Kevin Fiala was traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a first-round pick and a University of Minnesota player.
Fiala had a career best 3.5 points per 60 minutes average, as he had 33 goals and 52 assists for the Wild. The Swiss-born player has played in the NHL for nine years, the last five with the Nashville Preds. Fiala has scored over 100 goals in his career.
Due to a salary cap crunch, the Wild wanted to move Fiala. The contracts of Parise and Suter were bought out. They had $4.7 million in dead cap space last season, and that will increase to over $12.7 million this season and then $14.7 million over the next five years.
An NHL source says that Fiala is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Kings. He made $5.1 million against the cap last year.
The 19th pick is by the Kings. 24th is picked by the Wild.
He finished his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota with a reputation as a defensive prospect. The US men's national hockey team played four games in the Beijing Olympics. He was drafted by the Kings in the second round.
The Kings made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in three years, and the trade signals another aggressive move towards that goal. They made a free-agent splash last summer with center Phillip Danault and are now looking to add another veteran to their roster.
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