While trading for a player like Trevor Zegras would make perfect sense for the Montreal Canadiens, he isn’t the only young player who may potentially find himself on the trading block. There has recently been a lot of talk about Joel Farabee potentially moving to another organization this offseason, and he’s a youngster who would be an outstanding fit for the Habs regardless of Zegras’ availability.
If a player like Farabee is there for the taking, general manager Kent Hughes needs to do all he can to bring the young brewing star to Montreal. No, the overall trade package wouldn’t be a cheap one, and you can argue Farabee would cost somewhere near what it would take to bring in someone like Zegras. But there are a few reasons why bringing him to Montreal would make perfect sense for the Habs.
Canadiens would do well to try and trade for Joel Farabee
Before we dive deeper into what would make Farabee an enticing fit in Montreal, let’s first outline what he’s accomplished early in his career with the Philadelphia Flyers. Over the last five seasons, Farabee has appeared in 334 contests with 182 points, 82 goals, and 100 assists, solid numbers for a player coming off of his age-23 season with an average team, at best.
Farabee doesn’t carry much size, but he’s still a physical player, having landed 290 body checks in that span, plus 172 blocks. The latter number has steadily increased, and it foreshadows that as Farabee continues to gain more experience, the more he will produce in the defensive zone.
He’s also proven to be durable in his most recent campaigns, appearing in all 82 games in 2022-23 and this past season. Farabee doesn’t offer a lot of value on the man advantage, but that could be more of a testament to how poorly the Flyers power play has fared recently, so it’s not something to be held against him.
Anyway, now that you have a solid overview of who Farabee is, let’s dive in and elaborate more on why it would be wise for Kent Hughes to try and acquire the winger.