There may not be a single National Hockey League team with more players on the trade block than the St. Louis Blues ahead of the March 6 deadline — and veteran defenseman Justin Faulk is using the tried and true strategy of simply not thinking about the rumors.
Faulk is one of a multitude of skaters who could be getting shipped out of Missouri at some point in the next 11 days, and as he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Matthew DeFranks late last week, this is nothing new.
“Well, I’ve been traded, so it makes it a lot easier,” Faulk said. “It doesn’t really matter. There’s nothing I can do. Everyone knows what luxuries I might be provided in my contract at times, but it’s out of my control in a sense. It always is. Whether there’s chatter or not, I don’t like to think too much about it because it can happen or it might not, so what’s the point of wasting your time with it?
“There’s no other way for me to really say because if it doesn’t happen, what was the point of thinking about it the whole time? If it does happen, what’s the point? Because you probably don’t know where it’s going to be or anything like that.”
Faulk has been excellent for a lowly Blues club in 2025-26, managing 11 goals and 30 points, good for fourth in team scoring. He's in his seventh season in St. Louis after being traded from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2019, and has one year remaining on his contract with a $6.5 million cap hit.
The 33-year-old is one of the top defensemen potentially available on the market, and he would be a significant addition to any legitimate Stanley Cup contender. He's also ultra-durable despite his age; he's one of five Blues players that has suited up for every game this year.
“I try not to think too much about it, but I’m not naïve to the situation,” Faulk continued, per DeFranks. “I’ve never tried to be that way. I’ve been traded before. Other guys in this league have been traded and there’s going to be guys in this league traded here in the next week or two. It’s the way the league goes, and nothing more than that.”
Blues fading away in Western Conference playoff race
It's been a challenging season for the Blues, who are 20-28-9 and dead last in the Central Division at the tail end of the Olympic break. Considering both an aging roster and the fact the team is a full 14 points out of a playoff spot, the most likely scenario is that fans in Missouri will not be getting treated to postseason hockey this April.
Because of that, it makes sense that GM Doug Armstrong — who just won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan — could hold a firesale before March 6.
“Obviously, we’re not happy again with the situation we’re in,” Faulk said. “We know what’s going on. Use (the break) to reset a little bit, get back. These are hard-working days, definitely not easy, but there’s no stress so you can really work.”
Along with Faulk, players like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Oskar Sundqvist, Mathieu Joseph and Pius Suter — among others — will be keeping a close eye on the news over the next week and a half.
The Blues return to game action against the visiting Seattle Kraken on Thursday night.
