“He’s been incredible,” Guerin said. “Honestly, I haven’t seen that many guys go on a tear like that. I think for Kevin, too, the way this year started, he really struggled for 30 games, and then (Matt Boldy) came on the scene and they created a chemistry with (Freddy) Gaudreau. But (Fiala’s) just been a one-man wrecking crew.”
One turning point to Fiala’s season came Jan. 8 against the Washington Capitals. He took three penalties in a 4:27 stretch. Despite nine players being out of the lineup, coach Dean Evason benched him in the third period. During a TV timeout, Fiala took a twirl on the ice, tapped his teammates on the shin pads but returned to the bench and asked Evason if they could have a word. Fiala told his coach, with whom he has butted heads since their days together in Milwaukee as part of the Nashville Predators organization, that he understood what he did wrong, accepted his punishment and that he would support his teammates.
Evason decided to give him another chance. Fiala’s first shift came nine minutes into the third period. He would ultimately pay his coach back by digging out a 50-50 puck off a faceoff that led to Mats Zuccarello’s overtime-forcing goal with 35 seconds left. He then scored the shootout winner.
Ever since, Fiala has been different player, both on the ice and off. A few days later, he got married “on paper” to his longtime girlfriend, Jessica Ljung, and the two have a big wedding planned in Spain in August. Over the final 10 games of the season, Fiala wanted to emulate former Predators teammates Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne by bringing an ill child and their family to a Wild game. Fiala gave the families four tickets to the game, vouchers for food and drink and a bunch of Wild swag. After the game, he met with them near the locker room.
“I really feel for them,” Fiala said. “These kids are having heart surgeries or cancer, and they’re 5, 6 years old. It’s just sad and unfair and I just want to give them a fun night of hockey so they can get their mind off real life.”
Fiala’s big heart doesn’t insulate him from Evason’s wrath, though. Fiala often drives his coach bonkers with sloppy turnovers and careless penalties. If Fiala goofs up, Evason’s liable to bench him or call him out publicly, something he rarely does with others.
Fiala has openly admitted he hasn’t always been the best teammate. As confident as he is, he often gets bothered by things beyond his control. He has received a lot of tough love over the years during innumerable conversations with Evason, and it’s clear the Wild weren’t ready last summer to commit long-term to him.
But Fiala is playing carefree right now, saying, “What I’ve learned the last few months, when I’m playing hockey, I don’t think about anything else.”
