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Robby Fabbri Out Indefinitely; Could Miss Rest Of Season

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The Detroit Red Wings could be without Robby Fabbri for the rest of the year, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today that the team suspects he suffered a torn ACL. While he is still undergoing further evaluation, the expectation at this point is that Fabbri will not play again this season.

In a likely related move, the Red Wings have recalled Taro Hirose from the AHL. Hirose, 25, is one of the players that will become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer given how little opportunity he’s had at the NHL level to this point. In the minor leagues, the undrafted Michigan State star has been outstanding, with 45 points in 52 games this season. In the NHL, just one game for the Red Wings this season and 43 over parts of four years.

For Fabbri specifically, an ACL injury is the last thing anyone wants to hear. The 26-year-old forward has already undergone multiple knee surgeries in his career, which at one point threatened to derail it completely. He missed the entire 2017-18 season and played just 32 games in 2018-19, only finding his way back to top-six relevance after a trade to Detroit. Those surgeries were on his left knee, and this injury is to his right.

This season, he’d been one of the team’s most consistent players, with 17 goals and 30 points in 56 games. The fact that he’ll be sidelined with another knee injury is obviously going to once again cloud his future in the NHL. Luckily for him, he signed a three-year contract extension with the Red Wings in December–one that pays him an average salary of $4MM through 2024-25. While he’ll hopefully be able to recover in time to start next season, ACL surgery would certainly not guarantee that outcome.

Filip Zadina No Longer Waiver-Exempt

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  • When Filip Zadina stepped on the ice for the Detroit Red Wings last night, he crossed an important threshold in his career. As CapFriendly points out, his 141st game means that Zadina is no longer waiver-exempt and would need to clear them in order to be assigned to the minor leagues. With his effectiveness at the NHL level still very much in question–the 22-year-old has seven goals and 18 points in 55 games this season–and Jakub Vrana returning, some have questioned whether Zadina is long for Detroit. His entry-level contract will expire at the end of this season and he will become a restricted free agent for the first time.

Jakub Vrana Activated From Injured Reserve

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The Detroit Red Wings have officially activated Jakub Vrana from injured reserve, and expect him to play in tonight’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Vrana has yet to play this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in late September, a procedure that has kept him out much longer than the initial four-month timeline. Vrana lit Detroit on fire last season after coming over from the Washington Capitals, scoring eight times in 11 games including a four-goal effort in his fourth appearance. He’ll try to continue that success now that he’s back, though it certainly may take him some time to get up to speed.

Interestingly enough, the Red Wings have actually moved Danny DeKeyser to injured reserve to make room. DeKeyser cleared waivers earlier today, which means he could have been assigned to the minor leagues. Instead, he’ll go to the injured list meaning he can stay with the team as he deals with whatever this new ailment is.

Danny DeKeyser Clears Waivers

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March 8: DeKeyser has cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues. With Vrana already confirmed for tonight’s game, the team will need to move someone off the roster to make room for his return. If they do assign DeKeyser to the AHL, $1.125MM of his cap hit would be buried. Sustr meanwhile was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks.

March 7: After claiming Olli Juolevi yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings have placed a veteran defenseman on waivers. Danny DeKeyser has been waived, along with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr, according to Chris Johnston of TSN.

DeKeyser, 32, cleared waivers multiple times last season but has spent this year on the active roster while he plays out the end of his long-term contract. Signed to a six-year, $30MM deal in 2016, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this offseason. Where his career goes next is unclear, as the once stalwart two-way defender has found his role diminished in recent years.

Interestingly enough, at even-strength DeKeyser has played almost exclusively alongside rookie phenom Moritz Seider, giving the young defenseman a stable veteran partner to lean on as he transitions to NHL life. But it’s that even-strength ice time that has come way down, with DeKeyser averaging less than four other regular defensemen in Detroit. On the other hand, the penalty kill is where he still provides some nice value, logging the most short-handed time of any Red Wings player, but none of that would suggest that a team would take a chance on his $5MM cap hit through waivers. With Juolevi now in the fold–and a roster spot likely needed for Jakub Vrana’s impending activation–it’s not clear what role DeKeyser will have on the Red Wings down the stretch.

For Sustr, waivers is nothing new. He has already cleared them before the season began, and several other times throughout his NHL career. This season he has played in 15 games for the Lightning, basically serving more as a practice player and injury insurance than anything else. If he clears, he’ll likely be bounced up and down between the AHL and NHL for another chunk of the season.

Detroit Red Wings Claim Olli Juolevi

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, both players on waivers today were claimed. Austin Czarnik, who was placed on waivers by the Seattle Kraken, was claimed by the New York Islanders. After being placed on waivers by the Florida Panthers yesterday, Olli Juolevi will be headed to the Detroit Red Wings, having been claimed as well.

Carter Rowney Injured Again

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  • Red Wings winger Carter Rowney left Friday’s game with what appeared to be a foot injury, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. He had just come back from a lower-body injury that cost him 17 games, scoring in two straight before last night.  Veteran penalty killing forwards are often something playoff teams look to add by the deadline but this injury may end any chance of Rowney being on the move by March 21st.

Jakub Vrana Participated In Morning Skate But No Firm Timetable For His Return

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  • While Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana was a full participant in the morning skate today, there remains no timetable for his return, notes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Head coach Jeff Blashill has expressed optimism that the 26-year-old will be able to make his season debut soon as he continues to work his way back from shoulder surgery back in October.  Detroit currently has a full roster and will need to make a move in order to activate Vrana off IR in the coming days.

Trade Deadline Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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With the All-Star break now behind us, the trade deadline looms large and is now less than a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Detroit Red Wings have impressed this season, enjoying growth all around from their young core and gigantic rookie performances from Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. With the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference virtually set in stone, though, any playoff aspirations for Detroit at this point are ill-advised, but that doesn’t take away from the extremely solid stepping-stone season Detroit and general manager Steve Yzerman have built to help set up the future.

Record

23-24-6, 5th in the Atlantic

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$35.80MM today, $55.49MM in full-season space, 1/3 retention slots used, 43/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: DET 1st, DET 2nd, WSH 2nd, DET 3rd, DET 4th, COL 4th, VGK 4th, DET 5th, DET 7th
2023: DET 1st, DET 2nd, DET 3rd, DET 4th, DET 5th, DET 6th, DET 7th

Trade Chips

Detroit’s on the emerging end of a rebuild, so any decent player with term for the Wings is likely safe from trade speculation. However, there’s a decent amount of pending unrestricted free agents for whom Detroit would love to retain assets.

The highest-caliber of these Detroit pending free agents is undoubtedly defenseman Nick Leddy. The long-time New York Islander was shipped to Detroit this past offseason in a salary-clearing move, with Detroit yielding a second-round pick to acquire his services. The 30-year-old has 12 points in 48 games this year and is still capable of logging top-four minutes, meaning that Yzerman should be able to at least recoup similar value for Leddy on the trade market. Leddy has struggled defensively, often being outshined by his partner Seider, but could benefit from facing lesser competition on a better team.

Marc Staal is another left-shot veteran defenseman on an expiring deal that could make some sense for teams. He’s having his best season in recent memory, rebounding with some solid two-way play after being an analytical nightmare for the past few years. His +12 rating is the only positive rating among active Detroit defensemen, and with a reasonable $2MM cap hit, many contenders could work him into a third-pairing/seventh man role with ease. He does have a no-movement clause, however, meaning he’d need to accept any trade in order for it to clear.

On offense, there’s Vladislav Namestnikov. Fifth on the team in goals with 13, he’s having a much better season than his first year in Detroit. He’s a good two-way presence capable of logging middle-six minutes, and his versatility among forward positions makes him an attractive option to have in the lineup when injury strikes. He could likely command a third- or fourth-round pick on the trade market, perhaps more.

Others To Watch For: F Sam Gagner ($850K, pending UFA), D Troy Stecher ($1.7M, pending UFA), G Thomas Greiss ($3.6MM, pending UFA)

Team Needs

1) 2023 Draft Picks — Detroit already has considerable pick depth in 2022 with an additional second-round choice and two extra fourth-round picks, but they’re lacking any additional selections in 2023. With that 2023 Draft class shaping up to be one of the overall highest-quality ones in recent memory, it would be wiser to load up the following year rather than trading for more 2022 selections. It could also give Detroit additional trade chip material at the 2023 Trade Deadline if the team finds itself in playoff contention.

2) Forward Prospects — While the Red Wings have an incredibly bright and deep future on defense, the Red Wings are now lacking many high-end forward prospects in the team’s development system after players like Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno have graduated to full-time NHL roles. Additional depth there would be a nice get for Detroit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Lightning Claim Gemel Smith Off Waivers

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Gemel Smith is heading back to Tampa Bay as TSN’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have claimed the forward off waivers from Detroit.

Smith started the season with the Lightning, spending a little more than three months on season-opening injured reserve.  Once he was cleared to play in mid-January, he was claimed by Detroit and subsequently sent on a three-game AHL conditioning stint.  Since returning from that nearly a month ago, the 27-year-old had hardly played, getting into just three games with the Red Wings where he had an assist while averaging less than seven minutes a game.  With Detroit having some players getting closer to returning from injury, they opted to waive Smith to get some roster flexibility.

As Tampa Bay was the only team to place a claim on Smith, they were able to send him down to AHL Syracuse and have quickly made that move.  Smith was quite productive with the Crunch back in 2019-20 with 40 points in 50 games and having played just 14 times between last season and this season combined, he should certainly benefit from some consistent playing time.  He’s in the first season of a two-year, two-way deal worth the league minimum of $750K at the NHL level.

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