Is it time to look into shopping Kevin Fiala?

Nyssa42 said:
At least Fiala scores once in a while and is great with the puck. Danault, on the other hand, has been useless this season. I have no idea what his contract status is, but if he were to be dealt away I would have no issue with that. Fiala needs someone to reign him in, and Danault is not capable of that.
Click to expand...
Three organizations have tried to get this player to adapt his game to fit a team concept. Nashville dealt him because he was having the same issues then as now, but he wasn't producing. Minnesota was perfectly fine letting him go as a cap casualty as part of the price of changing their culture - Fiala could not play with other talented players and his big break through was playing on a 3rd line with the plug Gauthier and a rookie who deferred to him in Boldy. His deal was coming up and they chose not to pay a guy who couldn't play on the first line the kind of money his assets dictated.

The Kings tried to line him up with Kopitar and it failed because nobody could trust him to play on your top match up line. He bombed horribly with Dubois - the only 5x5 success he has found here is with Danault because Danault doesn't need the puck on his stick to contribute like most top 6 centers.

His PP work is impressive for sure, but 5x5 the guy bleeds high quality chances against due to outright boneheaded play. You cannot trust him to do the right thing at the right time, which means his offensive contributions are just empty calories.

Offense doesn't win series - control does. You CAN control pace and momentum of games thru offense, but not the kind of play you get from Fiala who can single handedly ruin your teams momentum at the drop of the hat.
 
JETS GARAGE said:
Kevin's last year with the Wild, he had 85 pts and was a +23. Performing to get traded for a better contract?

Nearly a point a game player last season with 29 goals. Needs motivation?

2021-22Minnesota WildNHL823352855223603316
2022-23Los Angeles KingsNHL6923497252231564
2023-24Los Angeles KingsNHL8229447362151124
2024-25Los Angeles KingsNHL17751214-7
Click to expand...
He would have reached 80 points if he played a full first season. I won't hold that seasons playoffs against him. He is his own worst enemy.

I would not be sad trading him. I just don't want Blake making the deal.
 
Sultanic said:
Three organizations have tried to get this player to adapt his game to fit a team concept. Nashville dealt him because he was having the same issues then as now, but he wasn't producing. Minnesota was perfectly fine letting him go as a cap casualty as part of the price of changing their culture - Fiala could not play with other talented players and his big break through was playing on a 3rd line with the plug Gauthier and a rookie who deferred to him in Boldy. His deal was coming up and they chose not to pay a guy who couldn't play on the first line the kind of money his assets dictated.

The Kings tried to line him up with Kopitar and it failed because nobody could trust him to play on your top match up line. He bombed horribly with Dubois - the only 5x5 success he has found here is with Danault because Danault doesn't need the puck on his stick to contribute like most top 6 centers.

His PP work is impressive for sure, but 5x5 the guy bleeds high quality chances against due to outright boneheaded play. You cannot trust him to do the right thing at the right time, which means his offensive contributions are just empty calories.

Offense doesn't win series - control does. You CAN control pace and momentum of games thru offense, but not the kind of play you get from Fiala who can single handedly ruin your teams momentum at the drop of the hat.
Click to expand...
Exactly. His offense is empty calories due to every other part of his game being a liability. It's like a beautiful woman who is great to look at but she burns all the food and kills your plants and animals.
 
Dr. Tran said:
This team needs more skill. That Colorado game showed us how much we're lacking. So why trade one of our most skilled forwards? We need to take the good with the bad with Fiala. And hope the bad doesn't get too bad. But no, don't trade him just to trade him.
Click to expand...
Exactly. We had zero shots for goodness sake. The Kings were denying chances for a while but the talent discrepancy took over. Makar could make a super long stretch pass and the Kings could not do anything of the sort. Having more Trevor Lewis and Andre Lee types is only going to have the Kings losing more 2-0 games.

Fiala will probably join a litany of good players like Durzi who get run out of here because they cause chances against. Which sucks but it the number of chances for is more than the against then they are a net positive.

The Kings have 3 forwards who have been underperforming their contracts, not just Fiala. Danault has been horrible aside from his long pass to spring Fiala in the Avs game. And Byfield should be on the side of a milk carton. The Kings have moved him all over the lineup and nothing has worked.
 
Hipcheck said:
The problem here is not Fiala…It’s the gm who thought Fiala could be a driver and leader.
Click to expand...
Totally /s. I mean Fiala made the all-star game and was dynamic his first year here (and his second and his last with the Wild). WTH was Blake thinking?!? We better dump the guy for a bag of pucks because his scoring is down and he takes dumb penalties.
 
He's not getting traded unless we are out of the playoffs, same with Phil, Spenny and maybe Gavy. I'm not sure how much of a leash Blake has to make any deals to be honest.
 
I wouldn’t mind shipping his ass to the Islanders. Get Brock Nelson and Oliver Wahlstrom back and the team is good to go.
 
Nyssa42 said:
At least Fiala scores once in a while and is great with the puck.
Click to expand...

Emphatically disagree. How many plays have died on his stick before they have a chance to take shape is probably a stat in itself that perhaps someone better versed in analytics can summarize better than I can. He can shoot, yes. But this, from all I’ve seen, is about the only dimension he has to his game
 
kIngsX said:
Emphatically disagree. How many plays have died on his stick before they have a chance to take shape is probably a stat in itself that perhaps someone better versed in analytics can summarize better than I can. He can shoot, yes. But this, from all I’ve seen, is about the only dimension he has to his game
Click to expand...
Considering the Kings had 0 shots on goal during the second period against the Avs, I think this stat would likely look dismal team-wide.

Interestingly, the one shot that was nearly registered would have been a goal by Fiala had he not, instead, hit the post.
 
Blake needs to stop trading for players that bomb once on the Kings line up. First it was Dubois now Fail. Good teams don't do this type of stuff.
 
Clif said:
I think Byfield and Danault are both failing him right now.

I also think this is a legitimate enough question, but the Kings’ return on a nearly ppg player is going be a win for the team that gets Fiala. This team is nowhere near in a position to trade offense away.
Click to expand...
Kevin has mental lapses far too many times, but I agree with you 100%. The last thing this team needs to do is shed offensive talent. I still think his scoring outweighs his mental laspes, but he's frustrating to watch with all that natural ability. But I have never doubted his effort and you can tell he wants to win and plays hard. Now, as for Byfield...oh, never mind........
 
Nyssa42 said:
At least Fiala scores once in a while and is great with the puck. Danault, on the other hand, has been useless this season.
Click to expand...
Yup, I agree 100%. And Byfield has been a MAJOR disappointment so far. My patience with him is running thin. Something just appears to be...wrong.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Now Chirping

Share this page

Back
Top