Flyers sign blossoming winger Joel Farabee to 6-year, $30 million extension

The Flyers are betting Joel Farabee will continue progressing and that, toward the end of his contract, the deal he signed Thursday will look like a bargain.

The 21-year-old winger signed a six-year extension for $30 million; it will start in 2022-23 and have an annual $5 million cap hit.

“For them to believe in me is really awesome,” Farabee said.

Farabee, who led the Flyers with 20 goals last season, said his agent initiated the talks but that both sides mutually agreed to working on a deal that was finalized Thursday.

“I’m really excited to prove how I can get better,” Farabee said, adding he wants to spend his entire career in Philadelphia.

The former Boston University star is in the final season of his three-year, entry-level deal and he will have a $925,000 cap hit in 2021-22.

Farabee spent the offseason getting his legs stronger and becoming faster, and he said he wants to be a more consistent player. He likes the numerous offseason moves the Flyers made after going 25-23-8 and missing the playoffs, saying the new-look Flyers seem “really good on paper, but at the end of the day, we have to go out there and perform. And with the leaders we have on this team, they’re going to really push us, especially the young guys. I think we’re going to have a really good year; we’re going to break out.”

“Some guys had some down years last year,” he added, “but I think everyone’s mindset is a lot different this year, and we’re really chomping at the bit to get back out there.”

As a rookie two years ago, Farabee had 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists) in 52 games; he had 38 points (20 goals, 18 assists) in 55 games last season.

Prorated, he would have had 29 goals in an 82-game season in 2021. Teams played a shortened 56-game season because of COVID-19.

Farabee, who could have become a restricted free agent next summer if he hadn’t signed the extension, was selected in the first round (14th overall) in 2018. He has scored the third-most goals (28) of anyone from that draft class, behind only Brady Tkachuk (60) and Andrei Svechnikov (59).

The Flyers’ main camp will open Sept. 22 in Voorhees. ... Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny were on the ice Thursday in Voorhees. Hayes’ brother, Jimmy, 31, a former NHL player, was found dead in his Massachusetts home Aug. 23. “I will try my hardest to have your legacy live on,” Kevin Hayes said recently. ... Farabee said he is striving to avoid droughts; he led the Flyers in goals last season despite scoring just once in 19 games late in the year.