Quoting: Knuckl3s
You're the first Wild fan who has come out and denied it, I'll wait for some more to follow suit. That said, I still hope you're right
Not saying he doesn't still have good value, but where the heck was he during the playoffs?
I mean, it's not the first time I've done it and certainly won't be the last. But I have had to reply to these off-base rumors to other fanbases at least 5 times over the last month alone.
Whenever I do, they tend to get heavily liked by my fellow Wild fans here. That isn't to be taken as a statement of fact. Just as an acknowledgement that I certainly am not alone in my opinion or thought process on this one. Take that for what you will.
And you still haven't said where you heard it/read it, because until you do, I'll continue to remain skeptical about it.
As for the playoffs. 99% of the roster didn't show up for the playoffs, that isn't worth singling out Fiala for that. He was our most noticeable forward for the last two years in the playoffs, before this one. Against the Canucks in the 2020 play-in round and against Vegas last year. He's not always producing but he's noticeable.
He was our only real threat against Vancouver. Was our best forward on the ice against Vegas, but wasn't rewarded for his efforts. As Kaprizov was triple teamed throughout the series with Vegas.
This year, he looked like a guy who was trying to do to much, and had gone cold at the same time. It didn't help that Boldy struggled given it was his first taste of playoff hockey, which kinda meant that Fiala was alone for the most part on that line again. Then again he still managed 3 points in 6 games, all assists, two of which in spectacular fashion as they were primary assists on Kaprizov's PP goals in game 3.
Does Fiala deserve some criticism for not stepping up in this years playoffs? Absolutely. But let's not pretend there aren't some mitigating factors at play here too.