Kevin Fiala is the most dynamic, offensively gifted forward on the Los Angeles Kings roster. His East-West movement is unparalleled, and his even-strength production is amongst the best in the NHL.
His metrics are strong, and he is arguably the most dazzling Kings player since Ziggy Palffy. (Credit The Forum Report for such an accurate comp)
Fiala demands the puck on his stick and is crafty and shifty while moving his feet to enter dangerous areas of the offensive zone. He's got a lethal shot and will find you even when it is not expected. Without his injury last year, he takes over for the scoring lead on the Kings.
However, he has yet to click long-term with the Kings centers. He had trouble playing with a juggernaut line last year with Kempe and Kopitar.
It was too loaded and took away from the balance of puck possession that Kopitar has deftly played with for his entire career.
He didn't work with Dubois, an anomaly that questioned Dubois' entrance into the organization.
He found a home next to Phillip Danault, but mainly as a complementary piece to the duo of Danault and Moore, the best duo on the roster consistently.
However, when you have a solid line that operates as one of the best possession lines in the NHL, it is a death knell to have a player on that line who cannot control his emotions and overall penalty-taking ability.
He took a penalty after his rocket of a shot to make the game close in Colorado to make it 3-1. Similarly, he did so in a Blues game where the Kings took six penalties compared to the Blues one. His penalties are untimely and are rarely considered the 'good penalty' you take to prevent a goal.
He has seen time on the bench for his actions, with Trevor Lewis taking his spot on Phil Danault's line late into the third period against the Blues. McLellan has essentially "glued [Fiala] to the bench," as he mentioned previously in the season and has done last season.
If it wasn't already clear, McLellan doesn't have much stock with the Kings fanbase to date, but an action such as benching Fiala was the right move.
McLellan has made it clear that regardless of all the skill in the world within, you are still subject to pay for undisciplined play.
Fiala came over in a trade that dispatched the Kings' talented prospect, Brock Faber, who will render considerable Calder Trophy votes by season's end. The recent and unprecedented skid of the LA Kings has polarized that trade with immense intrigue.
Every trade has a flavor and twist of 'who won the trade" but as it stands today, both teams won.
Fiala is a point-per-game type of producer, something very difficult to find across the league. Those players are household names and traditionally render higher market value for their salaries.
Fiala is undoubtedly an asset for this organization and, at times, looked to start becoming a surefire 2-way forward playing alongside two defensively sound forwards.
They say you can't teach a dog new tricks, but this disparaging stretch of play has highlighted everyone's pitfalls.
He is too important as a significant play driver and point producer. Fiala needs to control his game for this team to start making strides out of their abysmal last 16 games.