Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber just finished his rookie season. General manager Bill Guerin did not want to wait around another couple of years to give him a new contract. Instead, he decided to extend Faber by rewarding him with an eight-year deal worth $68 million.
This contract will not come into play until the 2025-2026 season, when his original rookie contract expires. Faber finished second last season in the Calder Trophy voting. Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks won that award and he is going to be a force in the NHL for years to come.
The other rookie who was considered for the award last season was Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils. Hughes is also going to be a cornerstone piece for the Devils for many years to come. He is the brother of Jack Hughes on the Devils and also Quinn Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks. Brock Faber played in all 82 games last season for the Minnesota Wild. He scored eight goals and recorded 39 assists, along with a plus/minus rating of -1. He is only 21 years old.
Faber is from Maple Grove, Minnesota. He was not an original draft pick by the Wild. The Los Angeles Kings picked him in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft (45th overall). Brock Faber was acquired in the Kevin Fiala trade that sent Fiala to the Kings.
Minnesota missed the playoffs last season and Los Angeles made it back to the playoffs once again last season. The Kings lost to the Edmonton Oilers. If the Wild are on the verge of missing the playoffs again in 2024-2025, they are going to need to find some top prospects to trade for like they did in finding Faber a couple of years ago.
He Was Fifth on the Team in Points Last Season
During his rookie season, he was fifth on the Minnesota Wild in team points. Kirill Kaprizov had 96 points, Matt Boldy had 69 points, Joel Eriksson Ek had 64 points, and Mats Zuccarello had 63 points. Kaprizov is no question the most important player on the Wild’s roster because he is one of the most talented players in the NHL.
He is one of those players who can always score a goal no matter when he touches the ice. Kirill Kaprizov scored 46 goals last season. He has not been talked about enough in this league and is elite, just like Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One of the reasons why the Wild missed the playoffs last season was because of poor goaltending. What also does not help Minnesota is that the Nashville Predators, the Colorado Avalanche, the Dallas Stars, and the Winnipeg Jets are all better than them. Outside of Kaprizov moving forward, Brock Faber might be another important player on the Wild’s roster. Faber is by far the best defenseman on the roster. This was a pleasant surprise for them last season.
Jonas Brodin had 27 points last season and Jake Middleton had 25 points last season for the Minnesota Wild. They are both defensemen. Jake Middleton was just recently signed to a contract extension. His contract will also come into play during the 2025-2026 season, just like Brock Faber’s.
Despite losing Kevin Fiala in a trade to the Los Angeles Kings a couple of offseasons ago, general manager Billy Guerin deserves praise for finding a talent like Faber. The Kings had a lot of good prospects in their system then and couldn’t afford to keep everyone. Brock Faber could become an elite defense in the NHL very soon.
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