It was a rough season for Joel Farabee, but he managed to finish the campaign strong.

Coming off a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, Joel Farabee was hoping to take a big step forward in his first season under new Flyers head coach John Tortorella. With Claude Giroux no longer in the fold, Farabee, who Giroux publicly deemed the most likely player to break all of his franchise records, had an opportunity to take a big step forward as one of the club's premier offensive weapons.

But Farabee's season was sabotaged before it even began.

Last June, just a week after the Flyers named Tortorella the 23rd head coach in franchise history, Farabee underwent disc replacement surgery after suffering a neck injury during offseason training. At the time of the operation, only two other NHL players (Jack Eichel and Tyler Johnson) were known to have undergone disc replacement surgery — a far less accepted procedure compared to the more common cervical fusion surgery.

Despite being given a recovery timeline of three-to-four months, Farabee still took part in training camp and even appeared in all 82 games of the regular season.

But he very clearly wasn't Joel Farabee.

It was obvious he was nowhere close to 100% following his neck injury, and it plagued him throughout the season. As a result, he struggled to find consistency for much of the campaign.

However, in the season's homestretch, Flyers fans were given a glimpse at the version of Farabee many were expecting to see prior to the major surgery.

Season In Review

On paper, Farabee's season was actually pretty decent, injury be damned. Even though his play-driving numbers were less than stellar, he still managed to log 15 goals and 39 points in 82 games.

But at times, scoring was a struggle.

From January 11 to March 14 — a 26-game span — Farabee was held without a goal and logged just four points. Unsurprisingly, he was very much in Tortorella's doghouse during his scoring drought. He was benched multiple times throughout the season, and at one time, it was even reported Farabee was unhappy with the direction of the Flyers under Tortorella.

Things improved drastically for Farabee in the last quarter of the season, though. In the Flyers' last 15 games, Farabee netted six goals and 12 points, which ranked third on the team behind only Owen Tippett and Morgan Frost. Suddenly, Farabee was looking like himself again.

Was he finally feeling 100% after playing much of the season still in discomfort following his neck surgery? Perhaps. But more so, Farabee believes his disappointing season was more a result of the quick turnaround from surgery recovery to playing meaningful hockey.

"It's never easy when you try to get ready for a season in probably four, five weeks I think it was," said Farabee during his exit interview.

"I honestly felt really good with my body and things like that. I think probably weight-wise I would've liked to probably be a little heavier coming into the season, but you just try to manage it that way."

Now, with a full, presumably healthy summer ahead of him, Farabee is preparing to get back in the saddle next season and return to form as the dynamic point producer he appeared to be during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.

Probably a much easier ask without a significant neck surgery to worry about.

Standout Moment

Given the Flyers' place in the standings, not many of Farabee's goals turned out to be all that meaningful. However, his goal against the Buffalo Sabres on March 17 was a pretty significant one. It ended his 26-game goal drought, and it got Tyson Foerster the first point of his NHL career. The Flyers ended up winning that game by a score of 5-2.

Pretty good way to get out of a rough patch.

Bottom Line

Farabee's season wasn't his best. He admitted as much during his exit interview. But while his scoring numbers were down, there was a legitimate reason why he wasn't playing to the level many hoped he would.

The Farabee fans saw in 2022-23 isn't the same Farabee they should expect to see in 2023-24. Barring any setbacks, he should be back to scoring goals consistently next season, and perhaps then he'll finally be ready to take that long-awaited leap forward.

Verdict: /

Statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com.