Both 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 in the third period; Fiala got tied up with Canadian forward Tom Wilson just inside the blue line. Wilson inadvertently fell onto Fiala's lower half, causing the veteran winger a significant amount of pain. He was down on the ice for several minutes before being taken off.
Fiala has already been ruled out for the rest 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 will be season-ending. All the best to him in his recovery.”
Fiala is one of Switzerland's best forwards, and it's an awful blow for a country hoping to make a medal run in Milan. The Swiss ended up losing 5-1 to Canada, and will play Czechia in their final Group A contest on Sunday.
“It’s the Olympic Games and I feel terrible that he may not be able to keep playing,” Wilson said after the game. “Just sending his family and him my best. You never want to see a guy go down, in a tournament like this, especially.”
It's even worse for the Kings, who have legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations after acquiring superstar forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers before the Olympic roster freeze.
Worst-case scenario for Kevin Fiala, Kings
After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for four consecutive years, the Kings are looking to get over the hump in 2025-26. That's going to get exponentially harder without Fiala, who is 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 score this year, and will have even more trouble putting the puck in the back of the net without Fiala. The Kings are currently scoring just 2.54 goals per game, which is 30th in the National Hockey League.
LA entered the Olympic break just outside of a wildcard slot in the Western Conference, and acquired Panarin to bolster the offense. The team is currently 23-19-14 and fifth place in the Atlantic Division, three points out of a postseason berth.
They have 26 games left in the regular-season, and are looking like a true playoff bubble team as things currently stand.
The hope is that Fiala will have no complications in his recovery, and be fully healthy for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. It's an absolutely terrible blow, for the player, the country and the NHL franchise.
Switzerland finishes their group stage against Czechia on Sunday before the knockout round commences early next week. The Swiss will now have Fiala in their hearts as they look to make a medal run in Milan.
