The Minnesota Wild’s Quinn Hughes situation was already hanging in the balance, and now the club has another problem on its hands: Brock Faber is out.
As of 3:00 pm Central on Tuesday, Hughes still hadn’t signed an extension, and with Opening Night two days away, the pressure is starting to crank up. Then came the hit to Minnesota’s blue line, and it lands hard because Faber isn’t just any defenseman. He’s become a major piece of what this team is built around.
This isn’t the old Wild model. The current version leans on star power, with Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, and Matt Boldy usually front and center.
But Faber forced his way into that group last season. He put up 15 goals and 51 points in 80 games, then took another step once Hughes arrived.
From December 14 onward, while playing mostly as Hughes’ defensive partner, Faber averaged 61 points in 82 games. During that stretch, his 23 5-on-5 points were tied with Erik Karlsson for sixth in the NHL.
He kept rolling in the playoffs too, finishing with 10 points in 11 games.
That kind of production looks like top-pair stuff because it is. Faber may be the second name next to Hughes, but his numbers and impact are right in the No. 1 defenseman lane.
And that’s why the absence stings so much. No one is going to feel it more than Hughes.
Filip Hronek is a fine player, but Faber is the best defenseman Hughes has ever played with. The skating is there, the defensive reads are there, and the offensive ceiling keeps climbing.
Hughes has already called Faber’s presence a " massive draw" for staying in Minnesota.
If there’s any upside here, it’s that Hughes gets a reminder of what this looks like without Faber beside him.
Jared Spurgeon can help, of course. Even at 37 in November, he still plays with plenty of brains and remains reliable in his own end.
But he’s not the same offensive outlet he once was, and he’s clearly a step below Faber in that area. The physical gap matters too: Spurgeon gives up four inches and 34 pounds to Faber.
It’s not exactly fair to expect the Wild to have two ideal partners for Hughes lying around. Most teams wouldn’t have even one.
NHL.com ranked Faber 14th among defensemen this summer, though that still feels light given how few options are actually better than he is. Among right-shot defensemen, Faber sits seventh behind Cale Makar, Zach Werenski, Moritz Seider, Evan Bouchard, Charlie McAvoy, and Adam Fox.
Bouchard and Fox don’t match Faber’s defensive game, and the Colorado Avalanche probably don’t have room for another $20 million defenseman anyway. That leaves maybe three true upgrades as a Hughes partner.
And those options aren’t exactly sitting on the New Jersey Devils, either. Right-shot Dougie Hamilton still puts up strong underlying numbers, but the Devils have been trying to move his pricey, aging contract, and a deal like that would likely be necessary to take on Hughes’ cap hit.
Brett Pesce is more of a defensive cushion than a dynamic fit at this point. Unless Hughes is dreaming of Wild Legend Declan Chisholm, there isn’t much there.
If Hughes is still mulling his future, he’ll probably want to see Faber back and healthy before making a call. But when that happens, it should serve as a loud reminder of what Minnesota can offer a player of his caliber. Blood might be thicker than water, as the Devils are no doubt hoping with Jack and Luke Hughes.
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Wild Lose Brock Faber And Now Face A Huge Blue-Line Question
Brock Fabers injury has instantly turned into one of the biggest early concerns around the Wilds blue line. The defenseman suffered a skull fracture in a preseason game, then underwent successful surgery, and Minnesota has since placed him on injured reserve while making clear it will let medical guidance dictate the next steps. For a team that already leans heavily on its young, minutes-eating defenseman, the timing alone makes this a significant setback before the season has even settled in.
Bill Guerin said Faber is doing well after the procedure, but the broader message from the organization has been more about patience than projection. There is no return timetable yet, which leaves the Wild waiting on a key answer at a position they can least afford to lose for long, even as the focus remains first and foremost on Fabers health. [Read more 🡒]
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That approach showed up in the biggest calls he made, including the buyouts of longtime fixtures Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, moves that sent a message as much as they altered the books. Since then, Guerin has kept leaning into players who fit the culture he wants and making trades with roster fit in mind, trying to build a team that is not only more competitive, but more accountable to itself. [Read more 🡒]