Signing season continued on Thursday with the Flyers extending forward Joel Farabee with a six-year, $30 million deal.
The 21-year-old Farabee had a breakout season in 2020-21 leading the team with 20 goals and recording 38 points in 55 games. His boost in production earned him the team’s Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy last season, which is given to the player considered most improved by his teammates.
This is the last year of Farabee’s entry-level contract with the extension and $5 million cap hit going on the Flyers’ books for the 2022-23 season. The six-year deal will buy four years of restricted free agency (three of which he could have held arbitration rights) and two unrestricted free agent years.
According to Puck Pedia, here’s how the deal breaks down:
2022-23: $1 million ($2 million signing bonus)
2023-24: $2.25 million ($2 million signing bonus)
2024-25: $3 million ($2 million signing bonus)
2025-26: $4.25 million ($1.5 million signing bonus)
2026-27: $6 million
2027-28: $6 million
[NHL Free Agency 2021: Every signing by all 32 teams]
“I definitely think I found a lot of confidence this year, so hopefully I can just build on that,” Farabee said in May following his big year. “I think for me, one of the big things I want to focus on is just keeping it consistent, try not to have those 10-, 15-game stretches where things are going bad.
“If I can eliminate that and kind of bring it a little bit more every night, I think I can really help the team a bit more.”
Consistency will be key for Farabee after a big year. His shooting percentage jumped from 9.9% in his rookie season to 17.9% in 2020-21. You have to figure there will be just a bit of regression coming.
Farabee’s extension is the latest piece of business by Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher as he continues to reshape his roster. After sending away Jakub Voracek, Nolan Patrick, Philippe Myers, Robert Hagg, and Shayne Gostisbehere, he’s brought in Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Derick Brassard, Keith Yandle, Martin Jones, and Nate Thompson. Those moves, along with retaining Farabee, Sean Couturier, Travis Sanheim, and Carter Hart, will give the team a very different look next season.
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.