St. Louis Blues 2018-19 Trade Targets: Justin Faulk

The St. Louis Blues are not really looking into adding pieces to their blue line, if everyone is healthy. That does not mean they should not pursue an intriguing piece if available.

The St. Louis Blues have a decent amount of depth on their blue line. The only issue they have right now is after their top six, there is not a ton of NHL experience.

Guys like Colton Parayko and Joel Edmundson took to the NHL like a fish to water, but some of the other prospects are coming along slower.

Jordan Schmaltz had yet to really see significant NHL minutes until late season injuries. Jake Walman looked like he had a lot of learning to do. Petteri Lindbohm has disappeared, through injury and other players passing him.

The rest of the defensive prospects are just as unproven, if not more. So, despite all the cries for upgrades up front, which would still need to happen, or in goal, perhaps adding along the blue line might be smart.

More from Bleedin' Blue

Not long ago, we did a piece about the rumors with Carolina having a fire-sale. One of the players we did not really cover was Justin Faulk.

Most of that was due to the Blues not really needing to add to their defensemen. Another reason was that Faulk had not really been put in the rumors. That changed, according to a recent piece on BlackhawkUp.

If Faulk should become available, and maybe just to keep him away from Chicago, the Blues might want to kick the tires. Given their needs elsewhere, you would not offer the moon for him, but he could be a nice addition to St. Louis.

Positives

After a poor season in 2017-18, the demand should be lower. Faulk is coming off his worst season since 2012-13 and still had 31 points. His goal totals were cut in half, but he is only 26 and there is little reason to think his offensive numbers might not kick back up.

Faulk could be a good addition to a weak power play. Faulk’s numbers were bad last season, but the entire Hurricanes team was bad. In 2015-16, he had 12 power play goals. The season prior to that, he had seven. Either one of those numbers would have bested most of the Blues forwards from 2017-18.

Regardless of goals, Faulk is a great puck mover. He has had more than 20 assists per season in each of the last five years. For a team that lacks breakout speed, a good puck mover is essential.

Negatives

For all his positives, Faulk is not an elite defender. In fact, he’s been double-digit negatives in the plus/minus category for years.

That begs the question of whether you want to bring in a defender that does not defend all that well. St. Louis already had a similar player in Kevin Shattenkirk.

His offensive numbers were enough to keep him if the price was right, but his defensive shortcomings seemed to get worse every year. It is a risk to bring in another player like that when the Blues were not great defensively, at times, in 2017-18.

Also, Faulk is a right handed defender. The Blues already have two top defenders that shoot from that side of the ice. St. Louis seems unlikely to want to put two righties together and $4.8 million is a pretty price to pay for a third-line defenseman.

The Hurricanes are not likely to let him go for peanuts either. Despite a down season, Faulk is still one of their better assets and has a reasonable contract for two more seasons. The Blues wouldn’t have to give up everything, but we are looking at more than just a mid-round draft pick.

Overview

In honesty, the part about keeping him from Chicago was meant as a joke. However, if the Blackhawks are serious about him then there is little reason the Blues should not be.

The Blues have to upgrade their power play and if Faulk could help in any way, it has to be explored.

Next: Reaction To Blues And Islanders Trade Talk

He’s not huge, but at 6′ and 215 lbs, he’s got a solid base and won’t be pushed around. He has reasonable possession metric scores and had good offensive zone start numbers on a team that struggled offensively.

If the Blues could swing a deal for him like they did with Brayden Schenn, you’d have to jump on it. Giving up picks is not Doug Armstrong’s style, but this year’s draft class is not incredibly deep. If you can help your team right now for the price of a pick and maybe a prospect you feel might never crack your lineup, you do it.

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