'Foligno Face-Off' continues with brothers now NHL teammates for Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nick Foligno has made several trips to the home of his brother, Marcus Foligno, when his team would play at the Minnesota Wild.  

But his visit last week was much, much different. 

“I’m normally just coming to town (as the visiting team) and I'll sneak over to his house for a little bit,” Nick Foligno said, “but I was over there yesterday, I’m like, ‘I can come over tomorrow. I can come over the next day.’ So it’s pretty neat.”

The Foligno brothers' dynamic changed quite significantly on March 6, when Nick was traded from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Wild, joining younger brother Marcus on hte Minnesota roster. 

Nick, a 38-year-old forward, made his Wild debut on March 10, with Marcus, a 34-year-old forward who has been out since March 1 with a lower-body injury, watching from the press box. 

The brothers let NHL.com and NHL Studios inside the magical night of Nick’s debut. 

“You don’t ever take it for granted,” Nick said. “Listen, we played a long time, and we’re privileged to play in the NHL but to get a chance to (when) your brothers in the NHL, to play with him, it’s an amazing feeling.

“I think it's something that we probably wouldn’t have appreciated if we were younger but being older and being in the League a long time, seeing other brothers play, it’s a lot more gratifying for us right now.”

The Wild acquired the eldest Foligno from the Blackhawks for future considerations. Marcus has been an alternate captain in Minnesota since 2021.

Marcus heard the news about the brother reunion from Nick first.

“When he told me, I just assumed he meant he got traded to some other team because he’s been traded a lot,” Marcus said with a laugh. “And I was just like, ‘Oh yeah, that (stinks),’ but when he said he was coming here I was so pumped -- we both were. How cool is that to play with you brother, to just have him here, it’s pretty special.”

Watching him from the press box, Marcus has been sure to keep an eye on big brother’s stats while also getting used to seeing Nick in a Wild uniform instead of an opponent's.

“I laugh because it’s cool to play with your brother, but I have always had a lot of fun watching him,” Marcus said. “I always got jacked up when he would have tournaments when we were kids and watching what he would do on the ice; how he defends players. I’ve been used to seeing that too, trying to watch him when I can in the NHL throughout both of our careers.

“Now it’s kind of weird seeing him on our bench. But I can’t wait to get back with him and look down on the bench and see him, maybe even on the same line, we’ll see. 

"It’s going to be great. I think my grandma had a split jersey at one time when Nick was in Ottawa (with the Senators) and I was in Buffalo (with the Sabres). So just things like that, we laugh how everyone can just watch one game one night and not have to worry about who wins, just hope one team wins and both brothers play good enough.”

Nick and Marcus have faced each other 29 times in the regular season throughout their respective NHL careers, though injuries have offset even more opportunities. Marcus is quick to point out he won the head-to-head games this season between Minnesota and Chicago, going 3-0.

Now on the same team, Marcus and Nick will continue to unite with the Wild, NHL, NHL Players' Association, and the V Foundation for Cancer Research through Hockey Fights Cancer for the season-long Foligno Face-Off to raise funds for a very personal cause and celebrate the competitiveness between Marcus and Nick. They lost their mother, Janis, to breast cancer in 2009.

Team Nick is at $50,664 and Team Marcus is at $86,441 raised, bringing the total to $137,105 -- just less than $63,000 shy of the $200,000 goal. The final two games of the Foligno Face-Off will take place when the Wild plays the Blackhawks on Tuesday and Thursday.

“It’s been fun to get the better of him while raising funds for such a great cause,” Marcus said. “We’re still going to have some fun engagement to help bring the funds in, and I’ll still probably raise more than him (laughs), but what’s important is just being able to raise money and awareness for cancer research.”

And though the excitement surrounds the brothers playing together for the first time in their NHL careers, Nick and Marcus’ eyes remain on the bigger dream: to win a Stanley Cup, together, in Minnesota.

“(Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin’s) excited to have me and they got me for me,” Nick said. “It’s not for the story -- it’s an awesome story obviously -- but it’s more than that. He thinks I can bring an element to this team they need.  

“… It’s just everyone pulling the rope and then doing what we need to do to help this team move forward. They’ve done it on their own for a while but if we can come in and help and shore up some areas that, especially down the stretch where you need depth, guys who’ve played a long time know how important depth is in playoffs, and this team has a great crew already but to add these pieces, I think we’re really excited about what we can do here.”