MLive’s Ansar Khan filed a Monday-afternoon article which discusses Christian Fischer’s press conference from his re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings as an unrestricted free agent. As Khan notes, Fischer believes that he can provide more offense to the team:
Fischer feels there is more to his game after his production dipped last season to five goals and 19 points in 79 games.
“I wasn’t too pleased with my offensive production,” Fischer said. “I know I should be well over double-digits in my goal mark. I just wasn’t that dialed in, didn’t have the good fortune with point totals. Obviously, that’s not my biggest concern, that’s never going to be how I’m measured in performance. With that being said, I definitely have way higher expectations for myself. I’ve done it.”
The former 32nd overall pick produced 15 goals and 33 points in 2017-18 with Arizona, his first full season. He came close to matching that in 2022-23 with 13 goals and 27 points.
The Red Wings lost a chunk of offense with the departures of David Perron, Robby Fabbri, Daniel Sprong, Shayne Gostisbehere and Jake Walman. Vladimir Tarasenko and full seasons with Patrick Kane and Jonatan Berggren will help compensate. They’ll need improvement from others, too. Fischer hopes to do his part.
“When I think of last year, it’s probably more about finishing,” he said. “Early in the season, I’m watching my clips and just kind of shaking my head thinking, ‘How the heck did I not put that one in?’ I think a little bit goes towards joining a new team. I think it takes a little bit of getting the coach’s trust and maybe you simplify your game more than you should, just to make sure you’re getting that puck out and maybe not trying that high-risk move at the wrong time.”
Continued (paywall; MLive is paywalling everything these days); as Khan notes later on in his article, Fischer is aware of his role as a shut-down, defensively-minded forward, but at this point, any offense he can provide would be welcome.
