ST. PAUL, Minn. \u2014 One of the biggest reasons for optimism about this Minnesota Wild season was how good Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber were as the No. 1 defense tandem from December on last season.<\/p>\n
Hughes talked excitedly throughout the team\u2019s abbreviated training camp about how he and Faber complemented each other, joking even before camp that playing with Faber could probably extend his career by three years.<\/p>\n
So it was an emotional blow to the team when general manager and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin had to announce Tuesday<\/a> that the Wild will instead start the season without Faber and have no timetable for his return after he underwent surgery to repair a fractured skull.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t recover from it. He\u2019s that good of a player,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to miss him. In saying that, we have a good team. We have a lot of depth. We\u2019ll just have to do our best. We\u2019ve got a lot of great players in here.\u201d<\/p>\n Can the Wild survive Brock Faber’s early injury?<\/p>\n Joe Smith and Jeshua Kidd<\/p>\n The loss of Faber comes as Hughes enters the final season of his contract. Hughes has spoken enthusiastically about playing with Faber but has also said he\u2019s in no rush to sign an extension. Asked Tuesday whether he expects to begin the season without one, Hughes offered no prediction.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, today is Tuesday. The season starts on Thursday,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, captain Jared Spurgeon will be elevated onto the top pair next to Hughes. Olli Maatta will fill in on the second pair, with left-shot Jonas Brodin sliding over to the right side. And Daemon Hunt, initially slated to be the seventh defenseman, will play on the third pair with Zach Bogosian.<\/p>\n Hunt and Bogosian will split Faber\u2019s penalty-kill duties. Spurgeon will take Faber\u2019s spot on the second power-play unit.<\/p>\n Hughes and Spurgeon played together for about 115 minutes last season, compared with Hughes and Faber\u2019s nearly 815 minutes. Hughes and Spurgeon hovered just below the break-even point in shot and expected-goals share, according to Natural Stat Trick<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201c(Hughes\u2019) play speaks for itself,\u201d Spurgeon said. \u201cHe\u2019s a special player, and so is Brock. They\u2019re such a good tandem together. Working off (Hughes) the last couple practices, it\u2019s been nice to sort of work together, whether that\u2019s in the D-zone or in transition \u2014 just getting to know each other\u2019s habits. But he\u2019s a special player that makes a lot of plays look easy that aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Said Hughes: \u201c(Spurgeon\u2019s) really good, too. Such a great player. His hockey sense. I love playing with him also. I think me and him will be great together.\u201d<\/p>\n Coach John Hynes expressed confidence that the Wild can withstand Faber\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have deep, capable guys,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be able to replace Brock with one player, but some of his responsibilities will have to be divvied up, and that\u2019s the way it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n