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Brock Faber Could be in Line for Biggest Contract in Minnesota Wild History

Originally posted on Minnesota Sports Fan | By Sam Huseby | Last updated 3/28/24

The (34-28-9) Minnesota Wild are nearing the end of another middle-of-the-road season… except worse. With 11 games left and the Wild 9 points out of the final wild card spot in the West, the playoffs are pretty much out of reach.

While this season hasn’t been anything special, in terms of team success, there have been promising developments for the team’s future, especially from rookies Marco Rossi and Minnesota’s own Brock Faber. Faber, the Maple Grove native, has pretty much been the best defender on the ice since his professional debut on April 9th of 2023, fresh off of a National Championship loss as a Golden Gopher.

Faber has played in all 71 games this season, averaging 25:05 time on ice per night (7th in NHL), racking up 40 total points (7 goals and 33 assists), and is currently sitting at a +5. To add on to that, he is currently second in Calder trophy odds, and would pretty much be a lock if not for Chicago’s Connor Bedard.

Brock Faber to get massive extension from Minnesota Wild?

According to Michael Russo and Shayna Goldman (The Athletic), current Wild GM Bill Guerin is set on extending Faber this offseason, going as far as to say he wants him to win the Calder. While Faber accomplishing this would just up his price tag, this goes to show the type of value the Wild believe he brings to the table.

Let’s be honest: Faber’s winning the Calder wouldn’t exactly help Guerin’s negotiating leverage when the 21-year-old is eligible for a contract extension July 1. But Guerin sees just how special a talent Faber is and knows he’s going to have to ante up to sign him for the maximum eight years starting in 2025-26.

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Already after just one full season, Faber has a projected market value of about $11 million over the next eight seasons, per the model from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn. In the NHL, most young players do not get signed to a contract that matches that, but it can serve as a ceiling for what he is worth.
Michael Russo – The Athletic

In terms of contracts, Faber is currently under contract through next season, so a hypothetical extension wouldn’t kick in until the 2025-26 season. As far as numbers go, there are a few players around the league that we can look at to try to get a picture of what type of money Faber would be pulling in.

Breaking down a possible Faber extension

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado Avalanche Defenseman Cale Makar, who most consider as the top D-man in the league, signed his first extension for 6 years and $54 million ($9 million per year) when he was 22. Makar had 44 total points (8 goals, 36 assists) the season before he signed, a number that Faber could look to match or pass as the Wild season comes to a close.

While that number might be deserving for Faber, the Wild might look to the most recent defenseman extensions that were signed, most notably Owen Power of the Buffalo Sabres and Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators.

For most of this season, Faber has been relied on to be the Wild’s No. 1 defenseman, especially when Jonas Brodin and Spurgeon were sidelined. Heck, he’s seventh in the entire NHL in average ice time (25:05). We’re not talking among rookies. We’re talking everyone.
Michael Russo – The Athletic

While the Wild might try to keep the number on the low ends, people in Fabers camp, specifically his agent Brian Bartlett, believe they will have a ton of leverage when it comes time to talk money.

“Brock’s just playing and trying to do what he can to help the team get back into the playoffs, so we have not had any conversations about it at all,” said Brian Bartlett, who along with his brother, Scott, represents Faber. “But we’ll be happy to hear from the Wild this summer, and we expect that we will. It’s definitely the trend with these elite, elite young defensemen that they seem to be getting locked up when they can just because they’re so hard to find, and the prices certainly are not coming down year over year.”
Michael Russo – The Athletic

Minnesota Forward Kirill Kaprizov currently owns the largest AAV extension in team history, signing a 5 year, 45 million ($9 million per year) after receiving 99 out 100 first place Calder votes. If Faber gets anywhere near that estimated value of $11 million, he could possibly surpassing that. If the extension happens, he wouldn’t be on the books ahead of Kaprizov long. He’s expected to sign a massive extension in the next year or two, as well.

The salary cap is expected to balloon to over 90 million, and the Wild will (finally) be mostly off the hook for Ryan Suter and Zach Parise’s bought out contracts in the 2025-26 season. If the Wild want to have success in the future, Faber would be a major building block to have locked up for prime years, and he has deserved any amount of money coming his way.

This article first appeared on Minnesota Sports Fan and was syndicated with permission.

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