Robby Fabbri
Last Year’s Stats (30 games) – 10 Goals & 8 assists for 18 points
Why Fabbri will hit 20 goals – he had 10 in just 30 games last season, and if you extend that out to an 82 goal season, he flirts with 30. In his first season with the Red Wings, he netted 14 on a historically terrible team. The potential is absolutely there. Though he can be a streaky scorer, he was still third on the team in goals and was a much needed offensively when he returned from COVID protocol or injury.
Why Fabbri will not score 20 – Noting a theme here—injury. Fabbri hasn’t been able to stay healthy for an entire season which has robbed him of a chance to finally hit that 20 goal plateau. Simply put, Fabbri sees 20 goals in the season if he can play at least 65 games.
Pius Suter
Last Year’s Stats with Chicago (51 games) – 14 goals & 13 assists for 27 points
Why Suter will hit 20 goals – In his first full(ish) NHL season, he had 14 goals and scored his first career hat trick against, of course, Detroit. Suter will have even more ice time in Detroit as a result of being the second line center, and should find ample time on the power play as well. With more offensive talent this season than in the last three, Suter should arguably hit the 20 goal mark this season.
Why Suter will not score 20 – In that small sample size, Suter had Patrick Kane as a linemate for many of his goals and assists. No disrespect to any current Red Wings, but there isn’t an equivalent on the roster in terms of talent to Kane. Could it be a one off for Suter? Might he struggle on a team without Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane on either wing? This certainly is the biggest question mark as to whether Suter will not only match his scoring total from last season, but surpass it as well.