The Minnesota Wild may need to move forward without Kevin Fiala for a brief period as the 24-year-old will have a safety hearing. This hearing comes as a result of a boarding call when Fiala checked Matt Roy of the Los Angeles Kings Thursday evening. NHL Player Safety announced the meeting early Friday morning.
Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala will have a hearing today for Boarding Los Angeles’ Matt Roy.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) January 29, 2021
Wild Kevin Fiala Hearing Scheduled
Fiala was having a slow start to 2020-21, but he was still putting in large volumes of effort. His three goals in eight games tied him for seventh in total points. The volume came with shots, where he had a team-leading 30 and was one of the most-used forwards. His average ice time of 17:31 is fourth at the time of this pending suspension. There is every reason to think that Fiala has been slightly unlucky in just over a week of action. He has a fantastic 56.5 Corsi For and quality linemates, so the scoring rate should improve when he returns.
The Nashville Predators originally drafted Fiala in the first round of the 2014 Draft. His first significant action came in 2016-17 with 11 goals and 16 points in 54 games as a 20-year-old. The Preds ultimately trade their Swiss forward to Minnesota in exchange for Mikael Granlund. This trade has worked out well for Minnesota considering his 29 goals and 64 points in 91 games. That translates to a very good 0.70 points per game.
How Minnesota Replaces Fiala
Fiala was receiving top-six minutes and there is no obvious replacement on the roster. The smartest move might be to move Jordan Greenway up the depth chart from his current spot next to Marcus Foligno for however long Fiala is out. Greenway has been outstanding so far with one goal and seven points in eight games. He is another member of Minnesota’s intriguing young core. The team has players excelling all over the ice, so losing Fiala for a brief time shouldn’t derail them too much. They are still in great shape in the temporary West Division.
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