Brock Faber is out indefinitely for the Minnesota Wild after undergoing surgery Sunday for a fractured skull suffered in a preseason game.
“We will follow the doctor’s orders (on a schedule),” general manager Bill Guerin said Tuesday.
The defenseman was injured during a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Friday when he was hit in the head by a shot from Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen at 10:24 of the second period.
Faber remained on the ice briefly before making his own way to the bench, returning for the next shift and playing the remainder of the period. He did not return in the third period.
Faber, 24, enters his fourth full season with the Wild. He had 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 80 games last season, helping Minnesota reach the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Faber has 127 points (33 goals, 94 assists) in 242 NHL regular season games.
He was going to start the season with one of the most dynamic defensive pairings in the league, alongside Quinn Hughes, but without a timetable for his return, it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup.
“Brock is a great player. He’s an important player for us. It’s always going to affect your team when guys like him are out,” Guerin said. “The most important thing here is that he’s doing well. And sometimes you just have to put hockey aside and care about people. That’s what we’re doing here now.”
The Wild open the season against the Nashville Predators on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; MINNHL, Wild+, SCRIPPS)
NHL.com freelance correspondent Heather Rule contributed to this report
Gn sports
