Jason Millen: Blues acquire Faulk & sign him to a $6.5mmAAV, $45.5mm deal for Eddy & Bokk Blues acquire Faulk & sign him to a $6.5mmAAV, $45.5mm deal for Eddy & Bokk

My initial gut reaction is "Why ruin a good thing?". What the Faulk.

Bokk has a high ceiling, but Faulk is a HUGE upgrade over Eddy (who was overpaid at $3 mill per )... he should help the PP a TON. The contract is decent too. What is not to like? Plus, if Petro leaves our D-core will still be solid.

I like this deal a lot.

Faulk is a pretty flawed player. To give up both an NHL Dman and a quality prospect for him AND pay him 6.5mil long term makes me think Chiarelli actually was hired by the Blues.

Bokk has a high ceiling, but Faulk is a HUGE upgrade over Eddy (who was overpaid at $3 mill per )... he should help the PP a TON. The contract is decent too. What is not to like? Plus, if Petro leaves our D-core will still be solid.

This deal was done in case Petro leaves imho.

The issue is that the Blues have the best Right D in the league which doesn't help a lot. You want the best top two pairs. Can Petro, Parayko or Faulk play their off side well? If not, you aren't going to get as much value for Faulk as you might think since his minutes will be lower.

This deal was done in case Petro leaves imho.

The issue is that the Blues have the best Right D in the league which doesn't help a lot. You want the best top two pairs. Can Petro, Parayko or Faulk play their off side well? If not, you aren't going to get as much value for Faulk as you might think since his minutes will be lower.
- Jason Millen

I agree, but I think anytime you can pick up a great player for a borderline one and a mid/high level prospect you do it. 6.5 is actually below what Faulk would have got if he hit UFA IMHO too.

I agree, but I think anytime you can pick up a great player for a borderline one and a mid level prospect you do it. 6.5 is actually below what Faulk would have got if he hit UFA IMHO too.
- cuethenoise

Bokk is a better prospect than mid level, imho.

Simple as it is, you can't have a 3rd pair RD making 4.5-6.5million, period. This strikes me as an expanson/Petro UFA deal and Bokk was a casualty.

This deal was done in case Petro leaves imho.
- Jason Millen

I think this is quite possible. If so, then it's Doug Armstrong reading the tea leaves and seeing that the market for AP27 is going to be outrageously high in free agency.

Another reason I like this deal so much. Very proactive in my opinion.

Faulk is a pretty flawed player. To give up both an NHL Dman and a quality prospect for him AND pay him 6.5mil long term makes me think Chiarelli actually was hired by the Blues.
- MaximumBone

seems pretty flawed...
Last 5 seasons his rank among NHL D-men:

7th in Goals
4th in PP Goals
4th in GW Goals
25th in Points
25th in TOI/GP
21st in ESTOI/GP
11th in SAT% (200+GP)

This move suggests Pietrangelo is a chip to dangle moving forward, with Parayko and Faulk and Bort long time locked up on one ways...

Blues are over the cap, right?

Does this mean Pietro will be traded by end of week?

Better to be pre-emptive than playing rear guard

Don't expect Faulk to improve the Powerplay.

He's been a staple of the Canes bottom tier PP for almost a decade.

Blues are over the cap, right?

Does this mean Pietro will be traded by end of week?
- charlest

Only 1.2 over and we have 2-3 guys that will / should be cut making 700k+ each so we’ll be fine. Faulk only makes 4.88 this year.

seems pretty flawed...
Last 5 seasons his rank among NHL D-men:

7th in Goals
4th in PP Goals
4th in GW Goals
25th in Points
25th in TOI/GP
21st in ESTOI/GP
11th in SAT% (200+GP)
- cuethenoise

Now do the last 3.

I think this is quite possible. If so, then it's Doug Armstrong reading the tea leaves and seeing that the market for AP27 is going to be outrageously high in free agency.

Another reason I like this deal so much. Very proactive in my opinion.
- bcallaway

This is the only way it makes sense to me.

Kind of like Gardiner, Faulk DOESN'T suck as much as Canes fans will gripe about him.

He is, however, prone to spectacular looking mistakes, and his offensive play only slightly outweigh his defensive gaffes.

Only 1.2 over and we have 2-3 guys that will / should be cut making 700k+ each so we’ll be fine. Faulk only makes 4.88 this year.
- cuethenoise

Sure, but I don't see Armstrong going into the season with breathing room of 200k. Never been his style as he likes some room to maneuver.

Now do the last 3.
- BINGO!

14th in Goals
8th in PP Goals
9th in GW Goals
35th in Points
38th in TOI/G
40th in SAT %

a small decline, but solid 1st/2nd pairing numbers..

but Carolina hasn't been the best team either....

Also he had some impressive numbers in the playoffs last season.

seems pretty flawed...
Last 5 seasons his rank among NHL D-men:

7th in Goals
4th in PP Goals
4th in GW Goals
25th in Points
25th in TOI/GP
21st in ESTOI/GP
11th in SAT% (200+GP)
- cuethenoise

Over his career, he has had a negative impact on his team's goal share (incl HD goal share) while playing semi-sheltered minutes behind the Slavin and Pesce.

relGF% 5.77, -2.88, -5.35, -8.45 (followed by 1 positive, 3 negative years)
relHDGF% -0.95%, -4.91%, -12.5%, -10.55% (same as above)

He seems to be fine at winning the shot share battle even when compared to a team that has been among the best in that respect, but he struggles to stop his opponents from converting. You can see it in his play in his own end (specifically around the net) and the stats back that up.

That's certainly not all on him and, to his credit, his results have consistently improved over the past 4 years so he may well continue to address that flaw. All I'm saying is there's reason for caution. Hopefully he keeps at that; on a contract like that, I think he's gonna have to.

Hate this deal. Messes with the chemistry, doesn't fill our need for a LHD, and means we either lose Petro next year, or Faulk or Dunn the year after to expansion draft.

Only makes sense if Petro's asking for McDavid money on his next contract.

Hate this deal. Messes with the chemistry, doesn't fill our need for a LHD, and means we either lose Petro next year, or Faulk or Dunn the year after to expansion draft.

Only makes sense if Petro's asking for McDavid money on his next contract.
- Antilles

Pietro (w/ new time to discuss new contract) for Klefbom

14th in Goals
8th in PP Goals
9th in GW Goals
35th in Points
38th in TOI/G
40th in SAT %

a small decline, but solid 1st/2nd pairing numbers..

but Carolina hasn't been the best team either....
- cuethenoise

Right up until last season, where they had their best year in a decade and he was the 5th best defenseman on the team in WAR rankings.

What are the chances Armstrong flips Pietrangelo to the Ducks now? They still are looking for a right handed defenseman.

He is, however, prone to spectacular looking mistakes, and his offensive play only slightly outweigh his defensive gaffes.
- BINGO!

So, in other words, he's the perfect, affordable replacement for Pietrangelo.