LOS ANGELES -- Most immensely talented players come with their flaws. Often suspect defensively, ill-disciplined or too risky with the puck, the Anze Kopitars of the world who have no flaws are rare.
The Los Angeles Kings have one of the more extreme examples of such a player in Kevin Fiala. Equal parts talented and frustrating, former head coach Todd McLellan discussed that you put up with the flaws in Fiala's game because of what he could do with the puck and the offensive production.
What happens when that production falls away? When the scales start tipping more toward the negative, how long can you tolerate those flaws?
That's the dilemma current head coach Jim Hiller is facing with Fiala.
He is currently on pace for the fewest points (49) he's had since the 2018-19 season, the fewest assists (18) he's had in a full season in the NHL and the worst plus-minus of his career (-22). To his credit, he's on pace for his second 30-goal season, but his current pace isn't good enough from the team's highest-paid forward and second-highest-paid player.
Before the Kings' matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning Hiller discussed Fiala's start and overall play.
"I agree, I don't think he had a great start to the season, I think he would say that too," said Hiller. "I don't know how far I can go back, maybe the Islanders game, I think that's the one that jumps off the page to me, I think since then he's played really well. So, I think if you could wipe out the first part and start from the Islanders game, I don't know what the numbers look like, but I think they would tell a different story. You know, everybody goes up and down at different times, so we're expecting Kevin to keep building as he is and have a great second half of the season and into the playoffs hopefully. I wouldn't evaluate his season yet."
While Hiller might not have had the numbers on hand, we do. The Islanders game takes us back 11 games, in that time Fiala has five goals, zero assists and a minus-three. Hiller expanded that it's more about production with his evaluation of Fiala.
"I think it's more than just about points, for every player, but I think Kevin in particular," said Hiller. "I think Kevin is a dangerous player. Probably my favorite Kevin Fiala highlight of this year was the goal he scored against Philly on the forecheck early. You saw him go from the red line without the puck and he was first on the puck, Laf gives it back to him, he shoots and scores. A really simple type of goal, so he's got that in him, it's more than just how many points is he getting. Kevin can have a good game, there's been strides in his overall game, and I don't know if you guys have noticed it, that have been better. Maybe better than any other time he's been here but those don't always show up on the scoreboard. In fact, I had him on the ice at 6-on-5, I know he was up, he might have gotten a shift 6-on-5 against Jersey. It might have been the Philly game, but I had him up, that wouldn't typically be reserved for him but he was playing good so I let him roll."
While I fully appreciate Hiller's points about Fiala making strides in his game and it not being all about points, but for a player like Fiala, points are a big part of the equation. It's hard to pump that line when a player is on pace for a -22 and is analytically your worst defensive forward.
You can also argue that the team winning games with one of their best players not playing well is a big plus, and it is, but last season was a cautionary tale in ignoring cracks covered by winning games. That line was pushed out a lot regarding Pierre-Luc Dubois and his poor play was acceptable until it wasn't. While I'm certainly not comparing the two, it's important to not ignore warning signs.
It isn't just a point production problem with Fiala either and two quotes from an NHL coach and executive respectively in The Athletic's player tiers article sum up those problems.
”'Fiala is a cute little player,' a coach said — and he didn’t entirely mean it as a compliment." The executive then added, "Productive, but he can’t really play in your top line or top six as much as you’d like."
It's the latter quote that really hits the root of this problem. Fiala was brought in to play with Anze Kopitar and that failed, then Dubois was brought in as a potential linemate and that failed, this season it was Fiala and Quinton Byfield which also failed. He's only found consistent success with Blake Lizotte and Phil Danault, limiting the coaching staff's line options. While Fiala isn't the first player to fail in playing with Kopitar and you can't blame him entirely for the Dubois situation, there is one common dominator in him failing with three different skilled centers.
He's a player who needs a lot of the puck, we've heard both McLellan and Hiller talk about Fiala thriving with hardworking, puck retrievers, a nice way to say he needs lines to be built around him. The question then becomes, is he good enough to justify building a top-six line around? This season the answer has certainly been no.
You now have a player anchored to Danault, limiting your ability to use Danault as a true shutdown center, who also can't play with your other skilled players. It's a coach's headache and a dilemma Hiller will have to solve if the production doesn't pick up soon.
Fiala is undeniably an incredibly talented player, possessing maybe the most raw puck skills of any Kings player, but that has not translated into effective hockey this season. It's translated into a frustrating player who is restricting the coaching staff's line combinations. The team's highest-paid forward and supposed game-breaker who isn't breaking games open nor producing at a rate to justify his status on this team.
None of this is to say Fiala is a bad player, but the Kings might have to accept that he isn't a good fit on this roster. Those flaws in his game and the way he limits Hiller's line flexibility might outweigh the highlight reel potential when the puck is on his stick.