Minnesota Wild take a risk with Brock Faber extension

The Minnesota Wild traded Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings in 2022 for a first-round pick and a prospect named Brock Faber. Fiala was a very good forward that the Wild were forced to trade because of salary cap restrictions. 

It also turned out to be a great trade for the Wild. Although Fiala would be nice to have because he has remained a great winger with the Kings, they got a potential number-one defenseman in return. 

Faber made his NHL debut with the team he grew up cheering for at the end of the 2022-23 season after playing his college hockey for the University of Minnesota. Then, he played his official rookie year in 2023-24 and was great. 

Faber had 8 goals and 39 assists for 47 points in 82 games played. He was also munching minutes against top lines across the league. All of this led to him coming in second place for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie. 

The Minnesota Wild rewarded Brock Faber for his great rookie season

On Monday, the Wild rewarded him. It is risky business but he now has a contract extension worth $8.5 million per year for eight years. It is risky business after he just completed his rookie year but Minnesota clearly sees him as their long-term number one defenseman. 

They have also been very good at developing high-end blue-liners like Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, and Matt Dumba amongst others. Faber is hoping to be a leader on this team for a long time. 

It won’t all be pretty for Faber. There will be more growing pains as he enters his sophomore season. He is being paid because of what he can do when his game is at its best. When he reaches the prime of his career, that money will look like a discount if he continues on this trajectory. 

All in all, as mentioned before, it is a risk for the Wild. However, this one might work out well for them. If they can get Zeev Buium going once he gets to the NHL after college, this blue line could be amongst the best for a decade. Faber is now the anchor.