From South St.Paul, Minnesota, Justin Faulk of the Carolina Hurricanes should be a familiar name to Oilers fans by now.
Faulk is one of those names that’s been bandied about the rumour mill as a possible target for quite awhile. It makes sense, after all. The second round draft pick from 2010 matches up with what Oilers fans have been wanting for a long time now, a right shot defenceman with legitimate power play acumen.
Signed to a reasonable contract for three more seasons at $4,833,333, the 25-year-old would fit in nicely with the young core that’s being developed in Edmonton.
Why Is He Out There?
I’m not so sure Carolina is actively shopping Faulk, but perhaps just fielding phone calls. The Hurricanes have a need for big, skilled scoring forwards, and a surplus of talented young defencemen. With Jaccob Slavin, Brett Presce and Noah Hanifin already in the NHL, and two Western Canadians in Hadyn Fleury and Jake Bean knocking on the door, the blue line in Carolina is about to be mighty crowded.
Beyond that, all of Slavin, Pesce and Hanifin will be RFAs next summer in need of new contracts, and likely looking for increased responsibility on the ice. I’m sure the Hurricanes would prefer to hold on to an asset like Faulk, but for the right offer, I think they’d be willing to move him.
What Does He Do Well?
He’s a smooth skater that can move and shoot the puck with gusto. Faulk is one of the best goal scoring defenders in the game, with his 48 goals over the last three seasons being 6th most among all NHL rearguards. He notched 17 goals and 225 shots in the 2016-17 season, tied for second and third respectively throughout defencemen in the NHL.
At 6’0 and 215lbs, Faulk is a proven top pairing minute-muncher, averaging no less than 23 minutes a game in his last five seasons. Over the course of his career, he’s also managed to be a positive possession player. Since he entered the league, Faulk has scored on the power play 31 times, fourth best among defenders in that time frame. That’s impressive production from the blue line.
Where Will He Play/Where Should He Play?
Although Faulk is perfectly capable of handling top pairing minutes, he would slot in comfortably on the second pair behind Oscar Klefbom and Adam Larsson. He’d be a nice fit on the right side with Andrej Sekera when Seksy is back healthy, and until then, Darnell Nurse could slide into the spot next to Faulk on the second pairing.
Faulk would also fit like a glove as the power play quarterback for the Oilers, where he could make the most of his booming shot while being fed pucks from McDavid and Draisaitl.
The acquisition of Justin Faulk would give the Oilers a legit power play weapon on the backend and transform the team’s top four into an area of formidable strength.
What Will He Cost?
A King’s ransom.
Top pairing, offensively gifted defencemen don’t grow on trees, and the Hurricanes are well aware of that. It would take quite the package to convince Carolina GM Ron Francis to give up a young, affordable stud on the blue line, and we’re not talking the typical Oilers fan fantasy of Jordan Eberle and a mid-range draft pick.
No, it would take an overpayment similar to the Hall for Larsson deal. There’s a good chance that Ron Francis would start and end the conversation by demanding Leon Draisaitl, which should be a deal breaker for Chiarelli.
If I was Chiarelli, I’d be building a package around Jesse Puljujarvi and this year’s first round pick, plus one of Caleb Jones or Ethan Bear. Even then, I’m not sure that’s enough to entice Francis to give up the talented, albeit somewhat one-dimensional Faulk.
Francis would probably love Puljujarvi due to his size and style of play, on top of the fact that he’s had chemistry with Sebastian Aho in the past. The issue here is that Puljujarvi has proven zero at the NHL level, which may scare off the Hurricanes from giving up a proven asset in Faulk.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would add depth and experience down the middle for Carolina, but again, I don’t think the Nuge would cut it as the main piece in a deal for Faulk.
Closing Arguments
If Chiarelli were to pursue a trade for Faulk, it would have to wait until after the expansion draft on June 21st. Chiarelli has stated his intentions to protect seven forwards and three defencemen, which would leave one of the Oilers top four defenders unprotected. Sekera (NMC), Klefbom, and Larsson are shoe-ins to be protected, which doesn’t leave space for Faulk if Edmonton wants to protect seven forwards as well.
This one’s a bit of a pipe dream. I can’t see Pete Chiarelli being willing to give up what it would take to get Faulk, and I don’t think Francis would settle for anything less than an overpayment. It’s extremely rare to see a young and affordable top pairing defencemen get moved, especially one that shoots right.
Alas, it’s fun to dream.
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