Wild defenseman Brock Faber finishes second in Calder Trophy voting

LAS VEGAS – The suit Brock Faber wore to the NHL Awards on Thursday was new, a blue plaid ensemble from Milbern Clothing in St. Paul that had pictures of his family and dog across the interior of his jacket.

A cut on Faber’s lip was also a recent addition, the aftermath of getting hit with a deflected puck a few days earlier at Tria Rink.

“Unfortunate timing,” Faber said.

The Wild defenseman showed off his look on the red carpet, but not on stage at the BleauLive Theater inside the Fontainebleau hotel as the latest Calder Trophy winner.

Chicago’s Connor Bedard was honored as the NHL’s top rookie, receiving 152 first-place votes compared to 42 for runner-up Faber.

But based on how his career has started, the Maple Grove native might not be leaving the spotlight any time soon.

“It comes with it,” said Faber, who was accompanied by his parents Jay and Karri, girlfriend Morgan and agents. “It’s part of it, and it’s something I’m grateful for obviously. It’s a really cool thing, me obviously being from Minnesota, you get to experience this and all the love and appreciation from fans.

“I wake up every day excited to go to the rink and to keep getting better.”

Calder or not, Faber’s season was commendable.

He tied for the second-most points among rookies after taking on a new role as the Wild’s power-play quarterback and averaged the sixth-highest ice time in the entire league while playing in all 82 games.

What makes that workload even more eye-popping: Faber suffered fractured ribs Feb. 20 at Winnipeg, meaning he skated the final 26 games injured.

Faber, 21, sat out the world championships in May to heal.

“Once you start to take time off, you start to really not feel it as much,” Faber said. “But then if you were to get hit again, then it’s just back to square one, which is kind of how it went the whole time.”

Skating, working out and golfing are on Faber’s agenda when he returns to Minnesota from Las Vegas, summer plans that could also include signing a contract extension. Faber is eligible to sign a new deal with the Wild beginning Monday.

“If something like that happens this summer, that’s great and if it doesn’t, that’s just fine, too,” said Faber, who has one season remaining on his entry-level contract. “I try not to think about it a whole lot. I just try to be myself and regardless of that continue to push to be better.”

Wild President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin said he hadn’t met with Faber’s camp yet and that while the team would love to get a deal done, the Wild have time.

“The contract is always going to work itself out,” Faber said. “If you’re meant to be here, you’re going to stay and if you’re meant to leave, you’re going to leave. Again, I really do just try to focus on what I can do to help this team win, make the playoffs, win a Stanley Cup. That’s really all I try and focus on, honestly.”

Fellow Wild rookie Marco Rossi ended up sixth in Calder Trophy voting, but he joined Faber on the NHL’s all-rookie team.

That appointment earned Rossi a $212,500 performance bonus. Rossi also received $212,500 bonuses for goals and time on ice. The $637,500 total will count against the Wild’s salary cap next season since the team didn’t have enough space last season.

The NHL salary cap for next season will be $88 million, a $4.5 million bump.

That’s the biggest jump since 2018; the cap was flat during the initial fallout from the pandemic before rising $1 million the past two seasons.

“It’s great for us and our situation,” Guerin said, “and we’ll try to make our team better for it.”

This increase gives the Wild around $6 million to spend, and NHL free agency begins Monday.

As for the trade market, Guerin has made and received calls.

“We just have to be patient and see what comes,” he said. “There’s no rush to do anything. We’re not in a position where we have to do anything really.”