An emotional look at Brock Faber signing his new contract alongside his parents

Earlier today the Minnesota Wild signed defenseman Brock Faber to a massive 8 year contract worth $8.5 million per season.

The 21 year old native of Maple Grove, MN is now the Wild's undisputed #1 defenseman and has guaranteed that he'll be patrolling the blue line in Minnesota for the better part of a decade. It's a big contract for an emerging talent, but if you know Faber and his family like Wild GM Bill Guerin, then you know Faber is worth gambling on. This is a kid who has shown maturity at every level. He looks like he's ready to take the next step and become a bonafide star NHL defenseman.

What I loved most from the Wild's media junket of this signing was this moment where Guerin invited Faber's parents along for his official contract signing.

Check it out:

Love this! You can tell him Mom is just beaming inside!

Read below for our earlier report on Faber, published by Hockey Feed staff reporter Jonathan Larrivee as the news broke.

Brock Faber is going nowhere.

The Minnesota Wild have locked up their talented young defenseman for the foreseeable future, signing Faber to a massive 8 year deal on Monday. That deal, as officially announced by the Wild, carries a total value of $68 million over the full length of the deal, working out to an average annual value and salary cap hit of $8.5 million per season.

Despite only playing one full season in the National Hockey League, Faber established himself as an integeral part of the Wild's blue line last season. Faber would appear in all 82 regular season games, scoring 8 goals and adding 39 assists for a total of 47 points, finishing the regular season with 26 penalty minutes and a plus minus rating of -1.

The Wild are also still struggling with a less than ideal cap space with over $14.7 million in dead salary cap space this season due to the buyouts of both former Wild forward Zach Parise and former Wild defenseman Ryan Suter. This seems like a decision on the part of Wild general manager Bill Guerin to get Faber signed to a reasonable number now, before Faber could potentially cost the Wild even more against the cap if he continues his current trend.

It seems like a shrewd move on the part of Guerin given the Wild's rather unique salary cap situation, and a great deal for the Wild.