The Los Angeles Kings lost Kevin Fiala when he got seriously injured at the 2026 Olympics. After undergoing another leg procedure recently, he'll be missing the start of training camp. With that, which Kings players have to step up in Fiala's absence?
For the past five seasons, the Los Angeles Kings have been a consistent Stanley Cup playoff team. However, their effectiveness was sapped in the middle of last season, when star left winger Kevin Fiala suffered a devastating leg injury at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Fiala missed the remainder of the Olympic tournament and the 2025-26 regular season. Unfortunately, his health has come into question again with this week’s news that he’ll miss the start of training camp after undergoing surgery directly related to his Olympic injury.
And that could put a serious crimp in the Kings’ playoff hopes this season.
Certainly, Kings GM Ken Holland has tried his best to stock the organization’s shelves with above-average talent. But TheHockeyNews.com’s off-season power rankings series ranked Los Angeles 22nd in terms of the talent Holland has brought in this summer.
Veterans Mats Zuccarello, Erik Haula and Corey Perry aren’t going to hurt the team, but if Fiala is out for any significant stretch of time, should the Kings really be expected to get into the post-season?
Indeed, in an increasingly competitive Pacific Division, Los Angeles is going to be facing incredible pressure just to be a Stanley Cup playoff team in 2026-27, let alone be a true Cup front-runner.
The Anaheim Ducks – who finished in third place in the Pacific – could be better. The San Jose Sharks – who finished only four points behind the Kings – are almost certainly going to be better. And the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights are basically locks to be a playoff team. Thus, there’s a very real possibility that Los Angeles could be pushed out of the playoff picture – not the best look in the first year of the post-Anze Kopitar era.
If Fiala does miss any significant time, the Kings will need others to step up.
That list starts with star left winger Artemi Panarin as well as star center Adrian Kempe, as well as 24-year-old forwards Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere. Byfield has shown spurts of greatness, but he hasn’t elevated his game to land in the upper echelons of the NHL’s rankings of top young players, posting 24 goals and 49 points in 79 games.
The expectations for Laferriere are different than Byfield’s. But while Laferriere put up 21 goals and 44 points in 82 games last year, the competitive ceiling for Laferriere isn’t as high as it’s been projected to be for Byfield.
It can't be expected of Laferriere to compete with the league's top offensive producers. Is he a solid contributor who will be part of the core in L.A.? Sure he will. But expecting him to do what Fiala can do when healthy is a stretch.
Holland is now hoping his summer acquisitions step up in the absence of Fiala. Zuccarello is a perfectly serviceable contributor. Haula is a decent depth player. And Perry is trying to squeeze all the juice out of his career in what could prove to be his final NHL season. Asking them to do all the heavy lifting while Fiala is sidelined is more than a little unfair.
But the blunt truth is that the Kings have spent all but $1.775 million of their salary cap this season. What you see is what you get. Absent some internal improvement, Los Angeles is in danger of taking a backward step this year. And if Fiala winds up spending weeks and months on the sidelines, the Kings may be in serious trouble before training camp begins.
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