3 reasons why trading for Joel Farabee would make sense for the Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens should try to trade for another young player this summer, and Joel Farabee may be on the block.
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.
Farabee could be on the verge of a breakout season
If the Flyers end up trading Joel Farabee, one lucky team will acquire someone who will be a phenomenal player in the NHL or at least a solid one. While Farabee was inconsistent in stretches, you can also say the same for the rest of the Flyers, so it’s not something that should be of utmost concern.
It also didn’t stop Farabee from finishing the 2023-24 season with 50 points and 22 goals, good for a 12.1 shooting percentage across 16:11 of average total ice time. It’s worth noting that the 2023-24 season was also the fourth year in a row that Farabee’s ice time averaged at least 16 minutes, and that trend will continue whether he remains a Flyer or ends up in another uniform.
Suppose the Flyers traded him; it wouldn’t matter if they moved him to a better team or one at the Canadiens level. Farabee would still enjoy perhaps the best season of his career, but that opportunity would shine in a place like Montreal, Quebec.
You’re teaming a player coming off of his age-23 season with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky, and doing so would benefit the aforementioned trio. Farabee’s best hockey is coming up, and for that reason alone, Kent Hughes needs to at least inquire about his availability. But let’s check out two more reasons why he would be a great fit in Montreal.
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.
Montreal would be an ideal place to give Farabee a fresh start
So we talked about the state of the core with the big club, but the Canadiens system is so well constructed, it also trickles down to the Laval Rocket and in the junior and overseas leagues. Players like Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, and Justin Barron are also promising prospects who would also be part of the Habs long-term plans.
In a hypothetical trade for Farabee, not all of the names mentioned above may still be in the system, but when combined with the big club, there would still be more than enough young talent for an organization Farabee would be joining.
Plus, he would find a spot on one of the youngest teams in the NHL and a young team that has organizational stability. No, the Habs may not see the rebuilding effort pay off next season, even with further improvements for players like Slafkovsky. But the change of scenery to an organization that seems to be in better shape than the one he could leave benefits all parties involved.
So, if Joel Farabee is on the trade block, there is much more reward than risk if Kent Hughes made an offer and managed to bring him to Quebec from Pennsylvania. Now, it’s just the waiting game as to whether a trade involving Farabee will happen or if it’s just nothing more than the rumor mill heating up.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)