In light of Brock Faber signing an eight-year, $68 million with the Minnesota Wild, it is time to look at how he became a member of the Wild’s organization.
Looking back to 2022, the Wild were in the process of acquiring Kevin Fiala, with the Kings being the primary target. It was widely believed that Fiala would be the one to join the Kings. On June 29, 2022, the deal was finalized, and Fiala officially became a member of the Kings.
The deal that brought Faber to the Wild included him and a 2022 1st-round pick (Liam Ohgren). This was a dream come true for Faber, as he was born and raised in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
Faber quickly established himself as one of the league’s top young stars. In the previous season, he scored eight goals, recorded 39 assists, and accumulated 47 points in 82 games, finishing second to Connor Bedard in the Calder Trophy voting.
So, the question arises: Was this Faber trade one of the worst decisions made by Rob Blake as the Kings’ general manager?
The answer is, yes. Rob Blake took over as the Kings’ GM in 2017 and has made 42 trades in that time. So, let’s look at a few of his best and worst
Some notable ones are:
– Feb. 5th, 2020:
Kings: Trevor Moore 2020 & 3rd round pick (Alex Laferriere)
Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell & Kyle Clifford
– Jan. 28, 2018
Kings: 2019 1st-round pick (Tobias Björnfot), Carl Grundstrom & Sean Durzi
Maple Leafs: Jake Muzzin
– July 1, 2021
Kings: Viktor Arvidsson
Predators: 2021 2nd round pick & 2022 3rd round pick
Aside from the Faber trade, another trade that has been criticized as one of the worst during his tenure with the Kings is the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal.
– June 27, 2023
Kings: Pierre-Luc Dubois
Jets: Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round pick.
Less than a year later he traded Dubois to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper, which will still be an asset to the team.
Unfortunately, the Faber extension has fueled speculation among Kings’ fans that the management group is in a rush to rebuild the team, aiming to compete for the Cup again with Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.
All in all, trading Faber to the Wild for Fiala, despite his significant offensive contributions to the team, may be considered one of the worst trades during his time as the Kings’ GM.
Related: Revisiting Kings’ Fiala Trade in Wake of Faber Extension
