Kevin Fiala Suffers Broken Femur, Out For Remainder Of Playoffs
It’s the news many were expecting this morning on Kevin Fiala, as the young Predators forward has suffered a broken left femur and will be out for the rest of the playoffs. Fiala crashed hard into the boards while racing with Robert Bortuzzo last night, and had to be stretchered off the ice. During the game, the update was given that he was in “stable” condition, obviously indicating a very serious injury. The femur is an extremely difficult bone to break, and he underwent immediate surgery to repair it last night.
Fiala became a regular for the Predators this season, skating in 54 games and registering 16 points. The former first-round pick has a long way to go to catch up with some of his draft contemporaries—William Nylander (8th), Nikolaj Ehlers (9th) and Dylan Larkin (15th) were all selected in the same range as him (11th) in 2014—and this injury will push that development back even further. Femur injuries have a long road to getting the strength and maneuverability back that came before it, but a 20-year old athlete is a prime candidate for a quick return.
The Predators will likely move Colin Wilson up into Fiala’s spot on the second line as they did last night, but it will be interesting to see if his absence gives them trouble creating offense. The young winger had scored two goals already in the playoffs, including the game three overtime winner against the Chicago Blackhawks in round 1.
Morning Notes: Guerin, CTE, Fiala
The Buffalo Sabres at down with another big name yesterday, bringing in Penguins’ assistant GM Bill Guerin for an interview according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN. Pittsburgh is Guerin’s first job in management since his retirement in 2010, but he has a ton of experience to fall back on; the 1263 NHL games in which he scored 856 points give him a built-in respect.
Guerin was first hired to work in the Penguins’ development team, and he has still had his hands in the recruitment and development of many NCAA players such as Conor Sheary and Zach Aston-Reese. He himself went to Boston College before entering the NHL, so can relate to the journey college players go on.
- The NHL has lost its latest court battle in the war over brain injuries and CTE, reports TSN’s Rick Westhead. The last we heard the league had issued a subpoena to try and get Boston University to hand over all documents and communication related to their research—an ask that would certainly bury the study in paperwork for years. Now, as Westhead writes, a federal judge in Minneapolis has denied the subpoena agreeing that it would be a “staggering” task for the university. This hopefully will allow BU to continue their research unimpeded, which will now include the brain of recently-deceased former NFL football player Aaron Hernandez as well as more than 400 others.
- Kevin Fiala was taken to hospital last night after crashing hard into the boards and being removed by stretcher. The team provided just the update that he was stable but had suffered a leg injury. Fiala’s legs went first into the boards and it looked as though the injury was extremely serious, likely taking him out for the remainder of the playoffs. If that’s true, it’s a big blow to the Predators who had come to rely on Fiala as a part of their top-six. Colin Wilson moved up in his absence, and will likely be asked to do so again on Friday night.
Injury Notes: Stamkos, Borowiecki, Kinkaid
Steven Stamkos was again skating with teammates this morning, as he inches his way back to the lineup. While there is a good chance the Tampa Bay Lightning captain will return to the ice this season he might not be as effective right away. That’s what Zach Parise told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times a few weeks ago, speaking from experience. Parise had the same surgery on his knee in November of 2010, and though he returned later that year as well, didn’t feel right until the following Christmas.
I’d say it took probably a year and a half to get back to feeling back to normal. That’s what my therapist said, six months to heal, a year you feel better. But to get back to that level for me, I feel like it was almost the following Christmas.
So Stamkos, who may get a chance to help his team in a playoff race—the Lightning are just four points out with 17 games left to play—likely won’t be the elite offensive presence he’s proven to be over the past eight years. Fear not Lightning fans, though Parise says he didn’t feel right until Christmas, he still scored 30 goals and 69 points the year following surgery. It wasn’t all bad.
- The Ottawa Senators will be without Mark Borowiecki tonight against the Arizona Coyotes after tweaking an injury last night in Dallas. Borowiecki is leading the league in penalty minutes this year and gives the Senators a destructive physical presence on the blue line. His 288 hits easily pace the NHL, 38 more than Matt Martin despite playing in eight fewer games.
- Keith Kinkaid has injured his right knee and will be out tonight for the New Jersey Devils, meaning newcomer Ken Appleby will be the backup for Cory Schneider. Andrew Gross of The Record reports that though the Devils don’t think Kinkaid’s injury is serious, if he’s held out of the lineup for a few more games they’ll get Appleby some playing time. The 21-year old has played well at the AHL and ECHL level this season.
- The Nashville Predators will be without P.A. Parenteau and Vernon Fiddler tonight, meaning Kevin Fiala and Colton Sissons will figure back into the lineup. Parenteau practiced this morning but will be held out for precautionary reasons, while Fiddler was absent from practice.
- Tyler Bozak was absent from this morning’s Toronto Maple Leafs practice, but Mike Babcock says he’s a game-time decision. If he’s out, Eric Fehr will get into his first game since being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the deadline. The former Penguin has had a rough season including being waived just before the deadline.
Nashville Searching For Top-Six Forward, Hesitant At Asking Prices
The Nashville Predators are currently in the first wildcard spot in the Western Conference, but are by no means guaranteed a playoff position at this point. With 64 points the team can take solace in the fact that it has played only 58 games so far, fewer than most of its contemporaries. As the trade deadline approaches, what should they add to help them down the stretch run?
Well, GM David Poile joined 1025 The Game and said (via Brooks Bratten of NHL.com) ideally they’d add a top-six forward but have worries that it would cost a top-four defenseman. The team isn’t interested in that, after using Seth Jones to acquire Ryan Johansen last season. Poile did say “never say never,” but it would seem they want to stay away from dealing from their blueline this season. The GM says that much of the league is frozen right now, not sure if they should be buyers or sellers this season due to all the close races.
For the Predators, adding a top-six talent would be a huge boost to a squad that has had trouble scoring goals at times this season. While captain Mike Fisher is having an excellent season, relying on him as an offensive producer isn’t an ideal situation. As Adam Vignan of the Tennessean put it in his latest column, the team’s wingers have been “unsteady” this season. Craig Smith especially, who was coming off three straight 20-goal seasons has just nine markers in 56 games to go along with seven assists. While Victor Arvidsson has broken out, the team needs more players like him to give them some high-end skill on their top lines.
Who they could get is an issue though, as the available rentals aren’t guaranteed to perform any better than the in-house options they have. Kevin Fiala, a former 11th overall pick, scored in his first game back up with the big club and could be important down the stretch. So too could James Neal, who after a slow start has five points in his last three games and looks rejuvenated. Yes, the team still has a glut of excellent defenders at the NHL level, but Vignan notes on Twitter that they don’t have quite the pipeline that they used to.
Snapshots: Ratelle, Crouse, Fiala
While the Toronto Maple Leafs will reveal some new additions to their Legends Row tonight as part of Hockey Day In Canada, the New York Rangers have also announced that they will raise Jean Ratelle‘s #19 to the rafters next season. The Rangers great is 37th all-time in points in the NHL and spent his best years in New York, scoring 109 points in 1971-72.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and recently was honored among the NHL’s Top 100 list. It’ll be hard to watch for Boston fans, as some still likely consider him a Bruins legend as well. Ratelle played six seasons at the end of his career for the black and yellow, including five straight 25+ goal seasons from 1975-80. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach there after his retirement.
- According to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports, the Arizona Coyotes will move Lawson Crouse to injured reserve prior to their game tonight. Crouse has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. The 19-year old Crouse has stuck around all season in Arizona despite not getting that much ice time. After coming over from the Florida Panthers in the deal that saw Arizona take on Dave Bolland‘s contract, Crouse has just eight points in 49 games this season.
- McLellan also reports that Brad Richardson skated Saturday, and is getting closer to a return. Richardson broke two bones in his leg back in November, and after undergoing surgery has continued to rehab through the season. It looks like he will make it back before the end of the season, though the team would be wrong to rush him as they are already well back of the playoff race.
- The Nashville Predators have brought Kevin Fiala back up from the AHL, where he has 19 points in 22 games. After making short appearances in the NHL the past two seasons, the former 11th-overall pick will try to make an impact this time around. The Swiss-born Fiala is still just 20-years old and has all the tools to make an impact at the NHL level at some point.
Predators Notes: Fiala, Ellis, Expansion
Predators left winger Kevin Fiala got the news he was looking for at the start of the season after making the team out of training camp and even starting on the first line. It wasn’t long though before he started to drop down the depth chart and after collecting two points in ten games, he was sent back to the minors in November.
After a strong stint with their AHL affiliate (eight points in seven games), he was brought back to the NHL late last month and he is faring much better this time around. He has three goals and an assist in seven games since rejoining the team and as Adam Vingan of The Tennessean writes, Fiala believes that his time in the minors has given him the confidence that was lacking earlier on in the year.
He certainly has earned the confidence of head coach Peter Laviolette as in five of his last six games, the 20 year old first rounder (11th overall in 2014) has played more minutes than his season average, including over 15 minutes in four of those contests.
When Fiala was recalled, the Preds were dealing with several injuries up front but now only Colton Sissons and Miikka Salomaki are on IR (and Salomaki, who has been out since mid-October, could be activated in time for tonight’s game against St. Louis). Fiala has managed to stay in the lineup as those players returned and should stay in if Salomaki is indeed activated later today. It’s still too early to suggest he has earned a full-time spot but with his recent play, he should have a longer leash this time around compared to the start of the season.
[Related: Predators Depth Chart]
More from Nashville:
- Defenseman Ryan Ellis (along with Sissons) both participated in Monday’s practice and the 25 year old blueliner isn’t ruling out being ready to go against the Blues as well, writes Brooks Bratten of Nashville’s team website. Ellis was paired with Roman Josi at practice while Sissons took line rushes on the fourth line alongside Austin Watson and Calle Jarnkrok.
- The play of winger Viktor Arvidsson could be creating some challenges for GM David Poile when it comes to the expansion draft. As Vingan notes in a reader mailbag, the Predators are likely to protect eight skaters instead of the standard seven forwards and three defensemen. That would allow them to protect their top four blueliners but only four forwards. Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and James Neal would figure to have three of those spots sewn up which leaves one slot for one of Arvidsson, Jarnkrok, Colin Wilson, or Craig Smith. Vingan suggests that even if they aren’t able to protect Arvidsson, they’d look to make a trade with Las Vegas, sending them a draft pick or some form of consideration to ensure that they don’t select him in June’s draft.