Dude, you're gonna set some STL fans off with this one. LOL
I don't think STL does Thomas straight up for Giroux. Not because he's better, but because he's a long term piece for them. This is just a gross overpayment (which I haven't seen a lot of for him...........most of the time fans are trying to get him for pennies on the dollar).

I get Thomas has high value but Giroux takes them to the next level. By the time Thomas is in his prime St. Louis could be rebuilding. Faulk is basically a dump to make the cap work and the picks are mostly compensation for that. Also in this hypothetical, Giroux agrees to an extension before the trade. Giroux is still a top 25-30 player in the league imo and this is what he's worth.

This is one of the worst trades I’ve ever seen. Ever.

They can't afford Giroux at an extension at this point. He's gonna be looking at $8mil in the 3 year range. Thomas is a much better option long term. As well, where are they going to find a replacement for the almost 23 minute a night Faulk plays? (Not to mention a team best +27 which is tied for 9th best league wide and 3rd best among D men). If they're cap dumping him, Doug Armstrong should be fired lol

Replace Faulk with the next guy up, it doesn't really matter. +/- is a fake stat. Analytically, Faulk is around 40% in xGF% against teams with a win percentage higher than 450 while averaging under a 50% xGF% in total, and just barely averages a 50% Corsi%. Hes a dump that is overpaid to play well against terrible teams. I get the argument about thomas and questions around a Giroux extension, but if anything is terribly wrong with this trade, its not faulk going the other way (at least for St. Louis).

Oh dear sweet heavens. You bash +/- as a fake start, then immediately turn around and pump up a stat that is exactly expected +/-. And then you bring up expected chances +/-. That could not be funnier if you brought Robin Williams back form the dead to act it out. Faulk is in no way, shape or form a cap dump, and the fact that you imagine he is, well, it's both gobsmacking and completely telling about the level of Blues knowledge we're dealing with here. Faulk has been an absolute horse for two seasons now.

So yeah, your trade idea is beyond garbage. It would need to rise 42 levels just to reach garbage. A Giroux rental does not come even remotely close to getting you Thomas by himself. It does not come close to getting you Faulk by himself. It sure as hell does not get you both. And it sure as hell does not get you this rape and pillage return.

Good grief, man. EVERYTHING is wrong with this trade.