What Kings and Wild Get from Kevin Fiara’s Big Deal

The trade season will be officially reopened as the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild did a big deal on Wednesday.

Wild was the seller of the move, sending Kevin Fiara to the up-and-coming Los Angeles Kings to take 19th place overall in this year’s draft with Prospect Defense Brock Faber and LA’s first round pick.

The reason Wild, the league’s fifth-best regular season team, had to move an 85-point RFA winger was last summer’s decision to buy both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter from the remaining contract years. Brought by. .. As a result, Minnesota will be subject to heavy cap penalties, with dead cap space of $ 12.743 million and dead cap space of $ 14.743 million next season. 2 years after that.

After the deal was made, Fiara immediately signed a seven-year contract with Kings. It comes with a $ 78.75 million AAV. That would have made him the second highest paid player in Minnesota, and as GM Birgelin explained, it wasn’t a commitment the team could now do without having to trade out a few other people from the roster. did.

“He had a great year, and we wouldn’t have been able to do that,” Gerin said. “We knew that, [Fiala’s camp] Knowing that, it doesn’t make sense to screw it in, fit it in, and give him a low ball deal. It didn’t work. We knew we had to move him.

“It just didn’t fit.”

Returns are certainly interesting to Wild. Wild held picks 19 and 24 (they themselves) in the draft next week and also scooped up the exciting defense prospects coming from the area. Faber, meanwhile, is a homemade player currently playing at the University of Minnesota and will be back next season.

It was a trade that had to take place for Minnesota, and Fiara’s was ours List of trade candidates to watch this summer.. Kings provided attractive returns quickly, and Gerin was able to trigger ahead of what was expected to be a busy draft week deal.

“LA They came right away and were serious. There was no process of kicking or feeling the tires. They were so serious right away that the deal was easier,” Gerin said.

So what do each team get from this deal? Let’s take a look at the players involved …

To Los Angeles: Kevin Fiara

Kings said the off-season would be a season in which the Pacific Division could finish in 3rd place and push the chips forward after the playoffs of the first round against Edmonton. There are many promises around this team, and we also need to pay attention to the effective windows of Anze Kopitar (34) and Drew Doughty (32).

Last off-season GM Rob Blake acquired Victor Albidoson for a veteran scoring punch. This time he was able to win a 25-year-old Fiara. Fiara will end her career season and become a long-term fixture in the top six of LA.

Fiara, a great transitional player, was second only to Kirill Kaprizov in all major attack statistics categories this past season. There was evidence that this kind of breakout came to Fiara. During the 2019-20 season, Fiara heated up and finished third in the league score with 26 points in 19 games from February 1st to the season’s COVID pose. His score per game dropped a bit last season, but his basic numbers remain strong.

And this season, especially after settling down on rookie winger Matt Bordi, Fiara exploded with 33 goals and 85 points in 82 games.

One thing to note is that Fiara has not yet achieved explosive playoff performance. He scored only two points in seven games after last season and scored only three assists in six games against the blues in this year’s playoffs.

But now, as the Kings begin to form what could be the dreaded Top 6, I’m confident that Fiara will take off and the playoffs will continue to score (and have the opportunity to do so).

Copiter and Phillip Danault went down the middle. Victor Albidson, Adrian Kempe (RFA), Fiara and Trevor Moore are on the wings. It will be in the top 6 pretty cool. And ah, young people Arthur Kaliev, Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte are still coming. Things are now looking great in Los Angeles.

Scout Analysis by Jason Bukara:

Fiara heading to Los Angeles adds another offensive weapon to the Kings roster. As a prospect, Fiara was predicted to be a fast, fast, competitive and skilled forward who had the chance to become a high-end point producer as an NHL player.He became the player he was expected to be When Added defensive responsibility. Fiara is currently a player with equal strength in power play, penalty kills, OTs and shootouts. LA Kings will improve its score and depth with this acquisition.

To Minnesota: 19th Overall Pick and Block Faber

Minnesota’s 19th overall pick will be the first choice to be made in Montreal next Thursday, but it also holds the 24th overall pick.

Staring Sam Cosentino’s Sports Net Final Draft RankingWild can choose forwards like Jimmy Snaguld, Noah Ostrund, shoot Brad Lambert with a Kings pick, or go to defenses like Owen Pickering, Lian Bischel, Pavel Minchukov, etc. increase.

Gerin said he had no specific plans for what he wanted to do in the Los Angeles selection, but it was clear that he would choose the best player.

Teams of cap straps like Wild need to start a new draft topic and start putting data into the system for cheaper and more expensive players. But Wild hasn’t rebuilt. They’re still trying to move what they have and even expecting a re-contract with Marc-Andre Fleury, and between Bordi and Marco Rossi are now excited NHL-enabled players. There is.

But to survive these three seasons when the acquisition of Suter and Paris really hurt, it’s imperative to continue to add to the pipeline and be prepared to make a big blow on the other side of the pipeline.

“Look at the two teams that played in the finals. These teams were built through the draft,” Gerin said. “There were some trades made along the way, but I think most of those teams were done through drafts and are very well built teams. That’s the way you have to do it. ”

However, the real prize at this point is Faber, Kings’ second round of 202 picks (45th overall). Wild would be particularly familiar with Faber, given that he came from their backyard and played at the University of Minnesota. There he returns as a captain. 2022-23.

Gerin was asked if he knew the pressure he would face in the market and had any concerns about adding a child from his hometown.

“Previously I was a little timid to bring Minnesota kids back to Minnesota, but if I did that, I would eliminate Minnesota kids and eliminate the biggest player pool because of that fear.” Gerin said. “So I’m happy to have Minnesota kids here. I’m happy to help them play and navigate in your hometown.”

Outlook analysis from Samco Sentino:

Overall, this is the theft of Minnesota’s transactions. Brock Faber is a Minnesota kid who has left his hometown to play for USNTDP. After spending two years there, he returned home to play at the University of Minnesota and spent the last two seasons.

Faber was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was named the first Team All-Star, and continued to play in Team USA at the Olympic Games.

Faber is an excellent skater who acts as a solid defense to move the puck. Due to the large number of left shot defenses currently in Wild’s system, Birgelin has added Right Shot D at a price that perfectly fits Wild’s pending salary cap crisis.

Oddly enough, if he needs to be associated with a player in the 2022 draft, that player will be Ryan Chezley (31st in the SN ranking). While being a member of USNTDP, the two were very similar in size and production. They both shoot correctly and lean on the defender of the puck.

The first round pick is an additional bonus in exchange for a player who can no longer be purchased at Fiara. There are many excellent players in 19th place overall. If Gerin is very aggressive, you can package your LA pick with 19 and your pick with 24 to make it into the top 10.

There was a surplus right side defense in LA, so they were dealing from areas of strength. They have cupboards in stock for prospects, but it’s always difficult to give up on the first round of picks. Still, if there was a year to do so, this is based on some of the uncertainties surrounding player growth during a pandemic.