Minnesota Wild

Kevin Fiala Traded By Minnesota Wild to Los Angeles Kings

The trade watch is on as reports are surfacing that the Minnesota Wild have traded Kevin Fiala to the LA Kings.

by
NHL Trade Talk
June 29, 2022

** Update: as per a report by Michael Russo of The Athletic, Kevin Fiala has been traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Los Angeles Kings. The return is a 2022 first-round pick and University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber.

According to sources, the #mnwild have traded the rights to pending restricted free agent Kevin Fiala to the #lakings for their 2022 first-round pick and University of Minnesota captain Brock Faber
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 29, 2022

Chris Johnston is reporting, “Hearing the LAKings will sign Kevin Fiala to a long-term extension as part of this trade with Minnesota.” Friedman adds, “I believe Fiala extension will come in approx $7.9M AAV.”

As per Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman, “Couple of other notes to keep an eye on: sounds like things are intensifying on the Kevin Fiala front, and we could get clarity on BOS coaching situation today.” Focusing specifically on the Fiala nugget, Friedman was also on the Jeff Marek Show today and said he believes the teams in on Fiala are the New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings, and Ottawa Senators. He noted on talks of a trade, “There’s definitely some momentum there…”

Couple of other notes to keep an eye on: sounds like things are intensifying on the Kevin Fiala front, and we could get clarity on BOS coaching situation today.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 29, 2022

Friedman also noted that some people have said the Buffalo Sabres might be a part of these conversations, but he couldn’t confirm that one way or the other.

Fiala had a breakout season for the Wild with 85 points in 82 games this past season. That said, Wild GM Bill Guerin didn’t seem to sing the player’s praises when the season was over, instead choosing to call him out for inconsistent play and stood up for a player like Matt Dumba instead. Guerin did say he’d like to have Fiala back, but as Michael Russo of The Athletic points out:

The math just doesn’t work for what the Wild would be willing (and can afford) to pay Fiala versus what Fiala, a year from unrestricted free agency and coming off a career-best 33-goal, 85-point season, could command on a long-term deal on the open market a year from now.

Because the Wild have such big salary cap concerns this summer and for the next few seasons, it wasn’t likely the team could keep both Dumba and Fiala. It appears Fiala either lost out, or the Wild believe he’ll fetch the best return.

Fiala is a pending RFA, so any team that does trade for him has some contract control. That said, he’ll be looking to cash in on a deal right away and he’s coming off a deal that saw him make $5.1 million on the cap last season.

Several Teams Interested in Fiala

According to The Fourth Period, “Several teams have expressed interest in Fiala, including the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils, among others.” Where the Oilers fit here considering their cap situation is unclear. It seems unlikely they would be serious players unless they were sending big money back the other way.

Next: Rangers Reportedly Have Interest in Trading For Pierre-Luc Dubois