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St. Louis Blues Realistic Expectations For Robby Fabbri

By Todd Panula |
WINNIPEG, MB - JANUARY 21: Robby Fabbri #15 of the St. Louis Blues follows the play down the ice during first period action against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on January 21, 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Blues 5-3. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - JANUARY 21: Robby Fabbri #15 of the St. Louis Blues follows the play down the ice during first period action against the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre on January 21, 2017 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Blues 5-3. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

The St. Louis Blues expectations were through the roof after Robby Fabbri’s rookie season. After two ACL surgeries, it might not be realistic to think of him the same.

The St. Louis Blues thought they had a diamond in the rough when Robby Fabbri came out of nowhere in his rookie season. However, we have all be brought back to Earth after Fabbri missed the bulk of two seasons due to knee injuries.

Now, for the second offseason in a row, Fabbri has been cleared for hockey activity after intense rebhab. Fan expectations are high for the young speedster again, but those might need to be tempered just a bit.

When deciding how much we can honestly expect from Fabbri, we have to look at what he has done already. In his rookie season, he played in 72 games. In his third season, he saw action in 51 games before getting hurt.

In a full season, Fabbri had 18 goals and 37 points. In the 51 games, he had 11 goals and 29 points.

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The first season had about a point every other game pace. It was slightly higher in the second season, but the injury prevented us from seeing how much he might have grown.

So, what is realistic now? Can we continue to project his improved production or is it more realistic to think it might level out?

It’s never good to base everything on online fans. If we did that, then Fabbri would be playing on the top line and score 50 points.

That’s too much to ask at this point. Maybe he will still get to that in his career, but the first season off two knee surgeries is not going to be anything close to that.

Frankly, if Fabbri plays in 75% of the team’s games and gets between 35-45 points, we should be overjoyed.

When a player has only had 66 points in his career and some expect him to have 60 points in one year, it is not realistic. Again, Fabbri has the talent to do that at some point in his career, but he has to stay healthy again.

Having two ACL surgeries on the same knee is a scary prospect. There are stories of players coming back and being very productive. There are also plenty of examples of guys that were never the same again.

The problem with knee injuries is they are hard to test until you are in a playing scenario. You can do all the training you want, but game speed is different and puts a different strain on you.

Knee issues, such as ACL’s, are also difficult to manage in terms of lateral movement. You can strengthen the joint and the muscles until you are blue in the face, but if your tendon did not heal properly, there is nothing to do about it.

Personally, if Fabbri is healthy, I think he will be productive. However, again, anything higher than 15 goals and 35 points is a stretch.

The Blues are deep enough right now that they need not force him into pressure situations. They can let him ease back into things on the second or third line and even limit his minutes if necessary.

Next: Joel Edmundson Will Get Paid, But How Much?

We’ll never know how the knee is until it gets tested, but you don’t want to put the weight of the world on that knee right away either.

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