Kevin Fiala’s first game back with the LA Kings was easy to notice. What took more time to see was everything that led him there.
That was the thread running through the comments from inside the room after Fiala returned to the lineup last night. The game itself mattered, sure, but teammates and coaches kept circling back to the grind behind it - the setbacks, the procedures, the lonely work, the long stretch where he was trying to get back while everyone else kept moving.
Fiala’s wife, Jessica, had already pointed to that side of it in a social media post yesterday before his return. Fiala echoed the same idea after his season debut, saying the recovery was far more complicated than it looked from the outside.
“It was pretty challenging, to be honest and I think it’s more complicated than a lot of people think about this injury,” he said. “It’s been a lot of up and downs. I’m back to playing now, so I’m very happy to put it behind me and look forward.”
The timeline tells the story in broad strokes. Fiala suffered a leg fracture at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
That ended his 2025-26 season and kept him out of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then, shortly before training camp, he had a second procedure that pushed his return back even further, costing him all of camp and the start of this season.
Through 16 games, he had not appeared for Los Angeles. Then he finally did.
That’s why the return felt bigger than just another player coming off injured reserve. It was a reminder of how much work can happen out of sight, and how much of an injured player’s life is spent away from the normal rhythm of the team.
Drew Doughty understood that better than most. He’s been through his own long rehab after breaking his ankle in the preseason in Las Vegas two seasons ago, a process that kept him out until late January. He saw what Fiala went through up close and said the effort behind the scenes was impossible to miss.
“I’m just really happy for him, I saw how hard he worked to get back to playing, a lot of people don’t know about that,” he said last night ‘So I’m happy he played and looked good.”
Quinton Byfield had a different kind of perspective, but one that came from the same place. He had his own injury setback when he broke his foot in a preseason game a couple of seasons ago, which cost him an opening-night roster spot and the first few months of that year. So when Fiala was grinding through his recovery, Byfield tried to stay connected however he could.
That kind of injury stretch can be isolating. Players are still around the team, but not really on the same schedule as everyone else.
They’re in the gym at different times, doing different work, often on their own while the group is traveling. Byfield said the best thing he could do was keep checking in and make sure Fiala didn’t feel completely on an island.
“It’s really hard, you’re by yourself, you’re always in there before all the guys, so there’s not too much interaction until later on,” he said. “Just being able to communicate, trying to ask him how he is, try to be a part of it, try to help him.
It’s difficult getting through those injuries, but he’s done a real good job. As you can see, he looks great out there, so all the work that he’s put in is paying off.”
The support didn’t stop there. Mats Zuccarello, who was also injured as Fiala got closer to a return, talked about how serious the injury was and how good it was to see him back on the ice looking like himself.
Trevor Moore said he saw the “battles” Fiala had to fight through during rehab. Joel Edmundson said Fiala has “been through a lot” over the past year.
For Laviolette, the most striking part was Fiala’s approach. He said that wasn’t a surprise, given that he coached Fiala in Nashville, but it still stood out during the return process.
“When you’re talking about an injury like he has, that took him out of play for eight or nine months, there are peaks and valleys inside that return to play,” Laviolette said. “He’s always had a positive attitude with his work and he works extremely hard. He put himself in the best position to return to the lineup……I think his positive attitude has been a benefit to him and his journey back to the ice and back to playing games.”
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