The St. Louis Blues announced Tuesday afternoon that they were able to pull off a trade the Anaheim Ducks couldn’t as they acquired Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes and then quickly signed the defenseman to a seven-year contract extension worth $45.5 million.
“We are excited to add Justin to our core group for the next eight years,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement. “He’s a top-4 defenceman who averages over 23 minutes a game and we are confident he will be a strong addition to our club.”
The trade specifics including the St. Louis Blues also getting a fifth-round draft pick in 2020 while the Blues send back defenseman Joel Edmundson, prospect Dominik Bokk and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft in the deal.
Often an All-Star with the Hurricanes, Faulk had 85 goals and 258 points with the organization. Still, he was often the subject of trade rumors despite leading the franchise in goals and points among defencemen.
Faulk Trade Was a Matter of When, Not If
Entering the final year of his contract, it was only a matter of time before Faulk was moved. There was speculation he would be traded to the Anaheim Ducks but the Ducks couldn’t convince Faulk to sign an extension. Without a long-term deal in place, the Ducks deal fell through.
Faulk was still going to get moved, it was simply a matter of where. That became crystal clear after the Hurricanes added Jake Gardiner as an unrestricted free agent.
Faulk has a no-trade clause, so he was in on the move to St. Louis. The Blues likely looked like an attractive option considering they are fresh off a Stanley Cup victory. The long-term nature of Faulk’s extension means the Blues are doing what they can to repeat as champions, not only this season, but for years to come.
The full contract details were tweeted by Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest:
- 2020-21: $9.0MM salary + full NTC
- 2021-22: $9.0MM salary + full NTC
- 2022-23: $5.85MM salary + full NTC
- 2023-24: $7.9MM salary + full NTC
- 2024-25: $4.75MM salary + full NTC
- 2025-26: $4.5MM salary + partial NTC
- 2026-27: $4.5MM salary + partial NTC
What’s Next for Carolina?
After the move, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said, “We’d like to thank Justin for both his on-ice and off-ice contributions during his time with the Hurricanes.” He added, “He was a great teammate and made a significant impact on the community, and we wish him all the best moving forward.”
This is a pretty big loss for the Hurricanes despite the fact everyone was keenly aware Faulk would be on his way out. Hopefully, the team has something else up their sleeve because the organization is not as good today as it was yesterday after moving him.
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