The Philadelphia Flyers have built up an impressive core of wingers, giving them some talent to work with as they shift from playoff hopeful to perhaps a contender in the near future. But there’s a problem with their depth on the wing. 24-year-old Joel Farabee seems to be the odd man out—a trade is looming, and there’s basically nothing he can do about it.
The implication below is that a Farabee trade is a guarantee because of his situation. It’s important to clarify that this isn’t exactly the case, but it does seem likely that he’ll be out, and probably as soon as the 2025 offseason. Why is that?
Farabee Has Lost the Numbers Game
Farabee’s departure is pretty likely because of how loose the Flyers have been with their money. Extending Travis Konecny to an eight-year deal worth $8.75 million per season, the biggest contract in franchise history, was the nail in the coffin. The Flyers are set to have a cap hit of $88.8 million in 2025-26 per my projections—thankfully with a full 23-man roster—which leaves them with basically no room to make any worthwhile additions to their team without a trade. This is where the 24-year-old comes in.
Not only will Farabee’s $5 million cap hit through the 2027-28 season free cap space, but trading him might also allow for the Orange and Black to upgrade at a different position. With four bonafide top-six wingers (Konecny, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, and Matvei Michkov) along with options such as Bobby Brink, Samu Tuomaala, Alex Bump, and Denver Barkey in the future, it doesn’t make sense to keep Farabee beyond the 2024-25 season. He could be packaged in a “hockey trade” of sorts to land a center, a defenseman, or even a prospect—it just makes too much sense to trade him.
The Flyers essentially have their entire 2023-24 roster under contract through 2025-26. Running the same team back three years in a row would make little sense, so trading some of those players seems reasonable enough. Unless Farabee magically boosts his production despite likely getting less ice time than he did last season, he seems out of place.
Trading Farabee Could Be a Mistake
I don’t believe that the Flyers would be in the wrong to trade Farabee right now, but the way they’ve handled him is poor asset management in my eyes. With Michkov’s arrival and Konecny’s extension, he might average less ice time than he did in 2023-24—he wasn’t playing a lot to begin with.
Farabee is a lot better than people tend to give him credit for, but that’ll never be realized if he continues to play middle-six minutes. Even though he had a good but not great 50 points in 82 games, he was just a hair behind both Tippett and Konecny in points per 60 (P/60) at 5-on-5. Those three were easily the Flyers’ most productive offensive players, then there was a drop-off at fourth with Morgan Frost.
Konecny, despite being three years older than Farabee, is set to make $3.75 million more than him once his extension kicks in. Not only are they similarly productive on a per 60 basis, making the latter’s $5 million cap hit a steal in that sense, but Farabee also seems to be well-liked in the locker room. Considering his ice time will only decrease in theory, the Flyers aren’t giving him a real chance to shine.
Getting away from Farabee’s value as a player, which is a very good second-liner (even for a contender), there’s an issue with him almost definitely playing with lower-quality linemates and less ice time in general. His trade value could decline, which would put the Flyers in a spot where they’d almost surely be losing a Farabee trade. With his production likely to suffer, teams could see that as an opportunity to fleece general manager (GM) Danny Briere—the leverage wouldn’t be in his favor.
With true top-six minutes and better linemates, it’s not unreasonable to think Farabee could reach 70 points if he were traded—he was on pace for 66 through the All-Star Break. That kind of potential is something the Flyers should be keeping for themselves, but there’s just not a path to make that happen at this time. The hope now is that Briere can beat the odds and make a deal worthwhile if it comes to that.
What a Farabee Trade Might Look Like
Even if his ice time were decreased, teams would probably still see the value in Farabee. I think there would need to be some other things attached, but I see a path where Briere can land a young top-six center with the 24-year-old winger being the main package. What might that look like?
To me, every single one of the Flyers’ six draft picks in the first two rounds in 2025 is expendable. While it’s true that the class is stronger than 2024, I believe Briere’s insistence on acquiring picks for 2025 is simple: he intends to make some trades. Attaching Farabee to a first-round pick in a perceived strong class could get the Flyers the centerman that they so desperately desire, for instance.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers Mailbag: Michkov at Center, Tuomaala, & More
It’s hard to put a name out there exactly, but someone like Trevor Zegras—seeing as he has a good relationship with Jamie Drysdale—is around the caliber of player the Flyers would be after. Farabee, a 2025 first-round pick, and perhaps a little bit extra could theoretically get the job done. Philadelphia wouldn’t really be losing all that much, so this kind of trade would be pretty sensational for Briere.
The Flyers have the trade value to get a sizable upgrade on Farabee without really hurting themselves. If it’s not a straight one-for-one deal, expect those 2025 picks to be involved. There are so many of them that parting ways with one or two of them would still leave the Orange and Black with more picks in the first two rounds than they used in 2024 anyway.
It’s not exactly a certainty that Farabee gets traded, but it does seem pretty likely. Seeing as he was fourth in average ice time among wingers behind Konecny, Foerster, and Tippett, the introduction of Michkov will likely place him fifth—a distant fifth. A departure is looming.
