Fiala's Femur Nightmare Continues: Kings Star Sidelined for Camp After Another Surgery

LOS ANGELES — The bad news train just pulled back into the station for Kevin Fiala.

The Kings' dynamic winger is going to miss the start of training camp after going under the knife for a follow-up surgery on the broken femur he suffered at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Yep, the same injury that already wiped out the back half of his season and L.A.'s playoff push.

Flashback to the Nightmare

Back on Feb. 13, while representing Switzerland in a preliminary round clash, Fiala collided with Canada's battering ram Tom Wilson and broke his left femur. It was ugly — the kind of play that had him stretchered off the ice and shipped to surgery in Italy. The original operation got him stabilized, but now he needs a cleanup visit to the OR.

The Kings didn't drop a recovery timeline, which is never a good look for a team staring at a season opener on Sept. 30 in Colorado. The Avs swept L.A. in the first round last spring — the Kings' fifth straight postseason exit at that stage. Now they might have to start that redemption tour without one of their most dangerous weapons.

The Numbers Don't Lie

Before the injury, Fiala was cooking: 18 goals and 22 assists in just 56 games. Since being traded from Minnesota in June 2022 and inked to a seven-year deal, he's been one of the most electrifying offensive forces in a Kings jersey. At 30 years old, he's still got plenty of juice — but he's also got to get healthy first.

The clock is ticking. Training camp's about to open, and Fiala is stuck in recovery mode. For a Kings team desperate to break its playoff curse, this is not the way you want to start the story.