In the not-too-distant past, Joel Farabee was considered the potential heir apparent to Claude Giroux in Philadelphia.

Picked 14th overall in the 2018 entry draft, Farabee played a single year of college hockey (scoring at a near point-per-game pace as a freshman) before jumping into the NHL at just 19 years old.

As a 20-year-old sophomore, he piled up 20 goals and 38 points in the shortened 2020-21 season (55 games). Only established stars James Van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek, Sean Couturier and Giroux outscored Farabee for the Flyers that year. He seemed to be on the fast track to stardom.

But over the next four seasons, his progression stalled, hampered by a serious neck injury and an ongoing feud with his coach.

Last year, he was packaged together with Morgan Frost in a deal with the Flames, his $5-million contract essentially included as a cap dump.

So what happened to Joel Farabee? And what can the Flames expect out of a player who seems to be an afterthought on this despite such a promising pedigree?

The Decline

Farabee took a modest step back in 2021-22, scoring 17 goals and 34 points in 63 games. This still placed him top-5 in scoring on the club and well clear of fellow youngster Frost, who collected five goals and 16 points that season.

In the summer of 2022, Farabee was working out with some weights and felt a pinch in his neck. He would soon learn that the seemingly innocuous injury would lead to a disc replacement in his cervical region (his neck). The same rare surgery Jack Eichel underwent in Buffalo that caused the final rift between the team and the player before he was traded.

After three months of rehab, Farabee was ready for the start of the regular season. The goal was to take that next step forward and become a consistent, star-level producer.

Something else happened during the off-season that would also impact Farabee: The Flyers fired coach Alain Vigneault and hired firebrand bench boss John Tortorella.

By December 2023, the relationship between the player and coach had already begun to sour.

Farabee was held to less than a minute of ice time in an overtime loss. Tortorella criticized the player’s commitment to defensive details and effort when explaining the benching.

Farabee also experienced a major dry spell later in the year, a 26-game span where he logged just four points (all assists). His lack of production led to more benchings and reductions in ice time.

His output fell to just 15 goals and 39 points over 82 games that year. Players like Owen Tippett, Travis Konecky, Scott Laughton, Frost and even defender Tony DeAngelo outscored Farabee, who fell to seventh in team scoring.

The injury, the new coach and the dip in production seemed to create a rift between the franchise and the player that was never fully mended.

Farabee rebounded somewhat in 2023-24, scoring 22 goals and 50 points, good for third on the team. But despite the career high in goals and points, his performance still was considered uneven.

After starting the year off with 40 points in his first 48 games, he managed just 10 in the final 34. The Flyers collapsed down the stretch, losing eight straight to end the season, which led to them missing the playoffs.

Farabee’s lack of production at a key point in the year likely did not further endear him to the coach or management.

No doubt another step forward could have extended Farabee’s time in Philly but in 2024-25, his production completely dried up. He totaled just 25 points in 81 games, a career worst for the 25-year-old.

With young stars like Matvei Michkov, Bobby Brink, Tyson Foerester and Tippett all vying for ice time, the Flyers decided to cut bait with Farabee by throwing him into the Frost deal.

Unfortunately, his struggles actually worsened in Calgary, where he scored just six points in 31 games, bouncing around the lineup and failing to establish a clear role on the team.

What’s Next?

Both the team and the player need to find out who the real Joel Farabee is. His $5-million per year cap hit runs until the 2026-27 season. There is an opportunity for the left winger to re-establish his career in Calgary and even become a leader amongst the younger players as the older cohort on the club ages out.

Or, at the very least, a renaissance would turn him into a quality trade asset before he leaves for free agency.

The good news is that there are signs Farabee could rebound in Calgary. Between 2020 and 2024, Farabee’s personal shooting percentage was 14.3% at even strength. Last year, that number fell to just 6.6%, less than half of his career norms.

This was in contrast to his excellent shot and chance ratios. During the final 31 games of the season, Farabee led all regular Flames skaters in terms of expected goals for and against. Meaning the team was outshooting and outchancing the opposition with Farabee on the ice.

If Farabee can continue to tilt the ice and rediscover the scoring touch that made him 20-goal, 50+ point player in the past, he can rehabilitate his career and become a fixture in the Flames top six.

Another season of fourth-line level production, however, will push him to the fringes of the lineup and ultimately sink his stock around the league.