As part of their NHL Trade Deadline 2026 acquisitions, the Detroit Red Wings picked up veteran defenseman Justin Faulk from the St. Louis Blues.
Faulk, who crossed the threshold of 1,000 career games played this season, was acquired by Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman in exchange for Justin Holl, a first- and third-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft, and forward prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov.
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Although he was unable to play in Detroit’s 3-1 loss Friday night to the Florida Panthers, they expect him to be in the lineup for Sunday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils.
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After practice in Detroit on Saturday before they left for New Jersey, head coach Todd McLellan said that while they expected Faulk to dress, they would watch how he acclimated to his new teammates.
“We’re going to put him in the game and make him play, and we’ll have to watch how comfortable he is playing with certain partners,” McLellan said. “We can think, ‘He’ll fit in really well with Ben Chiarot,’ and that’s kind of the plan to put him out there and get your four guys rolling,” McLellan said of Justin Faulk.
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“But we have to observe and pay attention to who he plays well to, and see how it goes with his partner.”
At this time, no decision has been made on which defenseman will be left out of Faulk’s lineup.
Detroit hopes Faulk’s presence will help stabilize its increasingly precarious position in the standings. Just a week ago, the Red Wings were in second place in the Atlantic Division, but after two straight losses combined with wins by their division rivals, they now sit in first place in the Wild Card.
Although Faulk is expected to make his Red Wings debut immediately, the same cannot be said for David Perron, who was acquired Thursday night from the Ottawa Senators.
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Perron, who played for the Red Wings from 2022-24, underwent sports hernia surgery in January and is not expected to be available to play for at least the next two weeks.
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