Wild Defenseman Brock Faber Out After Friday Night's Chippy Match Against Stars
The Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars play with an attitude on the ice, as the two teams have become earnest rivals.
Both teams dwell in the Central Division, and the Wild have been, until recently, a bubble team led by forward Kirill Kaprizov, while the supporting cast has been grown year-by-year. Brock Faber was a top prospect added to the Wild's lineup after a trade with the LA Kings in June of 2022.
In 2025-26, the Wild finished with a record of 46-24-12 and 104 points, and were defeated in the first round of the playoffs by their Central Division rivals, the Stars.
It's no secret that the teams hate each other, as multiple scrums broke out on Friday, including one between Marcus Foligno and Jamie Benn.
The Wild would lose one of their top defensemen to an upper-body injury that night, in Faber. Ironically, in a scenario unrelated to fighting:
Wild defenseman Brock Faber sat out the third period after taking a shot to the left ear earlier in the game. The move appeared to be precautionary.
According to Daily FaceOff, Faber didn't return despite the move being precautionary. There's been no update to the defenseman's status, and losing a key piece in their lineup could prove to be an issue this early in the year.
Brock Faber: Injury: Faber (upper-body) left Friday’s preseason game vs. Dallas and did not return. https://t.co/dxuAAibEM6
— Daily Faceoff - Fantasy (@DFOFantasy) September 26, 2026
Michael Russo did note that Faber did return to the bench of his own recognizance, but never took another shift. Was this for concussion protocol purposes?
2025-26
Last season the Wild benefited from Faber's two-way capabilities on the blueline, scoring 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games. In 11 playoff games, he showed he was capable of producing in the postseason when points are hard to come by, scoring 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) at almost a point-per-game.
Losing Faber this early in the year shouldn't harm their hopes of attaining a spot in the playoffs, as that concern starts to become front and center in November and December. But for now, they'll be short-handed until his return.