3 reasons why trading for Joel Farabee would make sense for the Canadiens

Farabee already has a reasonable long-term contract

Many players who could find themselves on the trade block have a year, maybe two, left on their deal, but Farabee is a youngster who finds himself in a different position. Currently, he will enter Year 3 of what is an AAV of $5 million, and he won’t be eligible for an extension until the 2027-28 season. 

It’s worth mentioning that Farabee’s total salary will rise to $5.75 million in 2025-26 and $6 million annually in the final two seasons of his deal. But if and when he becomes a 60-70-point scorer, regardless of who he plays for, his current long-term contract is more than reasonable. 

No, the Canadiens don’t have much cap space now, but they will get more, thanks to their LTIR pool. That would help cover the costs of bringing in a player on an AAV of $5 million like Farabee, and he would become yet another Hab, hopefully, with Juraj Slafkovsky joining in on the young core that will be in Quebec long-term. 

At the moment, the Habs already have Suzuki and Caufield locked in, plus Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Michael Matheson, and Sam Montembeault, so adding another on a long-term deal would make for an extreme peace of mind for Kent Hughes.