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Joel Farabee

Pacific Notes: Pettersson, Höglander, Weegar, Farabee

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The Vancouver Canucks lost a pair of forwards as the team shared Elias Pettersson and Nils Höglander were pulled from today’s game against the New York Rangers due to injuries.

Pettersson finished the game going scoreless through 7:50 of action in 14 shifts. The only notable mark he left on the game was delivering one hit. Meanwhile, Höglander exited the game with even less ice time (7:03) through 12 shifts, putting two shots on net and similarly delivering one hit.

Nobody in the organization could provide meaningful updates to Pettersson or Höglander’s status. Still, Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor relayed an idea from head coach Rick Tocchet indicating Vancouver may need to recall a center before their game against the New Jersey Devils on Monday. The hypothetical recall will likely come in the form of Aatu Räty or Max Sasson should the Canucks need some help.

Other happenings in the Pacific Division:

  • The Calgary Flames were without their top defenseman today as they announced MacKenzie Weegar was out due to a lower-body injury. Weegar initially intended to play, and even skated through most of the warmup before deciding the injury would preclude him from the lineup. Fortunately, it doesn’t sound like a major injury, as multiple reports indicate Weegar will return to action on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken.
  • Sticking in southern Alberta, forward Joel Farabee was also absent from the Flames’ lineup due to an illness (Twitter Link). Farabee, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers in late January, hasn’t responded well since moving north of the Canada/United States border. Since donning the flaming ’C’, Farabee has only mustered three goals and two assists over 18 games in his new home.

Flyers’ Daniel Briere Breaks Down Trading Joel Farabee, Acquiring Andrei Kuzmenko

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The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers recently pulled off a lofty trade that sent close friends Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost up North and struggling wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier back South. The deal is still leaving plenty of wake, which Flyers’ general manager Daniel Briere broke down the deal in a press conference on Saturday, captured by Charlie O’Connor of All Phly and the Phly Flyers Podcast.

Briere started by emphasizing how difficult parting with a pair of roster forwards was. He shared that a slow season was enough to push both players down the depth chart and that they were at risk of losing their spot in the top nine to younger players. Frost ranked fourth on the Flyers in scoring with 25 points in 49 games – putting him on pace to match the 41 points he scored last season. Farabee was far less productive, with just 19 points in 50 games – a far cry from the 50 points he scored last year. While neither player were offensive black holes, they weren’t showing signs of improvement on a Flyers offense looking towards the future, which could have led towards players like Bobby Brink or Tyson Foerster getting the preferred minutes.

But it wasn’t easy for Briere to part with Farabee’s lofty $5MM cap hit. Briere shared that many teams were interested, but that they all wanted the Flyers to retain some part of Farabee’s deal. That would be a hard pill to swallow given Farabee still has three more seasons on his deal, and the Flyers already have a retention spot occupied by Kevin Hayes. Calgary was the only team willing to take on Farabee’s full contract, which may have influenced the overall strength of Philadelphia’s return. Briere emphasized that the biggest asset gained by this swap was cap flexibility, so finding a trade partner with cap space was a top priority. The Flyers leave this deal with a projected $24.3MM in available cap space for this summer, though they’ll have four restricted free agents – Foerster, Pelletier, Cameron York, and Noah Cates.

And while the focus on cap space may have earned Philadelphia a lighter return, they’ve still landed a player to watch. Briere shared that the team was planning to negotiate with Kuzmenko when he entered unrestricted free agency this summer. Kuzmenko has a noted connection with star Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov, having played with the Calder Trophy candidate with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg in the 2021-22 campaign. Having another compatriot in Philadelphia could be a nice spark for Michkov – but the Flyers will first have to hope Kuzmenko gets past his menial 15 points in 37 games this season. He scored 46 points last year, split between Vancouver and Calgary – a number that’d leave far more impact on the Flyers lineup.

Briere closed by noting that this move was made with the future – particularly this summer – in mind. He says that the Flyers’ rebuild is at the point of aggressively adding to the roster, and the team is hoping to take full advantage of their cap flexibility on the open market. In the meantime, they’ll get a chance to test Kuzmenko’s fit before having to extend him beyond this year – and get the boom-or-bust upside of Pelletier to boot.

Flames, Flyers Swap Andrei Kuzmenko, Joel Farabee

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Jan. 31: Both teams officially announced the swap late last night. It’s the Flames’ own 2025 second-rounder and their 2028 seventh-rounder heading to the Flyers.

Jan. 30: The Flames and Flyers are working on a trade that will send winger Andrei Kuzmenko to Philadelphia, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet adds that winger Jakob Pelletier is heading to the Flyers as part of the swap. Heading Calgary’s way in return are forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, Seravalli reports. Friedman adds that the Flyers were on Kuzmenko’s 12-team no-trade list, but he waived the clause to make the move happen. Finally, Seravalli reports a second-round and seventh-round pick are headed to the Flyers along with Pelletier and Kuzmenko to complete the trade.

To put things plainly, Kuzmenko is a pending unrestricted free agent needing a change of scenery. The soon-to-be 29-year-old has struggled to stay in the lineup this season despite a $5.5MM cap hit. While he missed some time due to a lower-body injury in December, he was recently a healthy scratch for a three-game stretch and has been limited to 37 of Calgary’s 49 games overall. In those appearances, the Russian sniper is averaging just over one shot on goal per game and has converted at a career-worst 10.3% rate, working out to only four goals and 11 assists for 15 points.

That dip in production is evidence of the 5’11” winger’s inconsistency, but he’s shown flashes of proper top-six play since arriving in the NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by the Canucks in 2022. He erupted for 39 goals and 74 points in his rookie season while playing primarily on Elias Pettersson’s wing, shooting at a league-high 27.3% and averaging over 16 minutes per game with strong possession metrics (52.9 CF%, 55.2 xGF% at even strength).

Kuzmenko landed a rich two-year, $11MM extension midway through his rookie campaign as a result of his efforts, but it’s been marred by up-and-down play. His production dropped to eight goals and 21 points through the first 43 games of the 2023-24 campaign before he was sent to Calgary in the deal that sent Elias Lindholm to the Canucks. He rediscovered his sharp-shooting ways after the move to Alberta, ending the season with 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points in 29 appearances. He was the second-most productive Flames forward after the swap on a per-game basis, trailing only Nazem Kadri (36 points in 33 games).

But as in Vancouver, Kuzmenko hasn’t been able to carry his production over into year two with his new club. His minus-seven rating ranks fourth-worst on the team, but possession metrics paint a much rosier picture. His 53.6 CF% at even strength is sixth on the team and fourth among forwards, while his expected +1.9 rating is fifth. He’s not generating nearly enough individual offense to make his strength as a scorer shine through, but he’s not been a meaningful liability away from the puck, either.

Philly picks up an inconsistent but high-ceiling option on the wing in Kuzmenko, and they pick up a similar but younger archetype in Pelletier. Selected in the first round by the Flames in 2019, he’s only just beginning to break through as an impact NHLer. The 23-year-old has only 10 points in 37 career appearances entering the season and even cleared waivers on his way down to the minors at the beginning of the season. He’s gotten more chances in the NHL lineup as the campaign has progressed, though, and has earned an everyday role in the lineup over the last six weeks.

Since first being recalled at the beginning of December, Pelletier is tied for sixth on the Flames in scoring with 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 23 games. He also has a team-high +10 rating during that span despite averaging only 12:57 per game. There’s significant upside with both players, especially if thrust into consistent top-six roles.

The Flyers also open up some long-term flexibility by dealing Farabee, who’s had similar struggles to Kuzmenko this season, to Calgary. He costs slightly less than Kuzmenko against the cap – $500K, to be exact – but is signed through the 2027-28 campaign. Philadelphia will get out of Kuzmenko’s deal in a few months and also open up short-term cap space by swapping the $2.1MM Frost for a six-figure Pelletier.

Farabee has a much longer NHL track record than Kuzmenko despite being four years younger, but he’s also failed to flash the ceiling Kuzmenko has. His career-highs only check in at 22 goals and 50 points, both set last season while skating in all 82 games for Philadelphia. The 2018 first-rounder has 90 goals and 201 points in 383 career outings for the Flyers since entering the league six years ago.

At 24 years old (25 in a few weeks), Farabee fits the Flames’ retooling timeline better than Kuzmenko, and even if his $5MM cap hit is steep for his inconsistent production, he’s cost-controlled in the event he breaks out. This season has been difficult for Farabee, who’s shooting at a career-worst 8.1% and has eight goals with 11 assists for 19 points through 49 games. That’s the worst point-per-game pace of his career by a decent margin, and his possession impacts are also among the worst on the Flyers. While the cost control could be a gift if he returns to a 50-point pace in top-nine minutes, Calgary is taking on a significant amount of risk with three more seasons left on his contract.

They do pick up a promising young center in Frost, matching the type of player general manager Craig Conroy has been looking to acquire since their hot start to the season. Calgary was among the teams to check in with the Sabres on Dylan Cozens’ availability, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic said a couple of weeks ago, but Frost is a much lower-risk option contractually as a pending restricted free agent with a $2.4MM qualifying offer.

Frost, 25, was a first-rounder in 2017 and ranks fifth on the Flyers in scoring with 25 points (11 G, 14 A) through 48 games. He was an eyebrow-raising healthy scratch on a few occasions early in the season but has played every game since Nov. 23. He’s on pace to produce in the 40-50 point range for three years straight now, averaging north of 15 minutes per game and steadily improving in the faceoff circle. His 51.6% win rate on draws this season is a career-high and immediately ranks tops among Flames with at least 100 attempts this season.

The Flames ended up with a net cap gain of $800K in the swap, a negligible figure considering they entered the night with nearly $44MM in current space, per PuckPedia. No corresponding transactions will be required to execute the deal with an equal number of roster players changing hands, either.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was the first to report the Flames were sending draft picks to the Flyers to complete the deal.

East Notes: Tavares, Nylander, Farabee, Aston-Reese

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The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed centerman John Tavares back to practice this morning after he missed the team’s last game due to illness, shares David Alter of The Hockey News. However, the flu-bug isn’t out of Toronto just yet, with Tavares’ linemate William Nylander missing the practice because of illness. Tavares stepped into a role on the second-line and top power-play unit with Nylander out.

Toronto loses a star and gains a star with these updates. Nylander leads the team in scoring with two goals through three games – the only Leaf to score multiple goals so far – though Tavares also scored in the team’s season opener. The duo were the focus of plenty of debate this summer, with many wondering if Nylander could fill the second-line center role that Tavares has served in since 2018-19. The former certainly showed signs of that capacity in Tavares’ absence, winning four of his six faceoffs on Sunday, though new head coach Craig Berube hasn’t fully entrusted him with that role. With the two now tagging out, Tavares will get a chance to prove that he can still be a productive member of the top-six, for a Maple Leafs team in need of the boost.

Other notes from out East:

  • Top Philadelphia Flyers winger Joel Farabee shared that he’ll be good to go for the team’s Tuesday night game against Edmonton, per Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports. Farabee missed the team’s Monday practice as the result of a “maintenance day”, as described by head coach John Tortorella. He’s recorded one goal and one assist through two games this season, one of just three Flyers with multiple points. Farabee will look to continue offering depth scoring on Tuesday.
  • Centerman Zach Aston-Reese has been cleared to return to the lineup after leaving the team’s Saturday game early, shares NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. Aston-Reese suffered an upper-body injury on his first shift of the game, though he was able to skate at practice on both Monday and Tuesday. Now back to full health, he’ll return to a gritty role on the team’s fourth-line, searching for his first NHL point since the 2022-23 campaign.

Flyers Have Joel Farabee On Trade Block

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The Flyers are dangling forward Joel Farabee in trade talks this summer as they continue rebuilding their roster, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

It comes at a good time for general manager Daniel Brière. Farabee’s trade value is likely the highest it’s ever been. The 24-year-old had a career-best season in 2023-24, putting up 22 goals and 50 points and playing in all 82 games for the second year in a row. The increase in production came with a decrease in ice time from 17:01 to 16:11 per game, but he still managed 182 shots on goal compared to 145 last year.

He shot below his career average, too, so it’s not like his goal-scoring production was a fluke. Long-term, he remains projectable as a usual bet for 25-plus goals as he enters his mid-20s. The 2018 14th overall pick does come with a $5MM price tag through 2028, though, and it’s fair to wonder if teams are willing to take a swing at that commitment for a player who had yet to eclipse 40 points in a season entering 2023.

Farabee also had the best two-way season of his career. He was on the ice for 42.8 total expected goals against at even strength, down from 55.2 last year. The Flyers also controlled 51.1% of shot attempts with Farabee on the ice at even strength, a solid but non-elite figure.

The Flyers have been connected to a potential deal with the Senators in recent days, one that some have speculated could include the clubs’ first-round picks, Ottawa defenseman Jakob Chychrun, Philly center Scott Laughton, or other pieces. It’s not clear if Farabee’s name has come up in those talks, though.

Farabee’s deal was also fairly backloaded, meaning his total salary will be north of $5MM annually in the last three years of the deal. That’s not a huge consideration for most teams, but it could be for a club that doesn’t always have a penchant for spending to the salary cap’s upper limit.

USA Hockey Announces Final 2024 World Championship Roster

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May 5: USA Hockey has invited nine more players to join their upcoming World Championship roster, including college hockey standouts Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Trey Augustine. The roster now carries 21 skaters and two goaltenders, one shy of the limit for both positions. There’s been no indication of who could round out Team USA’s roster, or if the team will look for additional hands at all.

It has also been announced that Dylan Larkin will no longer be able to participate due to injury, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Larkin has been removed from the official roster.

Apr. 24: USA Hockey announced the first 15 players named to their roster for the 2024 World Championship on Wednesday. The remaining eight-ish players will be announced before tournament action begins on May 10.

Only players on the 16 NHL teams who missed out on the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs are on the initial roster. Others will join in as their clubs are bounced from postseason action, even after the World Championship begins.

Early on, it’s clear that the promise of potential spots on the United States roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics is making this a more well-attended World Championship than in years past. Some big-ticket stars like Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield, Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, and Blue Jackets stars Johnny Gaudreau and Zach Werenski highlight the initial roster. The full slate is as follows:

F Matt Boldy (Wild)
F Cole Caufield (Canadiens)
F Michael Eyssimont (Lightning)
F Joel Farabee (Flyers)
F Johnny Gaudreau (Blue Jackets)
F Kevin Hayes (Blues)
F Luke Kunin (Sharks)
F Ryan Leonard (Boston College, Capitals)
F Brock Nelson (Islanders)
F Shane Pinto (Senators)
F Will Smith (Boston College, Sharks)
F Brady Tkachuk (Senators)
F Trevor Zegras (Ducks)

D Luke Hughes (Devils)
D Seth Jones (Blackhawks)
D Jake Sanderson (Senators)
D Alex Vlasic (Blackhawks)
D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
D Jeff Petry (Red Wings)
D Matthew Kessel (Blues)
D Michael Kesselring (Utah HC)

G Alex Lyon (Red Wings)
G Trey Augustine (Michigan State, Red Wings)

This year’s Worlds will take place in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia, although some pre-tournament action is taking place across the border in Bratislava, Slovakia. The U.S. is the highest-ranked country in Group B, which will play its round-robin schedule in Ostrava’s 10,004-seat Ostravar Aréna.

Panthers assistant GM Brett Peterson is at the helm of this year’s men’s national team before Wild GM Bill Guerin takes the reins for the truly best-on-best 2025 and 2026 tournaments. The Americans have won bronze medals in four of the last 10 World Championships (2013, 2015, 2018, 2021) but haven’t won gold since 1960, as part of that year’s Winter Olympics in California. Wild head coach John Hynes will be behind the bench.

Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Farabee, Haman Aktell

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Carolina finds itself without an AHL affiliate for the upcoming season after Chicago opted to become an independent franchise.  Speaking with reporters today including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News and Observer, GM Don Waddell indicated that he is in discussions with a handful of teams about loaning out some of their prospects.  The Hurricanes opted to loan several European players overseas for 2023-24, a move that Waddell acknowledged wasn’t ideal but was workable for 2023-24.  Waddell hopes that Carolina will once again have its own affiliate for 2024-25 and are looking into potential options but with 32 AHL franchises and Chicago’s desire to be an independent one, one NHL team will be in this situation each season moving forward.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • This time last summer, Flyers winger Joel Farabee was recovering from undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery in his neck and wasn’t able to get in a full summer of training. Speaking with NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, the 23-year-old indicated that there are no lingering issues from the procedure which has allowed him to have a more traditional offseason in terms of preparation.  Farabee is coming off a 15-goal, 24-assist season, an output that was lower than expected but with a full summer under his belt, he could be a bounce-back candidate for Philadelphia this coming season.
  • Allan Mitchell of The Athletic recently examined (subscription link) some of the top NHL-affiliated players that didn’t suit up at the top level last season. Atop his list was Capitals free agent signing Hardy Haman Aktell who inked an entry-level agreement back in April.  The 25-year-old had a breakout year last season with Vaxjo of the SHL with Mitchell honing in on his even-strength goal differential as an element that could get him an opportunity with Washington sooner than later.

Snapshots: Farabee, Kapanen, Barbashev

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Speculation is running rampant with the trade deadline so close, but some interesting tidbits have also started to leak out. Agents and teams alike will reveal things to impact negotiations one way or another. One of those might have to do with Joel Farabee, whose camp has “voiced their displeasure” to the Philadelphia Flyers over how this season has played out, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Farabee was one of the latest to feel the wrath of John Tortorella, playing just 3:52 against the Calgary Flames on Monday. The 22-year-old is in the first season of a six-year, $30MM contract extension signed back in September 2021 and has just nine goals and 26 points coming off major offseason surgery.

  • Seravalli also reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins recently informed the rest of the league that Kasperi Kapanen is available for trade, as the club approaches a salary cap crunch. Jan Rutta is almost ready to return from long-term injured reserve, meaning a move must be made in Pittsburgh. Kapanen has been made a healthy scratch at times this season and has scored just seven goals in 42 games.
  • According to Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest, one player that won’t be scratched to protect his value is Ivan Barbashev. The St. Louis Blues have already made several moves to collect assets, and Barbashev remains one of the last big chips they have to dangle at the deadline. Now 27, Barbashev has ten goals and 28 points in 57 games this season, a disappointing sequel to his breakout campaign a year ago. Still, he is an interesting piece at the deadline, given his physicality and versatility given he can play all three forward positions.

Injury Updates: Gardiner, Silfverberg, Farabee

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Hurricanes defenseman Jake Gardiner was not on their training camp invite list that was released earlier today.  As Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer points out (Twitter link), the veteran is likely to land back on LTIR this season.  Gardiner spent all of 2021-22 on there after undergoing back and hip surgeries but GM Don Waddell had indicated this summer that the 32-year-old had recovered and was expected to be ready for the season so it appears there has been a setback of some sort.  Gardiner is entering the final year of his contract that carries a $4.05MM AAV and he’ll join newly-acquired winger Max Pacioretty as players heading for LTIR to start the season which means that they’ll have plenty of short-term wiggle room available from a cap perspective.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Typically, players aren’t activated off injured reserve in the days leading up to training camp but CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Ducks activated winger Jakob Silfverberg from IR today. He was placed there back in early March with a blood clot in his leg which ended his season early but this activation suggests that he’ll be good to go for training camp.  Silfverberg had a run of six straight seasons with a point total between 39 and 43 but has slowed down the last couple of years and is coming off a 21-point performance last season in 53 games.
  • It has been a tough stretch on the injury front for the Flyers with Sean Couturier out to start the season and Ryan Ellis not ready to return either. However, it appears they’ll have winger Joel Farabee available on opening night or soon after, notes Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now.  The 22-year-old underwent disc replacement surgery back in June with the procedure carrying a recovery period of three to four months so it appears he’s on track.  Farabee had 17 goals and 17 assists in 63 games last season and could be in line for a bigger role once he’s ready to return.

Joel Farabee Undergoes Surgery

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The Philadelphia Flyers could be without Joel Farabee for the first part of the 2022-23 season after the young forward underwent successful disc replacement surgery in his cervical region this morning. The procedure was completed at Penn Medicine, and Farabee is expected to make a full recovery in three to four months.

Neck or spinal surgery is certainly not what Flyers fans want to hear about their young star, who struggled along with the rest of the roster this season. The 22-year-old forward had just 17 goals and 34 points in 63 games, numbers that didn’t even match his shortened 2020-21 sophomore campaign. Signed long-term to a contract that carries a $5MM cap hit, Farabee is meant to be one of the pillars that the Flyers build around moving forward.

A three-month timeline would allow him to be ready for the start of the regular season but obviously, that is still in jeopardy at this point. An injury like this is not something a player would want to rush back from, even if the team expects to try and contend for the Metropolitan Division playoff spots after a poor year.

With the team also looking to clear salary this summer by moving James van Riemsdyk, according to The Fourth Period, there could be quite a different look upfront to start the year. Those two finished fourth and fifth in team scoring during the 2021-22 campaign, just behind Claude Giroux, who is an unrestricted free agent after a deadline trade.

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