular season games last season and just 51 in 2016-17. Fabbri's career season came during his rookie campaign when he potted 18 goals and 37 points in 72 games playing in a fairly limited offensive role. Then... concussions began to take their toll. Fabbri suffered through a litany of concussion and CTE symptoms, causing him to miss most of the past two seasons.

Here's hoping that a change of scenery and a fresh, healthy start with a new franchise enables Fabbri to get back on the track that he began on when he first entered the league.