Free agent Robby Fabbri “couldn’t be happier” in Detroit, wants to re-sign with Red Wings

There wasn’t much for Detroit Red Wings fans to cheer for in 2019-20. The Original 6 team put up a historically bad season and, frankly, unless they manage to win the draft lottery and the rights to draft potential superstar Alexis Lafrieniere, the cavalry ain’t comin’ in 2020-21.

But, it’s not all bad news in HockeyTown.

The Red Wings made strides in certain respects, particularly when it comes to the team’s young players. Dylan Larkin took a step forward in his maturation and looks like the team’s next captain. Tyler Bertuzzi established himself as a legitimate 20+ goal scorer. Anthony Mantha was on pace for a career season before injuries derailed his campaign. Cheap pick up Robby Fabbri put up a remarkable 14 goals and 31 points in 52 games after being acquired by GM Steve Yzerman.

Fabbri, in particular, represents Yzerman’s shrewd overhaul of the Red Wings up until this point. The quite, unassuming forward just needed a chance somewhere, ANYWHERE, in the NHL to get his career back on track. The Red Wings having literally nothing to lose took a chance on Fabbri and have essentially resurrected his career. And now that the pending free agent has found a home, he wants to stay.

“Getting that opportunity in Detroit, and it’s something I’ve wanted for a little bit now, to just play again, and I wanted to be a regular player again and I knew when I was given an opportunity I wasn’t going to let it go to waste,” Fabbri said to The Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan yesterday.

“I was able to rejuvenate my career and they gave me a chance. I couldn’t be happier.”

When asked about contract negotiations Fabbri made sure not to tip his hand too much, but it’s clear he has no intentions of going elsewhere. After all, it was the Red Wings who helped turn things around for him.

“That’s something out of my control right now,” said Fabbri of negotiations. “Everything has been great since the first day I came to Detroit. It’s a great organization, great group of guys, a great opportunity here, so it’s definitely a place I want to be and play for as long as I can.

It won’t be easy turning the Red Wings into a Stanley Cup contender like his former St. Louis Blues, but Fabbri is more than up for the challenge.

“Everyone has to go through learning experiences and these are the things that will make this team stronger down the line,” Fabbri said. “We’ve been through it before and we’ll know how to handle it. The mindset in the room never changed game to game or day to day. There was always a readiness to come in and work, to get better every day.”

For the full article from Kulfan, click below: