Carolina Hurricanes Trade Justin Faulk To St. Louis

Earlier this afternoon, Justin Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Blues along with a 2020 5th round draft pick in exchange for Joel Edmundson, Dominik Bokk, and a 7th round draft pick in 2021.

After months of speculation on where longtime Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk would get traded to (if he did, indeed, get traded), we finally know. Faulk was mysteriously missing later in the autograph session of the “Meet the Canes” STM event on Monday. While some were told he left because he wasn’t feeling well, something seemed wrong.

A couple of hours after training camp let out Tuesday afternoon, where Faulk was once again missing during the later parts, news broke that Faulk would be heading to defending Stanley Cup Champions St. Louis Blues along with a 5th round draft pick in the 2020 draft.

In return, the Carolina Hurricanes are receiving defenseman Joel Edmundson, forward prospect Dominik Bokk, and a 7th round draft pick in the 2021 draft.

In the press release announcing the trade, Carolina Hurricanes President and GM, Don Waddell, had this to say about the trade;

“Joel is a big, physical presence on defense, who knows what it takes to win a championship. Dominik was a first-round pick who has a real chance to be an impact player on the NHL level. We’d like to thank Justin for both his on-ice and off-ice contributions during his time with the Hurricanes. He was a great teammate and made a significant impact on the community, and we wish him all the best moving forward.”

On the Blues side of the deal, Faulk is receiving a whooping 7-year contract extension with an average annual value of $6.5 million dollars.

For the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmundson signed a one year contract worth $3.1 million back in August via salary arbitration which they will take on. Over the course of Blues cup run last postseason, he had 7 total points (1 goal and 6 assists).

He is a solid lock-down defender, and should fit in nicely with the Carolina Hurricanes’ defense. He should prove to be a quality replacement for Faulk in the newly revamped blueline.

Their newly acquired prospect, Bokk, has spent the past two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). At just 19 years old, he was listed as the Blues’ number two prospect which is promising. When the time comes, he should definitely fit in well with the Canes. He is also a right handed shooter, which is something the Carolin Hurricanes desperately lack in the forward department.

While fans may be split on Justin Faulk being traded away for personal and sentimental reasons, in the long run it does make sense for the Carolina Hurricanes to go through with trading him. They were out of cap space and needed to make room for upcoming RFAs down the road.

They wouldn’t be able to give him the amount of money he was asking for, and with him being an unrestricted free agent after this season, he would have walked away for nothing. That would’ve left the Hurricanes empty handed, so it made sense for them to get something for him while they still could rather than end up with nothing at all.

Question for CC readers: What is your favorite Justin Faulk moment?