Blockbuster trade alert
Minnesota Los Angeles
Brock Faber (signing rights) Kevin Fiala (RFA)
2022 1RD pick (LA 19th)
David Berding USA Today Sports
Analysis: the first big trade of the offseason is here and it comes as no surprise to me as the number 1 player one my trade bait board is off to LA as the LA Kings have acquired Kevin Fiala who was a pending RFA from the Minnesota Wild for their first round pick in this years draft which is 19th overall and young defensive prospect Brock Faber. Now first I am looking at this from LA’s perspective as the Kings have just upgraded dramatically. Fiala is going to fit in very well in the top six of the Kings and given he is a play maker and did really well with Boldy I think he could put up 75-85 points in LA and given that he is going to the Kings where Adrian Kempe just had a 35 goal season and putting him on the same line with Kempe might bring out the best in both players, so having a trop line of Fiala-Kopitar-Kempe next year would be my prediction. Now they were also able to come to terms on a 7 year contract extension that will carry a AAV of $7.85 Million per year and I think that is actually a pretty good contract as I thought he would’ve signed closer to $8.5 Million per year and although I would’ve given him a 5-6 year deal I think that is a pretty good contract for both the player and team and I think Fiala will be a fantastic top 6 winger in LA. And for Minnesota this is a trade they didn’t want to make but given Fiala signed for just around $8 Million per year and the Wild have less then that currently in cap space so while this was a hard move to make I think it ended up being the right one. Now the Wild got a heck of a return for Fiala in this trade and I am going to start with the young defensemen. Brock Faber is a really good prospect and is actually playing for the university of Minnesota in the NCAA so he can go from playing college in Minnesota to playing NHL hockey in Minnesota and as far as D-Prospects go he is a pretty good one. Faber was a 2RD pick in 2020 so he is still very young at 19 years old and has put up back to back season in the NCAA where he has had double digit points which as a defensemen is pretty good. Now I think that he is definitely a future top 4 defensemen in this team and while he will probably play one more year in College and after that I could definitely see him challenge for a roster spot on the Wild but he will have some tough competition with other young defensemen like Calen Addison and Carson Lambos but I guarantee in a few years that Faber will be a stud top 4 defensemen in Minnesota. And lastly the Wild were able to get the Kings 19th overall pick in this season and that pick is 5 picks higher then Minnesota own first round pick so I think they will have a chance to try to draft a solid forward prospect at 19 and some names I would watch out for would be Nazar, Lambert, Kulich, Ohgren and Howard as the first three have the potential to be a top 6 Center which the Wild desperately needs and the last two are pretty good wingers who could help in time replace Fiala but getting a top end forward prospect with this pick will help Minnesota for a long time coming. So to recap the Kings get a top 6 forward and have locked him up long term and coming off a a career year and being able to play on the top line with Kopitar and Kempe who can solidify their scoring needs after LA just missed out on advancing to round 2 this year, and Minnesota trades a cap casualty and gets a outstanding young top 4 D Prospect and the 19th overall pick which they can use to draft a forward who could in time replace Fiala or become that top 6 Center they desperately need.
Now for LA they are nowhere near being done and I know that I have heard they might still try to add at the forward group but I can’t see that because even though they still have a ton of Center and defensive prospects (Faber was one of a handful of right side D prospects in LA) I can’t see them add another forward without making a trade to move someone away but I could see them use their deep prospect pool to try and get a top 4 D as they could use a older left side defensemen then any on their team right now, while for Minnesota they are not close to being done yet and now with the great amount of D Prospects in Addison, Lambos, Hunt and now Faber I would wonder if the Wild consider moving Dumba as he is entering the final year of his deal and they could get quite a return for him and it would give Minnesota more cap flexibility but either way I would say that at the moment LA is the winner but if Faber and the Pick turn into good NHL players then the winner could be the Wild at the end of it.
And as Fiala was number 1 on my trade board I will be making a updated trade bait board with more players either over the weekend or early next week as I now have to find a new number one for the board.
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