Defenseman endured, played through three ankle injuries, shoulder injury that limited him to 60 games last season, also limited his playing ability; now is 100 percent healthy

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Justin Faulk knows and understands last season wasn't good enough by his standards.

Even though the veteran defenseman was playing at less than 100 percent for much of the year for the St. Louis Blues, and despite the fact the 32-year-old managed to play in 60 games.

In hindsight, was it a good idea? Probably not, considering Faulk was dealing with ankle and shoulder injuries throughout the season that hindered his production.

But that's an athlete for you. They want to perform. They want to be there for their teammates in the battlefield. There's nothing more helpless than sitting idly on the sideline, and Faulk made the decision to gut through it, even at the expense if one's own personal performance.

"It's tough. With athletes, there's a little bit of an ego thing that gets involved that you want to try and get out there and help your team and sometimes, to be honest, it's at the detriment of yourself and possibly the team if you're not playing well enough or if you're not healthy enough," Faulk said. "It's a frustrating thing when you have injuries to try and know you want to be out there and do whatever you can to help. I take pride in trying to play as many games as I can. I hadn't missed many for a while due to injury sense. It's just something that took a bit.

"I'm not trying to make an excuse or anything but I probably wasn't 100 percent there from you could probably say just before Christmas on. My ankle, there could be even three different times that something kind of came up with it. It was tough, but it's good to not be dealing with it now, I can tell you that."

Faulk is healthy today and looks the part. He's skating hard, playing to his strengths, which is defending plays, physical in the d-zone, joining the rush and shooting it hard and precise from the point. Things he was limited in when he initially injured his right ankle, then for all intents and purposes, got worse when he turned it in a 2-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche on Dec. 29, 2023.

"There was a small thing before. Nothing crazy and I was playing with it and it was fine," Faulk said. 'I don't know exactly how it went, but the Colorado one was obviously the big one that put it in a spot where I wasn't able to play. It just didn't recover the way we would have hoped and as quick as possible. I tried coming back and playing and it just wasn't ready to be where it needed to be to play my game. So then it was Calgary (Jan. 23) , I played a few games after the Calgary game, I rolled over it again during that and just knew it wasn't in a position to do this night in, night out yet and had to take some more time and then probably whenever I came back from that, with the injury that I had, it's something that you need a lot of time off actually to actually get back to 100 percent and get the strength back there. I was going to have to deal with it for the rest of the year and you just had to make sure you could actually play the games and skate and not be a detriment to your team."

Faulk just wasn't himself. A year after putting up a career-high 50 points (11 goals, 39 assists) in playing all 82 games, he slipped to a career-low two goals (30 points) in 60 games and just wasn't that shutdown d-man the Blues had come to know.

"It's not fun when you don't feel as good as possible," Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. "No doubt in my mind 'Faulker' will bounce back and have a solid year for us."

All he needed was time, and rest.

"Yeah, I think the ankle last year was going to take time no matter what and then I had a shoulder issue a little bit at the end of last season in that San Jose game (April 6) that took a little bit too throughout the summer, but there was plenty of time to rest up, heal up, get strength back and get both of those things feeling good coming into the season.

"It was fine. It came back pretty quick. I wasn't skating so I didn't have to worry about getting in a position of twisting and popping. I felt it a few times this summer kind of jumping in and out of a lake, but in a good way. (Head athletic trainer) Ray [Barile] was telling me I was going to feel that and he was like, 'That's a good thing when it happens.' I was actually laughing. It just took time and everything feels good now. I haven't had any issues at all."

If the Blues are to take necessary steps this season to keep climbing, they will need a return-to-normal performance and a healthy Faulk to do it. He's looked good in two preseason games thus far, including scoring a power-play goal on Tuesday, playing just under 25 minutes.

"What I can tell you about him and what we missed last year is just the leadership qualities, not only in the dressing room but on the ice," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "That goes a long way with our group. Play-wise, we know who he is as a player. He's an important player for us. It was difficult when we didn't have him last year."

Blues fans saw it and let it be heard. When a player is playing, they think everything is back to normal and said player shouldn't be having issues being their best.

"No, that's fine. Accountability doesn't affect me. It's a good thing," Faulk said. "I will agree with them that it wasn't where it needed to be and where I want it to be. I think I hold myself accountable. I'm pretty aware of when I play well and when I don't. I have a standard internally that I think I can play at and an expectation. It's just play hard and be hard to play against and make things happen. I know my game's still there. I'm not too concerned with getting back to it. I'm going to go to work and be there, so that's fine."

Faulk feels like this season will round him out even more now because he is targeted to be the team's top power play quarterback after the loss of Torey Krug (arthritic condition in left ankle) for the season.

And for Faulk, being a power play quarterback is no foreign thing. He's been down this rodeo before, regularly in his days with the Carolina Hurricanes and filling in on occasion since arriving in St. Louis.

"Yeah, it's fun. It's a good responsibility to have," Faulk said. "To be honest, I think it keeps you pretty involved in the game because it's a challenge. I like all special teams. I like penalty kill. It really keeps you in every facet of the game. Power play's a bigger responsibility. I get to play with some pretty good players if I'm going to go out there with those guys. I think I can do it. I'm not scared of the opportunity again."

And to get an opportunity to boost the Blues up the power play rankings again. For the longest stretch, the Blues were dead-last in the league before finishing 25th at 15.2 percent.

"We'd like to probably get off and have it going pretty early here," Faulk said. "It'll evolve through the season and what not, but it took us a while last year to get it going. There were times where it was probably some games sitting there for us that if we could have found one on the power play, it could have gone the other way and put us in a different spot. Every night's not going to be 2-for-5, 2-for-3 or whatever it is, but you have to create momentum, you have to bring some energy to the group. You want to get scoring chances and not just be getting shut down all night. Get pucks in the zone, recover pucks, work without it, get back and just put some pressure on the other team. It makes it hard on them if they've got to sit back there and if you're not scoring, they've got to block shots, they've got to stay in the zone for an extended shift. It kind of just builds as the game goes and it gives your guys some energy too to know that you you don't want them thinking it's just another two minutes of probably not scoring and nothing happening. You just kind of have to take it little by little and not get so focused on the end result and just kind of make sure your process stays the same that you're working hard."

Not only did the Blues lose Krug for the season, Faulk lost a defensive partner that has been dealing with a lingering injury for multiple years, and Faulk will likely open the season with Philip Broberg as his partner for the season.

"He's been good. He's a big body. He skates well," Faulk said. "To be honest, I knew nothing about him. The way he moves, he's a good skater for how big he is. He takes up space. He looks to make plays too, so it's nice.

"I'm sure he's getting comfortable in a new setting, new teammates and stuff. Early impressions are he's a good player and he's a good skater. Good start in this league, especially with the way it is today. If you can get around on the ice well and get your head up and make plays, you should be able to figure it out, I think."

The Blues are looking forward to figuring it out with Faulk back to full health.

"He's physical, he's smart, skates well, shooter from the point, presence in our locker room, just a guy that's played a long time that gets it and a guy that's a really good teammate and a joy to be around," Schenn said. "We need the guys last year that feel like they weren't at their best, myself included, to step up and have a better year.

"It's easy to see it from the outside perspective, but when you see it on a day to day in the locker room what guys go through and stuff like that, but there's no doubt in my mind that 'Faulker' will bounce back for us."

No doubt in Faulk's either.

"My confidence hasn't changed," Faulk said. "I'm healthy, I feel good. I know what I can do in this league. I'm comfortable to say that I've done it for a long time, but there's ups and downs and you've got to ride that wave a bit and try and end it, but I'm confident in my game and I know what I can bring. I'm ready to get going and play good hockey and help the group."