Minnesota Wild winger Kevin Fiala took to Instagram on Sunday and posted a photo that may signal the end of his time with the team.
In the post, Fiala is celebrating a goal with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello with the caption “Thank you Minnesota.” While it doesn’t signal an official ending, it does paint the picture that he could be on his way out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3sbTevt4_
Fiala’s future in Minnesota has been in question since the Wild were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Minnesota has just $5.6 million in cap space entering this offseason and with Fiala set to hit restricted free agency, a trade is likely to happen.
While the Wild could make room by trading other players such as Matt Dumba to clear cap space, general manager Bill Guerin shot down that idea earlier this week during an interview with KFAN’s Dan Barriero
“Why is it always Dumba? Dumba plays a lot of minutes for us,” Guerin said said. “There are a lot of things that Matt Dumba does really well. Everybody has their shortcomings. Kevin didn’t do well in the playoffs but we’re all dying to keep him.”
“If I sound a little pissed off or annoyed, I am. Because all I hear is Matt getting kind of dumped on and you know what, it’s not easy doing what he did, playing in the condition he did. I like Matt Dumba. I think he’s a damn good defenseman and people want to write him out of town just because Kevin had three good months.”
Fiala has spent just over three seasons in Minnesota after being acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators during the 2018-19 season. After a career season with 85 points in 82 games, Fiala is set to get paid, whether it’s in Minnesota or somewhere else.
