Faber signs 8-year, $68 million contract with Wild

Brock Faber signed an eight-year, $68 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on Monday. The contract, which begins in the 2025-26 season, has an average annual value of $8.5 million.

The 21-year-old defenseman played all 82 games as a rookie last season and had 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists). Faber led all rookies in ice time per game (24:58) and assists and was tied for second in points.

He finished second in the voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy behind Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard.

Faber’s point total was the most by a rookie defenseman in Wild history and was second in their history among all players behind Kirill Kaprizov (51 in 2020-21).

"I've always tried to be myself," Faber said. "Money and contracts aside, the way I look at the game, the way I respect the game, the way I respect my teammates, the way I go about my business, it's not going to change who I am or what the goal is, what the task is at hand. And that's to win, obviously. I feel like that's a big reason we're on the same page. That's really the only thing I care about, the only thing that the guys care about in the room. I'm just grateful that we can take this step and I get to keep growing, keep learning, keep maturing for a long time here playing in Minnesota. Again, there's no one who wanted to play for the Minnesota Wild more than myself, and it worked out that way. And it's incredible for me and my family.

"It's a dream come true to say the least."

Selected in the second round (No. 45) of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Faber has 47 points in 84 regular-season games and no points in six Stanley Cup Playoff games, all with the Wild.

Faber, who is from Maple Grove, Minnesota, was traded by Los Angeles, along with a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (Liam Ohgren) to Minnesota for forward Kevin Fiala on June 29, 2022.

"When you're sitting in my chair, and all the hockey ops group talked about these things, it's extremely important to identify who you think is going to be a part of your foundation going forward," Wild general manager Bill Guerin said. "It's a no-brainer that Brock is going to be one of those guys and we wanted to lock him up. This is about winning. This is about giving us the best chance to win the Stanley Cup and locking up good young players with mature games (who are) dedicated to the team, [who] think about the team first. That's what's important. And we feel we have somebody here that does that. So for us, this was a no-brainer.

"It's a big day for the organization and, to be honest with you, for the Twin Cities to have a local homegrown kid. This is pretty cool."

NHL.com independent correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed to this report.