In Red Wings Land

Newcomer Robby Fabbri has ignited Red Wings’ turnaround, strengthened lineup | Detroit News

Athanasiou has four goals since Fabbri joined the Wings, and in all, Athanasiou has eight points in his last nine games, further igniting a turnaround that was slowly developing.

“(Fabbri’s) a really good player, a lot of skill, he’s fun to play with,” Athanasiou told reporters after the Sharks’ game. “We’re still building our chemistry, all three of us. We’re getting better each game, each shift.

“That’s just the main goal, take steps forward every day and be the best we can be.”

Robby Fabbri has two goals and four assists in five games with the Red Wings. That alone is great, but if he’s also helping kick start an Andreas Athanasiou offensive hot streak then that could be really huge for this team.

Around the League

BUDGET BURDENS: THE FIVE NHL PLAYERS PROVIDING THE LEAST VALUE | The Hockey News

This week, we do the opposite, finding the players who have been a drag on the bottom line. In order to do so, we’ve limited the list to players who are on standard, non-entry-level contracts, have played at least 10 games and recorded at least two points.

Based on the very specific criteria for this list, Frans Nielsen ($5.25 million AAV) didn’t make the cut. He’s on a standard, non-entry level contract and he’s played at least 10 games (18 GP), but he has zero points on the season.