NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 30, 2024
The Wild sign Brock Faber to an eight-year contract extension, the Hurricanes ink Martin Necas to a two-year deal, an update on Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
STARTRIBUNE.COM: The Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Brock Faber on Monday to an eight-year, $68-million contract extension.
Faber, 21, was runner-up last season to Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. He played all 82 games in 2023-24, sitting sixth in time on ice per game (24 minutes, 58 seconds) among NHL skaters and the most by a rookie since the statistic was first tracked in 1997.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber (NHL Images).
His new contract begins in 2025-26 and is the longest extension in franchise history. The $8.5 million average annual value is second to Kirill Kaprizov’s $9.5 million on the Wild.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Puckpedia also indicates Faber will get a no-movement clause and a 15-team no-trade clause in the final three years of this deal.
Faber made an impressive debut last season, becoming one of the few highlights in an otherwise dismal season for the Wild. He quickly established himself as the linchpin of their defense corps, collecting 39 assists and 47 points. Faber could become a legitimate contender for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in the coming years.
Signing such a young player to a lucrative long-term contract after just one NHL season can be risky. Nevertheless, this could become a long-term bargain for the Wild if Faber reaches his full potential.
SPORTSNET: The Carolina Hurricanes avoided salary arbitration with Martin Necas, signing the 25-year-old forward to a two-year, $13-million contract. He’ll collect an AAV of $6.5 million.
Necas tallied 24 goals and 53 points in 77 games with the Hurricanes last season. He netted a career-high 71 points in 2022-23.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Necas was a fixture in the rumor mill following reports that he was unhappy seeing third-line duty with the Hurricanes. However, the departures of forwards Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen prompted speculation the Hurricanes could retain Necas and give him a larger role. I’ll have more about this in today’s Rumors update.
This signing leaves the Hurricanes with $6.44 million in cap space and restricted free agent Seth Jarvis to re-sign. The 22-year-old has entrenched himself as an invaluable top-six forward but he’s coming off his entry-level contract and lacks arbitration rights. That gives Hurricanes’ management the hammer in their negotiations.
Jarvis will still get a significant raise but it could come in around $5 million, leaving Carolina some cap room for other moves during the season.
NEW YORK POST: Ryan Lindgren is the only player remaining with a scheduled arbitration hearing (Aug. 2). Larry Brooks reports the 26-year-old defenseman and the Rangers are in “continued contractual negotiations” hoping to reach an agreement before his hearing on Friday.
Lindgren is believed to be seeking a four or five-year contract with an AAV of $5 million. Rangers management reportedly prefers a two or three-year deal worth between $4 million and $4.25 million annually.
Brooks also indicated the two sides could agree to a one-year deal, allowing both sides to regroup and resume talks on Jan. 1 for a long-term extension.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Lindgren logs big minutes in a shutdown role on the Rangers’ top defense pairing with Adam Fox. However, his physical style could take its toll on his body, making management leery of investing too much for too long on a potentially depreciating asset.
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS: Jets head coach Scott Arniel is convening a summer coaching camp for his staff. It includes integrating new assistant coaches Dean Chynoweth and David Payne into the club’s systems and structure. Staff from their AHL affiliate will also be in attendance.
SPORTSNET: Longtime Canadian hockey executive Murray Costello died Saturday at age 90.
A four-season NHL veteran with the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the 1950s, Costello was president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association for two decades. He created its Program of Excellence, helped establish the first women’s world championship in 1990, and spearheaded the CAMA’s merger with Hockey Canada in 1994.
Costello was a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s council from 1998 to 2012, including a five-year stint as vice president, and advocated for the growth of women’s hockey. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2005.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Costello had a tremendous impact on hockey. My condolences to his family, friends, and everyone who worked with him.
There is a rumor floating around that Winnipeg offer Cole Perfetti, McGroarty and Pick for Necas but Necas wasn’t going to sign in Winnipeg.
Don’t know if the rumor has any merit, seem like an overpayment.
Caper
That would be a big overpay if true If true peg missed a bullet IMHO
Trash rumour, I don’t know why people keep repeating it.
Lyle discussed the rumor in the Rumors section. Would not have been a good deal for the Jets.
I hadn’t looked at that yet, wasn’t throwing shade.
Guerin is going to look like an idiot or a genius after that signing. Time will tell
Would what Guerin did be any riskier than waiting until the final year Faber’s ELC?
But you’re right, he will look like either but I’m betting on the kid like he is.
Yep. He’s special.
I too think they got a gem in that deal with L.A. that landed him and a 2022 1st Round pick for Kevin Fiala.
Drafted in the 2nd round – 45th overall – in 2020, after playing for the U.S. National Undwer-18 team and then the U. of Minnesota – I can only hope his Under-18 teammate, Tyler Kleven, taken just ahead of Faber at # 44, turns out to be just as good.
I’m leaning towards the former, MrBruin.
Let’s assume the ‘downside’ is that Faber has a great year. Ok, then his price tag jumps to ~$10Mil next year. So, he then signs for $10×8 for an $80mil total outlay. This new deal has him on the hook already for $68M. While there certainly some risk in him going elsewhere, there’s been nothing to suggest that so far.
So, Guerin is gambling $68M to potentially save +/-$12M into a likely RISING cap. It’s all risk with limited reward. To me, the only way this makes sense is if there was serious concern about Faber jumping ship.
Based on Faber’s performance last season, I’m leaning toward genius
Oh, he’s a heck of a player and there’s no doubt that you want to keep him. But I just don’t see the need to sign him to that contract at this time when he could do the same (or reasonably similar) in a year with a larger body of evidence to work with.
Nevertheless, I’ve been proven wrong on here plenty of times already. I’m ok with adding another.
Whaler your thought is not wrong but actually the right way to think but in this true exception, the norm is not the rule…so far that is.
Guerin is chomping at the bit since he is getting close to the end of the ridiculous deals that the Wild gave to Parise and Suter!Their buyouts are getting close to being over!
My comparison for Faber is Charlie Mcavoy! He s 26 yrs old making 9.5 million until 2028-2029!
Good comparison, Sr.
The Habs just inked two of their young players on bridge deals – Justin Barron – 2 yrs $2.3 mil and Arber Xhekaj 2 yrs $2.6 mil
The signing of those two D leaves them with 14F, &D and 2G committed to for the full 23-man complement … and still with $5,452,916 in cap reserve which they could use this summer in the acquisition of a veteran F or D as they see fit.
Good moves.
8D … not &D
An interesting feature at Puckpedia is the page dealing with the 15 teams that will carry a performance bonus overage cap hit next season, ranging from a high of $4.5 mil (Boston) to a low of $20,000 (Washington and St. Louis) which stems from their explanation that “One of the negative consequences of utilizing LTIR is that the performance bonuses players earn will be a cap charge in the following season.”
https://puckpedia.com/23Overage