Former Canes defender Justin Faulk finally gets his PNC Arena homecoming with the Blues
Justin Faulk was all set to return to PNC Arena — ready to play against the Carolina Hurricanes — in March 2020.
Traded by the Canes to the St. Louis Blues, he had faced the Canes in a Blues home game, but had not made the return trip to Raleigh. He knew it would be emotional, that it would be challenging, but he was prepared for it.
And then COVID-19 shut down the NHL, a week before the game at PNC Arena.
It took a while, but Faulk’s moment is coming Saturday. For the first time since he was traded in September 2019, Faulk is back in Raleigh — and back to play the Hurricanes — in an arena where he spent the first eight years of his career.
“It’ll be fun,” Faulk said Friday. “I’m kind of excited to do it and get it over with, while at the same time I know (the Canes) are playing (Friday) and I won’t be able to see any of the guys or whatnot.
“It’ll be exciting. I enjoyed playing there and hope I enjoy playing another game in the building.”
He does have 99 career goals, many scored at PNC Arena. Talk about having a milestone in sight.
Faulk and the Blues’ hot start
There’s also the matter of winning a hockey game. The Blues are 8-2-2 after an overtime loss Thursday against the Nashville Predators, in a road game in which Faulk had nine shots on goal and another three attempts blocked — sounds like one of his Canes games — while finishing with an assist.
“I guess I need to find a way to put one of those in the net,” he said, chuckling. “We’d have liked to win that one but I think our team’s playing good and starting to find our identity and get going.”
Faulk, drafted by Carolina in 2010, has played 696 regular-season games. He was with the Canes for 559 of those games, setting franchise records for goals and points for a defenseman while gaining respect around the league for his hard-nosed defensive play and his heavy shot — the guy they call “Faulker” can bomb ‘em with the best in the NHL, especially on the power play.
But as much as anything, Faulk is proud of helping the Canes reach the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2018-19 season, ending a playoff drought that had lasted for Carolina since 2009 and drained energy and enthusiasm from the franchise and its fans.
Faulk had a goal and seven assists in 15 playoff games along with 46 hits and 19 blocked shots. Able to soak up minutes, he averaged 25:29 in ice time as the Canes won series against the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders before the fun run ended with a loss to the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals.
“With how many rough seasons there were, and we all know there were quite a few of them, I was very much appreciative and grateful to see it through, in a sense,” Faulk said. “The end goal is not to make the playoffs and win a couple of rounds in the playoffs but to win a Stanley Cup. But for having such limited success for so long, to be able to bring that back and see the fans excited and see PNC at its best was something I was very happy to be a part of.”
That fateful trade
Faulk was often at the center of trade speculation while with the Canes and once joked he had “been traded about 100 times.” But the time came Sept. 24, 2019, when the Canes dealt Faulk and a draft pick to the Blues for defenseman Joel Edmundson, offensive prospect Dominik Bokk and a draft pick.
Faulk received the kind of contract with St. Louis that he could not get from Carolina: seven years, with an annual cap hit of $6.5 million.
“It’s business, that’s what it came down to,” Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said after the trade. “We wanted to keep him and in my mind made a good effort to keep him but it didn’t happen. It’s always tough to lose a guy who has had such a big impact on your group.”
Faulk, 29, said his first season with the Blues was not what he wanted.
“I take full responsibility for my play. I just didn’t play that well,” he said. “But it has been a great experience here. They had just won the Stanley Cup when I got here and it was a close-knit group and they were welcoming to me. And we still have a close group.”
Several of Faulk’s teammates quickly came to his defense during the 2021 playoffs against the Colorado Avalanche. As he released a shot, Faulk took a vicious hit to the head from the Avs’ Nazem Kadri, leaving him knocked out on the ice.
Kadri was suspended for eight games. Faulk, who suffered a concussion, was left to recover after the Blues were eliminated.
“I went home and relaxed, took some time off, and when I went back to the gym I tested out pretty quick,” he said. “I didn’t skate for a month or so but everything in recovery went pretty well.”
Faulk and the Blues have made amends with Kadri. St. Louis faced Colorado in the season opener Oct 16. Faulk scored the game’s first goal and Brayden Schenn fought Kadri during a 5-3 win.
Faulk wasn’t through. In the Oct. 28 game against the Avs in St. Louis, he dropped the gloves with Kadri in the first minute and had it out, receiving 17 minutes in penalties. Kadri later scored as the Avs won.
Has the issue been settled?
“It’s competitive, right?” Faulk said. “I appreciate what my teammates have done and then I did what I needed to do. But nothing else is on my mind in regards to that. If nothing happens moving forward, nothing happens.”
Winning hockey games is all that matters, starting with the next one.
Carolina Hurricanes vs St. Louis Blues
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh.
TV/Radio: Bally Sports, WCMC-99.9 FM
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
