Well that’s not a name anyone expected to show up on the trading block. But for starters, it seems absurd that the Flyers would even think about trading Joel Farabee, especially when his value is likely at its lowest.
In fact, the Flyers showed a commitment to Farabee when they signed him to a six-year deal last season. And the young forward himself mentioned how he hopefully can stay his entire career in Philadelphia.
Of course, most players who sign long-term deals will say that. But Farabee backed it up by posting 17 goals and 34 points last season. He was third in goals and fourth in points that year. And then a freak injury happened during his offseason training.
Farabee underwent artificial disk surgery in late June, which would mess with his off-season training. And in a time that Farabee needed to continue bulking up, that stunted things big time. A three to four month recovery would’ve put him back at the end of September. There was not an expectation that he would be ready to start the season.
But he found a way to come back and was on the Flyers opening night roster. Maybe he should’ve taken more time to get back up to speed. It’s certainly shown this season that he is not where he needs to be. He has just nine goals and 26 points in 59 games. Farabee has had lengthy goalless droughts, including the 18-game stretch he is on right now. He has a total of three points during that time.
John Tortorella didn’t let Farabee hide behind a injury excuse before. And he certainly won’t almost five months into the season.
"“I think he has been very inconsistent. I’m not going to let him hide behind his injury, I think it’s plenty of time to get through that. I just think he has been inconsistent.“ Tortorella said back in December."
Farabee’s ice time has taken a hit this season, especially in the last few games. Farabee played just 3:52 in the team’s win over the Flames on Monday. His last shift, out of the five he had, ended with 11:05 to go in the second. He would not play another. He skated 10:21 against Vancouver, at the time a season-low for him.
Times have been hard for Farabee and it has been reported that his camp has mentioned it’s displeasure to the Flyers in regards to how he has been treated. Frank Seravalli mentioned such in his latest trade targets article.
"“Sources say Farabee’s camp has voiced their displeasure to the Flyers as to how this season has unfolded under coach John Tortorella. Things came to a boil when Farabee skated just 3:52 in Calgary earlier this week.”"
Seravalli added that while there has been no formal trade request, Farabee’s camp clearly wants a solution since it’s clear that Tortorella will be around for awhile.
Tortorella has talked at numerous times about how this season was about finding out which players could make it and which couldn’t. No one was going to get an easy way out.
A lot would have to go wrong in the next week for the Flyers to consider trading Joel Farabee. There’s a large chance he comes back to form after a healthy offseason. For now, the two sides need to find a way to help each other out and get things back on trade before it’s too late.