- Brock Faber fractured his skull in Minnesota’s preseason finale against Dallas
- The Wild defenseman had surgery Sunday and there’s no timeline for his return
- Read below for Bill Guerin’s update and video of the injury
Brock Faber’s injury is a lot worse than anyone thought.
The Wild announced Tuesday that their top-pair defenseman fractured his skull in Friday’s preseason finale against the Stars and had surgery Sunday. Michael Russo of The Athletic had the news first, and the team confirmed it a few minutes later. There’s no timetable for his return.
General manager Bill Guerin met with reporters Tuesday and said Faber is home resting. Russo asked whether the injury could cost Faber the season, and Guerin wouldn’t go there.
“He just had a serious surgery and an injury, so we’re just gonna (update) you guys when the time’s right,” Guerin said. “But he’s doing well. He’s doing really well, which is good news. And we’ll just follow the doctor’s lead.”
Watch Guerin’s full injury update video:
Guerin was also asked what losing Faber means for the lineup.
“Brock’s a great player. He’s a big player for us. It’s always going to affect your team when guys like that are out,” he said. “The biggest thing here is that he’s doing well. And sometimes you just have to put the hockey aside and worry about the human being. That’s what we’re doing here now.”
The injury happened with 9:36 left in the second period. A high shot from the point caught Faber on the left side of the head near his ear hole, and he dropped to the ice right away. The official game sheet credited the shot to Sam Steel, but Russo said it actually came off Miro Heiskanen’s stick.
Take a look at the video of the play:
Faber stayed down for about 10 seconds before skating to the bench on his own. He even came back for his next shift and finished the period. He sat out the third, and Minnesota lost 2-1.
Right after the game, coach John Hynes called part of the decision precautionary, as we covered Friday night. The Wild then placed him on injured reserve Monday without saying what the injury was.
This one hurts Minnesota badly. The 24-year-old set career highs with 15 goals and 51 points in 80 games last season while averaging 24:41 a night. He also won Olympic gold with Team USA in February and was set to open the year next to Quinn Hughes on the top pair.
Faber carries an $8.5 million cap hit on the eight-year, $68 million extension he signed with the Wild.
Minnesota opens Thursday in Nashville without Faber or veteran goalie Filip Gustavsson, who’s also on IR recovering from hip surgery.
