After setting career highs with 33 goals and 52 assists last season, the Minnesota Wild have traded forward Kevin Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.
Russo says Minnesota will receive L.A.’s 2022 first-round pick and Golden Gophers captain Brock Faber, who was drafted 45th overall by the Kings in 2020. Los Angeles owns the No. 19 pick in the first round, with Minnesota picking 24th.
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
Russo’s trade report comes on the heels of reports earlier in the day in which he said Fiala “is possibly in his final week on the [Minnesota Wild],” while NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Wednesday on SportsNet 590 that Wild GM Bill Guerin may be motivated to strike a deal.
“I had a couple of texts this morning saying ‘start looking into it,” said Friedman about Fiala rumors. “There’s definitely been a lot of talk around him.
“I got a lot more than normal of Fiala today, so I think there’s definitely some momentum there,” Friedman added. “I think Bill Guerin – I haven’t spoken to Guerin or anything like that – he’s not saying anything, but there’s definitely a feeling out there that he’s motivated to make the move and he’s just trying to line it up.”
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1542130904054878209
Friedman speculated that New Jersey, Los Angeles, Ottawa and maybe Buffalo make the most sense as trade partners for the Wild.
In terms of timing, the NHL Draft is just eight days away, and this is often the time rumors heat up before teams begin making trades before and during the summer draft.
Fiala scored a career-best 33 goals and 52 assists, finishing second on the Wild with 85 points (trailing only Kirill Kaprizov).
Related: Can the Wild get a top-10 pick for Kevin Fiala?
Related: Fiala appears to say goodbye to Wild fans on Instagram
