Kevin Fiala, reborn (23 points in last 10 games)

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yeah, the thing about MiG is his passing. He is just a hair below Crosby level, usually. I am not seeing that with NSH

Oops.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Fiala > Ovi

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

It’s an extremely tough day to be Tom Wilson’s ankles as Fiala picks up an assist:

 

[NHL1674]

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

48 points in 50 games since Nov. 1st. Coincidentally, the wild are 28-16-6 in those 50 games (102 point pace). This team goes as Fiala goes.

 

[swissexpert]

4 games, 4G 5A this week.

NHL scoring last 4 weeks:

Fiala 13gms 10G 9A 19P
Draisaitl 13gms 10G 9A 19P
Zibanejad 14gms 10G 9A 19P
Backlund 13gms 9G 10A 19P
Kucherov 12gms 7G 12A 19P
Panarin 14gms 5G 13A 18P

 

[Ainec]

He's legit

I made fun of that Granlund trade but it's now going to be the poster boy trade for "let's wait it out and see"

 

[Hostile Offer]

Fiala always had some untapped potential in Nashville. Really really exciting player to watch.

 

[max21]

He’s good

 

[goeb]

Yikes, Fiala is outscoring ever Preds forward this year. Even though he got canned, Fenton actually won this trade without question. Guess Fiala just needed a change of scenery or something as he is one of the most improved players this year.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

He was the best player on the ice for Minnesota last night and it wasn't particularly close. Dangerous every time he had the puck, creative, decisive -- he was really fun to watch.

 

[TaLoN]

Yikes, Fiala is outscoring ever Preds forward this year. Even though he got canned, Fenton actually won this trade without question. Guess Fiala just needed a change of scenery or something as he is one of the most improved players this year.

Tough love from Boudreau helped in letting him know what he could and couldn't get away with... helped him smarten up and use his skill in the right time and place.

Too bad Bruce got fired... waking up Fiala was another example of how he gets the best out of players... just like with Granlund before him.

 

[lauraP]

Picked him up in fantasy, really help me out. Thanks Kev !

 

[kfan22]

Yikes, Fiala is outscoring ever Preds forward this year. Even though he got canned, Fenton actually won this trade without question. Guess Fiala just needed a change of scenery or something as he is one of the most improved players this year.

As of now he won the trade but he still should have received more either a pick or prospect. Nashville was going all in to win a cup, a more experienced GM would have received another asset from Nashville for trading them the better player at the time

 

[TaLoN]

As of now he won the trade but he still should have received more either a pick or prospect. Nashville was going all in to win a cup, a more experienced GM would have received another asset from Nashville for trading them the better player at the time

Yup, missed opportunity is still missed.

 

[Kuznetsnow]

As of now he won the trade but he still should have received more either a pick or prospect. Nashville was going all in to win a cup, a more experienced GM would have received another asset from Nashville for trading them the better player at the time

Or perhaps Poile walks away and you don't get a soon to be 90 point player for a soon to be league washout

Nothing dumber than getting a dollar for a quarter and pining that you could have got more

 

[TaLoN]

Or perhaps Poile walks away and you don't get a soon to be 90 point player for a soon to be league washout

Nothing dumber than getting a dollar for a quarter and pining that you could have got more

Fenton didn't even ask. It never hurts to even ask... yet Fenton said it never even came to his mind.

At the time it sure as hell didn't look like a dollar, looked more like a nickle and dime in return.

Just because it turned out in hindsight that it was a buffalo nickle that wasn't recognized by anyone and we lucked out doesn't change the fact that on the day value was bad.

 

[Al Lagoon]

As of now he won the trade but he still should have received more either a pick or prospect. Nashville was going all in to win a cup, a more experienced GM would have received another asset from Nashville for trading them the better player at the time

Yup, missed opportunity is still missed.

I think that popular take is BS. Why would Nashville trade this guy? He is the kind of player you build around. And now the end game approaches, and perhaps Granlund walks and Nashville is left with nothing. Years of control was a huge part of the trade.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

The 'missing out on the pick' thing is just fans attaching their own expectations without knowing what was actually realistic. There was obviously inherent value in the fact that Fiala was 22 (at the time) and not 16 months away from unrestricted free agency. I don't think that missing piece in the trade was Tolvanen or Nashville's 1st rounder like everybody thought at the time.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

Another feather in the cap of Minnesota’s best offensive player in.. a long time.

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

The 'missing out on the pick' thing is just fans attaching their own expectations without knowing what was actually realistic. There was obviously inherent value in the fact that Fiala was 22 (at the time) and not 16 months away from unrestricted free agency. I don't think that missing piece in the trade was Tolvanen or Nashville's 1st rounder like everybody thought at the time.

It is a Russo-fabricated idea, and as much as I love Russo and the work he does, he’s not best guy to listen to when analyzing trade value.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

It is a Russo-fabricated idea, and as much as I love Russo and the work he does, he’s not best guy to listen to when analyzing trade value.

I think my reaction at the time was something pretty similar to his, but this is a good example of why those same day reactions don't mean a whole heck of a lot.

Same with draft picks.

 

[Gh24]

Yikes, Fiala is outscoring ever Preds forward this year. Even though he got canned, Fenton actually won this trade without question. Guess Fiala just needed a change of scenery or something as he is one of the most improved players this year.

He needed to grow as a hockey player. Most of us saw the potential, but he gave the puck away far too often for what he brought offensively back then. Is that more on the player himself, team around him or coaching? I don't know, but he's fun to watch when he's on, so good for him and *sigh* good for Minny.

As of now he won the trade but he still should have received more either a pick or prospect. Nashville was going all in to win a cup, a more experienced GM would have received another asset from Nashville for trading them the better player at the time

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there some rumblings that Wild wouldn't be able to / didn't want to extend Granlund for what he was rumored to ask?

 

[16thOverallSaveUs]

He needed to grow as a hockey player. Most of us saw the potential, but he gave the puck away far too often for what he brought offensively back then. Is that more on the player himself, team around him or coaching? I don't know, but he's fun to watch when he's on, so good for him and *sigh* good for Minny.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there some rumblings that Wild wouldn't be able to / didn't want to extend Granlund for what he was rumored to ask?

To the 1st part: we saw that here to. When he doesn’t have confidence he forces plays a ton. He was in and out of the press-box and on the 4th line until he started to cut back. The past 3 of 4 months, he’s been letting the plays come to him. When he has open ice-he takes it. He often enters the zone and creates space for those around him. If gems got nothing, he dumps it. He knows know that he’s going to get his looks because the coach is going to keep putting him out there, so I think he doesn’t feel the urgency to try and do something incredible every time he touches the puck.
To your second point: the rumors were that he was asking for 10 million. I don’t think it was ever a question of if we could extend him, but more that Fenton was not over-the-moon about the player. He had 35 points in the first 32 games last year, and then like 14 over the next 30. I think Fenton did a good job of selling high and bringing in a guy who can provide something the franchise has missed for a long time. I wouldn’t be shocked if Fiala hit 70 points this year

 

[foggyvisor]

He actually got lucky because he lost the puck there. It just looked like a deke.