Each Team Switzerland and the Los Angeles Kings suffered a brutal blow on Friday, as star forward Kevin Fiala needed to be stretchered off the ice in a 2026 Winter Olympics preliminary game against Team Canada.
The incident happened late within the third period; Fiala got tied up with Canadian forward Tom Wilson just contained in the blue line. Wilson inadvertently fell onto Fiala’s lower half, causing the veteran winger a major amount of pain. He was down on the ice for several minutes before being taken off.
Fiala has already been ruled out for the remainder of the Olympics, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman provided a devastating update on Saturday morning.
“One update from last night: Kevin Fiala is having surgery this morning in Italy,” the hockey insider reported. “No clarity yet on exact injury, but, unfortunately, it’ll be season-ending. All the most effective to him in his recovery.”
Fiala is one in every of Switzerland’s best forwards, and it’s an awful blow for a rustic hoping to make a medal run in Milan. The Swiss ended up losing the sport 5-1 to Canada, and can play Czechia of their final Group A contest on Sunday.
“It’s the Olympic Games and I feel terrible that he may not give you the chance to maintain playing,” Wilson said after the sport. “Just sending his family and him my best. You never need to see a man go down, in a tournament like this, especially.”
It’s even worse for the Kings, who’ve legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations after acquiring superstar Artemi Panarin from the Recent York Rangers before the Olympic roster freeze.
Worst-case scenario for Kevin Fiala, Kings
After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the primary round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for 4 consecutive years, the Kings wish to recover from the hump in 2025-26. That is going to get exponentially harder without Fiala, who’s second in team scoring with 18 goals and 40 points in 56 games.
It’s worst-case scenario for a team that has struggled mightily to attain this 12 months, and can have much more trouble putting the puck behind the online without Fiala. The Kings are currently scoring just 2.54 goals per game, which is thirtieth within the National Hockey League.
LA entered the Olympic break just outside of a wildcard slot within the Western Conference, and purchased Panarin to bolster the offense. The team is currently 23-19-14 and fifth place within the Atlantic Division, three points out of a postseason berth.
They’ve 26 games left within the regular-season, and are looking like a real playoff bubble team as things currently stand.
The hope is that Fiala can have no complications in his recovery, and be fully healthy for the beginning of the 2026-27 season. Either way, it’s a fully terrible blow, for the player, the country and the NHL franchise.
Switzerland finishes their group stage against Czechia on Sunday morning before the knockout round commences early next week. The Swiss will now have Fiala of their hearts and minds as they appear to make a medal run in Milan.