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I have high (possibly too high) hopes for the top line this year. Assuming a full season of play, I’m hoping Larkin, Bertuzzi and Vrana can combine for 80 goals (25, 25 and 30 respectively). I’ve been put on notice that this could be far too high a hope, but if the league is wide open (all 32 teams competing) and our top 3 can stay healthy, I’ll hold myself to that hope.
Part of the top line’s production will depend on how much other teams feel the need to deploy top defensive pairing against any other line. For the past couple years, Larkin bore the brunt on a bad shoulder last year. The second line started out well but was all but lost for most of the season. If the three players selected to hold that place can create high percentage opportunities, the top line will get a little bit of breathing room.
** there are memos circulating regarding a potential “mini bubble”, possible issues that could lead to some sort of shutdown again. I’m not going to take that on until we have a clearer picture of exactly what the league wants to do. So far, it looks like Wings players will be restricted from interacting with fans in Traverse City. A season without fans would be a serious hurdle in trying to get finances back on track. The current cap is still based on 5 billion in revenue. The shortened season came about 1.5 billion short of that, and last season may well have come in at 2 billion or less. 4.5 - 5 billion (or an entire season) of lost revenue is heralding a nearly flat cap through 25-26 at this point. Would not be good to add to that.
That nastiness aside, let’s assume that the second line will be a mix of Fabbri/Suter/Zadina. Fabbri’s most productive season in the NHL was his first (2015-2016) and saw him collect 18 goals in 72 games. He had a nice bump in 19/20 scoring 15 in 52. He scored 10 goals in 30 games last year. Since coming to Detroit, if Fabbri had played 82 games he would be knocking on the door of 20 goals. However, I have to count on the injury bug just to hedge my bets. Assuming he can get 62 games in, I’d look for Fabbri to score 15+.
Suter had 15 goals in 55 games with Chicago. But, he shared the ice with some elite talent. Some of his goals were “his own”. I put up his highlight reel in “looking forward part 3”, well worth your time. If he gets a full season in, I would hope he can produce near the 20 goal mark (18?). It’s really tough to gauge because we don’t know who he’s going to “mesh” with. Hopefully he can inject some offense into Zadina’s play.
Zadina killed himself learning to play defensively. He had some beautiful takeaways, skated hard to limit offensive chances. Blocked pucks, good stick position, etc. Yzerman was impressed with the effort. Improving defensively was the mantra last season. This year, offense is much more front and center. My hope is that Tanguay will do some intense sessions with Zadina. My hope would be 20, but that’s a big leap in production. If he can hit around 18, that would be a nice step forward too.
All in all, I’m looking for around 50 goals from the second line. That would be a huge step forward in goals for per game. Without seeing it happen, it’s hard to commit to any of those three hitting 20 at this point. I am optimistic that Zadina will get that number soon in his young career. If that happens, it will be a real shot in the arm for the organization.
Let me know where you fall. 15 for Fabbri, 18 for Suter, 18 for Zadina. Way too high? Do you think it’s too low? What is a realistic outlook for what the second line will bring to the table this season. Let me know.
Check out some of my previous posts:
I have high (possibly too high) hopes for the top line this year.
The Griffins are worth the drive, at least I think so.
My third “looking forward” looked at Pius Suter.
My second “looking forward” focused on Alex Nedeljkovic.
My first “looking forward” talked about Moritz Seider.
Jakub Vrana and Adam Erne have filed for arbitration.
I posted “The Winged Wheel season 3, ep 1”
I posted Yzerman’s Zoom call
I posted Pius Suter’s Zoom call
I did a wrap up of the “Frenzy”.
Pius Suter highlighted the opening day of free agency.
Yesterday was a free agency “primer”
Svechnikov was not qualified by Wings, and Lindstrom signed for 2 years.
Marc Staal returns for 1 year, 2M
I posted my final thoughts about the 2021 draft
Day 2 of the 2021 draft can be found here
You can take a look at Detroit’s first round results here.
Yzerman extended Rasmussen and acquired Alex Nedeljkovic yesterday.
Seattle has selected Dennis Cholowski.
While we wait on RFA contract status for Detroit
RedWings TV did a quick hit on centers MacTavish and Lusius as possible draft targets
Detroit acquired Leddy for Panik, 52nd pick
The market for Zack Hyman is blowing up.
Yzerman has kept contracts short and sweet. 
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