CALGARY — Just before Joel Farabee’s last season in Philadelphia began, he went into John Tortorella’s office with a question.
“I just basically asked to get back on the penalty kill,” revealed Farabee Sunday.
“They were just like, ‘worry about other parts of your game, rather than that.’”
Ouch.
Four months later, he was traded to the Calgary Flames as part of a deal in which he was considered a salary-dump throw-in.
On Sunday, the joke was on Philly, as Farabee’s third-period goal against his former club proved a pivotal moment in a 4-3 Flames win in which the hosts clawed back from three deficits to win in overtime.
The irony was rich, as the goal came while he was killing a penalty.
“Listen, especially that last year in Philly, I wasn't playing well enough to earn any more ice time than I got anyway, so I'm just very grateful for the opportunity I've gotten here,” he smiled.
“I feel like I've played it my whole life, and I feel like it helps my game — it gets me involved in the game.”
He’s not only involved this year, he has been the Flames’ best forward.
His goal midway through the third period tied the game 3-3 and extended his home-goal scoring streak to six straight games — a stretch in which the team’s leading scorer has 12 points.
By night’s end, he had a game-high five shots, had more ice time than any other forward, killed off the bulk of two penalties, had the leadership to grab the puck for Zach Whitecloud’s first goal as a Flame, and was even using his own water bottle to help fix the Saddledome ice.
He also ended a streak that saw him go 0-for-7 on breakaways this year until he took a pass from Martin Pospisil and finished his one-on-one encounter with Dan Vladar with a sweet forehand-to-backhand tuck past the sprawled netminder.
“Mids (Jake Middleton) and I sat down and we talked about it, and he said I'm a deker,” he deadpanned.
“So, literally, when I got the puck, it was what was in my head.”
With seven goals and 17 points in 18 outings, Farabee really has been doing it all this year.
Asked if he can ever remember being so confident and productive, the three-time 20-goal man shrugged.
“No, no, I haven't,” he said.
"No, I just feel good. I think guys have really bought into our system, and in the third period tonight we put the skill away, chipped pucks in and went after their D. And that's when the offence opens up, when you play the right way.”
Farabee has long been open about the fact that when he came to Calgary, he needed help figuring out how best he could contribute.
Penalty killing helped give him an identity, as did his penchant for blocking shots and shutting down the opposition.
Now he wears an A, and he’s added an offensive layer that has made him Calgary’s best, most productive, and most dangerous forward this season.
His goal set the stage for Matt Coronato’s overtime winner, capping a 10-game in 18-night run in which the surprising Flames were 6-3-1.
Sunday’s win capped an emotional night in which Devin Cooley returned to the lineup from injury to win his fifth straight start, and Zach Whitecloud and Zayne Parekh scored top-shelf beauties to help fill the void left by news of Kevin Bahl’s season-ending Achilles injury.
But the man who cherished the win a little more than anyone else had to be the former Flyer.
“Yeah, maybe a little,” smiled Farabee, who was traded to Calgary with Morgan Frost in late January 2025.
“I mean, I'm a little far removed from getting traded from there — it's been a few years. Their team's pretty different since I was there. But it's always nice to play those guys, just because I still have a lot of friends there. It definitely feels good. I think the time of the game, obviously being down, and to get it on the penalty kill definitely felt like the crowd got into it.”
He did too.
Especially since the team he scored on essentially told him the penalty kill wasn’t necessarily his jam.
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