Cardiac Cane
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Reviewing the Justin Faulk trade with the St Louis Blues

By Conor Power

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 16: Justin Faulk #27 of the Carolina Hurricanes slides into the net during the third period against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the PNC Arena on May 16, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes 4-0 to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 16: Justin Faulk #27 of the Carolina Hurricanes slides into the net during the third period against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the PNC Arena on May 16, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Bruins defeated the Hurricanes 4-0 to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Joel Edmundson #6 of the Carolina Hurricanes pins Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers to the boards in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 3, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO – AUGUST 03: Joel Edmundson #6 of the Carolina Hurricanes pins Ryan Strome #16 of the New York Rangers to the boards in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 3, 2020, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Freestyle Photo/Getty Images) /

Joel Edmundson

Moving to the Carolina side of this trade, we shall start with the only piece to have actually made an appearance in the NHL for the Hurricanes and that is Edmundson. While the 6’4, 230 lbs defenseman only made 72 appearances for the team total in the one season he was here, he became a player that a few fans were able to get behind due to his heavy-hitting style and physical play.

In his 68 regular-season games in the season that was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Edmundson recorded 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points in the shortened season. He was often played in an elevated role and it seemed to hurt his ability to play well defensively. Even playing on the second pairing with a babysitter, he struggled at times and never really found his footing in Carolina.

When Carolina loaded up on the backend at the time of the 2020 NHL trade deadline, Edmundson had been pushed down the depth chart some more due to circumstances outside of his control. He ended up fighting for his place in the lineup when it came to the bubble in Toronto and it was clear that with his contract expiring, the Hurricanes were not going to need his services any longer.

His signing rights were shipped off to Montreal for a 2020 5th-round draft pick and Edmundson still remains as a member of the Canadiens. He was part of the first team to ever finish 32nd in the NHL standings so there’s that neat little trivia fact for you. Edmundson’s time in Montreal has been mostly strong as he has become a good top 4 D for the Habs, but that is not what we are here to talk about.

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