ST. PAUL, Minn - This marks the first year of an eight-year $68 million contract for defenseman Brock Faber and the Minnesota Wild.

The start of the season for both Faber and the Wild has not gone according to plan. The Wild just dropped their fourth game in their last five and are now 3-5-1 on the year which is last in the central division.

Faber is a minus-5 and has yet to record a point in nine games.

No one puts more pressure on himself than Faber though. He is a hometown kid. Played his college hockey for the Minnesota Gophers and was traded to Minnesota in a deal that sent Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings.

He handles himself so maturely and there is enough reason to believe that Faber will likely become a captain of the Wild one day.

The 6-foot-1 defenseman is being paid as a top defender in the league today. There are not many defensemen who make more than Faber.

He was named a finalist for the 2024 Calder Trophy after finishing tied for second among rookies with 47 points in 82 games while leading first-year players in average time on ice with 24:58 and total  with 2,047:53.

The Wild made no mistake and instantly signed him to an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million a season.

Being the leader he is, Faber has taken some of the blame for the Wild's slow start to the season and Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Utah Mammoth was an example of that.

"I don’t know. It’s hard to kind of put your finger on it right now. There’s been all different situations. Every game’s different," Faber said after the loss on what it takes to play a full 60 minutes. "It starts with keeping the puck out of our net. I’m a big part of that. And I gotta be better."

Faber led all Wild defensemen in time on ice on Saturday (21:49). He had three shots on goal, one block shot and was a minus-2. He also had three giveaways which led the team.

For the most part he played good. He had chances but he nor the Wild could cash in on them. Unfortunately he was also on the ice for three of Utah's goals and got outmuscled by Logan Cooley on the Mammoth's second goal of the game on the power play.

“I thought he certainly could have had some tonight because he put himself in some good positions for that," Wild head coach John Hynes said. "It didn’t go but Fabes is a guy, he cares and it’s really got to be a combo. It’s trying to make sure we continue to help him and get his game going but on the other side for him you can’t get too down and too critical. You have to stay with it. He’s a really good player. He cares a lot and sometimes I think when you care that much, you don’t want it to seep into the rest of your game."

Faber has an on-ice goal differential of -10 which leads all Wild skaters and ranks fourth worst in the NHL among defensemen with at least 50 minutes played. Only Joel Hanley, MacKenzie Weegar and Mario Ferraro have a worse on-ice goal differential in all situations.

Yet on Saturday it looked like it was going to finally click for Faber as he generated some chances for the Wild and could have had a goal or at least a point. But he didn't.

"Tonight I thought he had some really good looks, but right now it’s not going his way in certain situations," Hynes said after the game. "But he’s a tough kid. He cares a lot. He’s a hell of a player, so it’s our job to help him get going a little bit better and more consistent because he certainly has a high-end ability.”

When Faber signed his eight-year extension one thing Wild general manager Bill Guerin told the young defenseman to never change. To not change the way he plays or approaches the game just because he is being paid as a top defenseman in the league.

After he signed the deal Faber didn't have the best season. He recorded ten goals and 29 points in 78 games last year. He was a minus-2 as well. He led all Wild defensemen in giveaways with 109. The next closest was Declan Chisholm with 83.

He led the team in defensive zone giveaways with 61. He was tied for 12th in giveaways in the NHL last year and was 20th in defensive zone giveaways in all situations.

This season his defensive metrics are low which is nothing compared to what we saw from Faber during his rookie season. The last two years have been the same in terms of his metrics and that is a bit concerning.

When he was signed, Faber wasn't being paid to be a guy who could record 60-70 points after having 47 points during his rookie year. He was given that kind of money on an extension because of how good defensively he was and at that young of an age that was a no brainer. 

The points will come, and it isn't necessarily that big of a concern that they aren't, considering Faber's game is his defense. But when that is lacking it is hard not to look at his start and be a bit worried.

"So frustrating. Ah, yeah. I mean, I’m better than this. I know I am. I don’t think, I thought I had opportunities to play a solid game and I just gotta kind of go back to square one. I gotta defend better. I gotta limit my turnovers and I gotta let the game come to me. I think everyone’s got their own thing that they need to do better and for me specifically, that’s what I need to do right now to help this team get out of this is, like I said, there’s two things: limiting turnovers and defending harder. If they still score, I can look myself in the mirror knowing I did everything I could. I gotta be better at that. I gotta be, I gotta stay more positive, I know that. Like I said, it’s just on to the next. We gotta keep our heads up, it’s a long game."

Like Guerin said, sometimes when kids get paid big bucks they feel pressure to change the way they play. They want to score more or change the style they play to "earn" that kind of money.

It isn't for certain that is what Faber is trying to do but it is interesting he said he needs to get back to the basics and get back to square one.

The Wild started last year 18-4-4 and were first in the NHL before they hit injuries and a rough patch in the season. Their insane start helped push them to the playoffs and somehow they almost missed if it wasn't for Joel Eriksson Ek's game-tying goal against the Anaheim Ducks with 22 second left in the final game of the year.

Point is, that even a 18-4-4 record to start the year almost wasn't even good enough for the Wild to make the playoffs. They had to have some miracle happen in the final game just to make it.

A 3-5-1 start and a surging young San Jose Sharks team coming in on Sunday is not the start the Wild want. Baring yet another miracle, this could be a long season for Minnesota.

It all starts on Sunday. The Sharks are 1-5-2 but have a promising young core of players who are hungry night in and night out to win. Macklin Celebrini leads the way with five goals and 12 points in eight games and has three goals and three assists in his last two games.

There is no doubt he will be matched up against Faber as the Wild will try to lock him down and get a much needed two points.

"I think, yeah, it’s too early for that. I think we have to take it one game at a time," Faber said if it is too early to sound the alarm on the season. "It’s a quick turnaround here. So it’s on to the next. We need two points tomorrow. We need them badly. Turn this thing around. That was our ninth game. We gotta long way to go. And be a lot better."

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