The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that they have traded defenseman Justin Faulk to the St. Louis Blues along with a 2020 fifth-round pick in exchange for defenseman Joel Edmundson, forward prospect Dominik Bokk and a 2021 seventh-round pick.
Faulk played 559 games for the Hurricanes over eight seasons and was the longest-tenured Cane on the roster before the trade. He was drafted by Carolina in the second-round of the 2010 NHL entry draft, and holds the franchise record for goals and points by a defenseman with 85 goals and 258 points.
“We’d like to thank Justin for both his on-ice and off-ice contributions during his time with the Hurricanes,” said Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell in a Hurricanes news release. “He was a great teammate and made a significant impact on the community, and we wish him all the best moving forward.”
While also being a franchise leader, Faulk was a three-time all-star, being selected in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to represent the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL All-Star events. Faulk was also a prominent member of the community and sponsored the Hurricane’s True Defenders program to provide full-game experiences to active and retired members of the American military.
Faulk had served as an alternate captain for the Hurricanes starting in 2015 and also had a brief stint as co-captain in the 2017-2018 season along with teammate Jordan Staal. His absence leaves an even greater hole on the leadership vacancy that started with the semi-retirement of Justin Williams.
A right-handed defenseman who could contribute on the power play was something many teams were after, and Faulk had always been an enticing piece that many teams had called about and was constantly in the news at every trade deadline and draft day for years. At the time, it hadn’t made sense to Carolina to move him, but as his price tag went up, and as the Canes added more and more talent, the plan to move him seemingly grew.
Coming in for the Hurricanes, Carolina has added a big, physical defenseman in the 6-foot-4 Edmundson. The former Blues blueliner, who is a year younger than Faulk, is a recent Stanley Cup Champion that can add a winning mentality and pedigree to the Canes’ roster.
Carolina also acquired a promising young forward prospect in Bokk. The German born right-winger was drafted 25th overall in the first round of the 2018 NHL entry draft by the Blues and fills a definite need for top-rated right-handed shot forwards in Carolina’s pipeline.
“Joel is a big, physical presence on defense, who knows what it takes to win a championship,” Waddell said. “Dominik was a first-round pick who has a real chance to be an impact player on the NHL level.”
Faulk’s departure is one that signifies a changing of the guard for Carolina. With the addition of Jake Gardiner earlier this month and Dougie Hamilton last season, the Hurricanes have proven that they are willing to finally go out and acquire high-end talent. It wasn’t that Faulk wasn’t capable of being a high-end talent, it was just that the Canes could replace him for less than it would cost to keep him with no real loss of talent.
