When we look at defensive options for the Edmonton Oilers this summer, we need to start looking at some players who aren’t really talked about. Carolina Hurricanes rearguard Justin Faulk is one of those guys. He’s universally known as a strong defender, but he’s rarely talked about as an option because many doubt he gets moved.
Some insiders have begun to hint at the fact that Carolina may be willing to move the veteran in exchange for a similar player at the forward position. A young center would make the most sense, mainly because 24-year old right-shot defenders who play on the top-pairing rarely become available.
Why Is He Out There?:
Carolina is in an interesting spot. They are rebuilding, but they are building from the back-end out. Carolina has numerous young defenders both on the roster and in the system that give them one of the best defensive systems in the entire league. Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin, Ryan Murphy and Brett Pesce all emerged as NHL’ers this season, while Haydn Fleury, Keegan Lowe and Roland McKeown are all bubbling under.
The Hurricanes have a plethora of young defenders, but greatly lack forwards. Outside of Jeff Skinner, Carolina has no impact player up front. They have some nice pieces, but sorely lack top-end talent. The Canes might look to deal from a position of strength to address a massive weakness.
What Does He Do Well?:
Justin Faulk is a mobile player, he’s a great skater who possesses speed and moves quite well. We’ve seen a lack of mobility from Oiler defenders before, but that won’t be an issue with this player.
Defensively, he’s extremely reliable. The Hockey News calls his defensive game, “Smart, mature, safe and tending to small details.” That signals a player who is strong in his own zone, and the eye test certainly backs that up. Just watching him, you can see the impact he has in his own zone, he’s a helluva defender.
Offensively, he can impact a game too. Faulk moves the puck quite well and has a strong first pass. In addition to that, he possesses a very dangerous shot and is one of the best powerplay point-men in the entire league. He dominated on the man advantage for Carolina this past season.
His 24:03 per game suggests a big minute defender and his 37 points in 64 games (16-21-37) suggests an impact offensive player.
Where Will He Play / Where Should He Play:
This one is easy. Justin Faulk, if acquired by the Oilers, would be the team’s number one defender and would play on the top-pairing with Oscar Klefbom. There is no debate to that. Luckily for him and the Oilers, that’s exactly where he belongs. Faulk is a real number one NHL defender, folks, he fits this role to a tee.
What Will He Cost:
Carolina wants forwards and Edmonton wants defenders, this part nearly writes itself. I can absolutely see the Oilers sending Ryan Nugent-Hopkins over to Carolina in exchange for Justin Faulk. Heck, I can see RNH and Nail Yakupov going to Carolina in a bit of a bigger deal between the sides. Regardless, Nuge for Faulk makes a lot of sense from this angle.
Closing Argument:
Justin Faulk may not be available to the Oilers, or any NHL team, this summer. In the event that he is, however, the Oilers should be all over him. Faulk impacts the game in so many ways, is young enough to be part of the core moving forward, and is locked up on a pretty good deal for the next four seasons ($4,833,333 per).
It would likely cost a pretty penny in assets, but the Oilers and Justin Faulk together simply makes too much sense.
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