Wild sign NHL rookie of the year runner-up, Brock Faber, to 8-year, $68 million contract extension

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin saw more than enough potential in Brock Faber’s rookie season to sign the defenseman to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension on Monday.

The deal doesn’t kick in until the 2025-26 season once Faber’s rookie contract expires. It comes after the 21-year-old finished second behind Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard in the Calder Trophy rookie of the year award voting.

From Maple Grove, Minnesota, Faber led all rookies and was sixth among NHL skaters in averaging 24 minutes and 58 seconds of ice time per game last season. Faber’s ice-time total (2,047:53) was the most by an NHL rookie since 2000-01. He also finished tied for second among rookies with 47 points (eight goals and 39 assists) in 82 games.

Faber is one of the young building blocks of a team already looking ahead to having more salary cap room to sign players once the bulk of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s bought-out contracts come off the Wild's books next summer.

Parise and Suter combine to count $14.73 million against Minnesota’s salary cap this season after having their contracts bought out in 2021. That drops to $1.67 million in each of the following three seasons.

Faber was selected by Los Angeles in the second round of the 2020 draft. Two years later, the Kings traded Faber and 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren to Minnesota to acquire forward Kevin Fiala.

Faber’s contract extension comes three weeks after the Wild signed Jake Middleton to a four-year, $17.4 million extension that also kicks in after this season.

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