Rangers playbook copied by Wild in Brock Faber deal

It’s worked out so well for the New York Rangers that the Minnesota Wild decided to copy right out of the playbook with their latest offseason move this week.

The Wild signed Brock Faber to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension which begins in 2025-26 and runs through the 2032-33 season. It’s average annual value of $8.5 million is in line to be the second most on the Wild in two seasons, behind only forward Kirill Kaprizov, who will be in the final season of his contract in 2025-26 that calls for $9 million annually.

So much about this deal comes right out of the Rangers playbook in how they handled Adam Fox before the 2021-22 season.

Fox was 23 and had completed two NHL seasons when the Rangers signed him to a whopping seven-year, $66.5 million contract extension in November of 2021. He had just won the Norris Trophy in 2020-21 as the top defenseman in the NHL and the Rangers decided it was more cost effective to pay a higher premium up front and likely less than expected down the road, at least through the 2028-29 season when the deal ends. Fox will be 31 when the contract expires, with his first few years of free agency already bought out in this current deal.

Faber is 21 (he’ll turn 22 in August) and just completed his rookie season in the NHL. However, like Fox, the first two seasons of his three-year entry-level contract were burned because Faber played two regular-season games and six in the playoffs in 2022-23. He will be 31 when this current contract expires, with his years of free agency bought out in this deal.

So, there’s no question the Fox contract was a template for Faber, whose deal is a bit more team-friendly since it averages $1 million less annually than what the Rangers are paying their stud defenseman.

Related: 5 things that could go wrong for Rangers in 2024-25

Rangers’ Adam Fox shares many similarities with Wild defenseman Brock Faber

There’s a lot of symmetry between Fox and Faber. Each is a local kid who’s getting the chance to play for his hometown team after being traded to that club before he began his NHL career.

Fox, who is from Jericho, New York, was drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2016, traded to the Carolina Hurricanes and then again to the Rangers because he let it be known he would not sign his entry-level deal with either of the first two teams.

Faber, who’s a Minnesota native and attended the University of Minnesota for three years, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 draft before he was traded to the Wild.

“Wild jerseys, posters, fat heads, all over … I might’ve had Wild sheets at one point when I was growing up,” Faber said Monday after signing the extension. “I’m a Minnesota kid born and raised. It’s always been a dream of mine to wear the sweater and play for this team.”

Each right-shot defenseman played twice for the United States in the World Junior Championship, and they both helped the U.S. win a gold medal in that tournament — Fox in 2017 and Faber in 2021.

They had almost identical stats their rookie seasons in the NHL. Fox had 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 70 games in 2019-20, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Second Team. Faber was a first-team All-Rookie member last season and finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year when he scored 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists) in 82 games.

One major difference was that, because of injuries on the Wild blue line, Faber averaged 24:58 in ice time last season, six minutes more than Fox as a rookie (18:54).

Of course, Fox has been a force since entering the NHL, and has a string of three straight 70+ point seasons he brings into 2024-25. After winning the Norris Trophy, he’s finished top-5 in voting the next three seasons.

Faber doesn’t have Fox’s resume yet, but could soon be his teammate when the 4 Nations Tournament is played next February. Fox was one of the first players named to the United States roster back in June, and there’s a good chance that Faber will be added before the tournament — which also includes Canada, Finland and Sweden — commences.

If so, they could dazzle together in the U.S. top four and spend time comparing notes on their similar deals and career arcs.

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