Blues celebrate Faulk's 1,000th NHL game with shirts, jerseys

The St. Louis Blues planned a grand entrance for their man of the hour, Justin Faulk.

The veteran defenseman was honored for his 1,000th NHL game before the Blues took on the Utah Mammoth at Enterprise Center on Saturday. He reached the milestone on Nov. 17 against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The hallway heading to the team's locker room had a giant "1,000" at the entrance and was lined with digital photos of Faulk, from his college career at Minnesota-Duluth to his draft night all the way through the current season.

"I had some nice hair," he joked about his blonde look in college as he walked past the displays.

Teammates also got in on the act.

Players arrived wearing custom t-shirts with an illustration of Faulk, his name and a 1,000 games logo.

During warmups, teammates wore special Blues jerseys with the nickname "Flack" on the nameplate and the jersey No. 1000. On the shoulder of the sweater was a special logo that spelled Faulk out but with a "1K" forming the last letter. The jerseys will be auctioned for charity.

During an on-ice ceremony before the game, Blues chairman Tom Stillman, team president Doug Armstrong and Faulk's family - including his wife, Chloe, his daughters Bea and Luella, his son Bennett and his mother Gail - joined him on the ice as a tribute video of his career was played for the crowd.

The team gifted him a custom painting and he also received a Tiffany crystal from the NHL. Blues captain Brayden Schenn presented Faulk with the customary silver stick and teammates gifted him an engraved Rolex watch.

Faulk played eight seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes before being acquired by the Blues via trade ahead of the 2019-20 season.