The Minnesota Wild placed Brock Faber on injured reserve earlier this week, but it felt like it was a precaution after taking a puck to the ear during the team’s preseason finale against the Dallas Stars on Friday night. While it felt like Faber could be ready for the team’s home opener against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, it took a nightmarish turn when The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that Faber underwent surgery for a fractured skull according to general manager Bill Guerin.
“He just had a serious surgery and an injury, so we’re just gonna update you guys when the time’s right,” Guerin said via Russo. “But he’s doing well. He’s doing really well, which is good news. And we’ll just follow the doctors’ leads.”
Guerin added that there is no timetable for Faber’s return, but given the severity of the injury, it could be assumed that Faber could be out for a significant period of time. No matter how long he’s on the shelf, Faber’s absence blows a massive hole into Minnesota’s lineup and one the Wild will have to navigate during a critical opening stretch to the season.
Brock Faber’s injury makes the Wild’s defensive concerns
The Wild had several questions about their roster going into this season but Faber was not one of them. The Maple Grove native was on a superstar trajectory coming into the season, scoring 33 goals and recording 127 points in three full seasons with the Wild. But he took off when Quinn Hughes was acquired in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks, finishing the regular season with 15 goals and 51 points and scoring four goals with 10 points in Minnesota’s 11-game playoff run last spring.
Signed through the 2032-33 season, Faber figured to be poised for another step forward playing a full season with Hughes but that changed when he took a puck to the ear hole on Friday night. Faber did not return to the game and it was assumed it was a precaution and even when he went on injured reserve on Tuesday, it felt like it could be a short-term issue since the move was retroactive to the preseason finale.
Instead, Faber will miss time and it creates another dilemma in a defenseman group that has its share of problems. According to Puckpedia’s lineup page, the Wild will move Jared Spurgeon to the top line to play with Hughes. But Brodin could play with 36-year-old Zach Bogosian, who was re-signed this summer with expectations he would play more of a depth role and Oli Maatta, who was acquired in a deal that sent Jake Middleton to the Calgary Flames, would also play aside Daemon Hunt on the third pairing.
The Wild also have prospect David Spacek on the roster as an extra defenseman. But none of their solutions will make up for losing a star defenseman like Faber, leaving Minnesota with another challenge ahead of a challenging opening stretch to the year.
The Wild’s opening stretch got a lot tougher without Brock Faber
The Wild will open against the Predators on Thursday before coming home to face the Bruins on Friday. But the schedule didn’t do them any favors giving them 10 road games in their first 14 contests and 20 games of their first 30 on the road.
In addition, the Wild entered this year shorthanded in net with Filip Gustavsson recovering from offseason hip surgery. While Jesper Wallstedt will assume the No. 1 role, he’ll be backed up by Calvin Pickard and this season will represent his first season as a full-time top goalie.
Mix in the fact the Wild are trying to replace 150 points of production after losing Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson over the summer and Faber was one of the few sure things on a roster that is in flux before the puck even drops.
The good news is that Faber is doing well after the surgery and Guerin added that “Sometimes you have to put the hockey aside and worry about the human being.” But for a Wild team already with massive expectations, losing Faber is a brutal blow and gets the upcoming season off to a rough start.
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