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St. Louis Blues X-Factor Robby Fabbri Signs One-Year Contract

By Todd Panula

ST. LOUIS, MO - JANUARY 17: St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) and Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot (3) battles for the puck during a NHL hockey game between the St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators on January 17, 2017 at the Scottrade Center in Saint Louis, MO. (Photo by Jimmy Simmons/Icon Sportwire)
ST. LOUIS, MO - JANUARY 17: St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) and Ottawa Senators defenseman Marc Methot (3) battles for the puck during a NHL hockey game between the St. Louis Blues and the Ottawa Senators on January 17, 2017 at the Scottrade Center in Saint Louis, MO. (Photo by Jimmy Simmons/Icon Sportwire) /
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The St. Louis Blues continue to tick off their restricted free agents. They will officially have Robby Fabbri for one more season, at least

The St. Louis Blues officially brought back one of their biggest potential scorers for 2018-19. They signed Robby Fabbri to a one-year contract.

This is a smart deal all around. The Blues don’t get cornered, but get to keep a guy they hoped would be a special player for at least one more year.

The contract is reportedly worth $925,000. That is a steal, if Fabbri is healthy and plays anywhere near what he is capable of.

The health part is the major concern. Fabbri is just coming off his second ACL surgery on the same knee.

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The first injury came in February of 2017. The second injury came after a preseason game in late September of 2017. The surgery did not happen until November 7, to allow the swelling to diminish.

Fabbri has been rehabbing in Toronto with a specialist. He was medically cleared to resume all normal hockey activities as the calendar changed to July in 2018.

Now, he becomes a major x-factor for the team. When healthy, he has been one of the Blues most dynamic skaters and scorers.

It is hard to know how many goals he is truly capable of scoring. Fabbri has 29 in his career right now, but he averages a point ever other game.

He has the talent to play the wing on either of the team’s top-two lines. He can also fill in at center, though that should not be necessary now that the Blues have so much depth up the middle.

Now that he does not have the pressure of playing center and will have proven playmakers setting him up, he could be a high-20’s or even 30-goal scorer. Time will tell, but we know the talent is there if he can feature for a full season.

That is why this deal is so smart for all parties. As pointed out in the Post-Dispatch article linked above, it made no sense for either side to seek a long-term deal.

If the Blues signed him for too many years and he gets hurt again, you are stuck with a player that may never be healthy. If Fabbri signed for multiple years now, he might not get his fair value should he have a good year.

So, the Blues get a cost-controlled player with a high ceiling for one more year. Fabbri gets to bank on himself that he’ll be healthy and earn a big deal come next summer. It is a win win for both players.

Now, it is up to Fabbri to go out there and show he is worth a bigger deal. The Blues, while they would love to keep his cost low, would love it more if he performs up to what they feel he can.

This is going to be a huge year for Fabbri. If he is healthy, there really are no excuses for him or anyone for that matter.

The Blues have centers now. They have young talent chomping at the bit. The players must get the job done, including Fabbri.

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I believe he will. As long as his knee holds up, I think he’ll set career highs for goals and points. How many and how much he could earn next season is up to him.

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