ST PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin saw more than enough potential in Brock Faber's rookie season, signing the defenseman to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension on Monday.
The deal, which doesn't go into effect until the end of Favre's rookie contract in 2025-26, comes after the 21-year-old finished second to Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard in voting for the Calder Trophy, the league's best rookie.
“He's shown he's mature enough to handle it and that he's going to get even better,” Guerin said. “Yeah, it's worth the risk.”
Faber is one of just four players in Wild history to be selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team, joining Jonas Brodin (2013), Kirill Kaprizov (2021) and Marco Rossi (also in 2024).
The Maple Grove, Minnesota native averaged 24 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time per game last season, leading all rookies and sixth among NHL skaters. Faber's total ice time (2,047:53) was the most by an NHL rookie since 2000-01. He also tied for second among rookies with 47 points in 82 games and his 39 assists were a franchise rookie record.
Favre is one of the young cornerstones of a team that is already anticipating having more salary-cap room to sign players once most of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's buyout contracts come off the Wild's books next summer.
Parise and Suter will count a combined $14.73 million against Minnesota's salary cap this season because their contracts were bought out in 2021. That will decrease to $1.67 million each of the following three seasons.
Faber was a second-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2020 draft. Two years later, the Kings traded Faber and 2022 first-round pick Liam Ogren to Minnesota for forward Kevin Fiala.
Favre's extension, which runs through the 2032-33 season, comes three weeks after the Wild signed Jake Middleton to a four-year, $17.4 million contract extension that also takes effect at the end of this season.
Faber, who played at the University of Minnesota, grew up an avid Wild fan and had all kinds of memorabilia hanging in his bedroom.
“I'm a kid born and raised in Minnesota,” Faber said, “and it's always been my dream to put on this sweater and play for this team.”
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