Kings’ Kevin Fiala to make season debut vs. Islanders

Good news in Tinseltown, as a top offensive weapon is set to return to the ice.

The Los Angeles Kings announced that forward Kevin Fiala is set to make his 2026-27 season debut on Thursday night, as the Kings host the New York Islanders.

Fiala has been out of action since suffering a gruesome leg injury while representing Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The injury led him to undergo surgery that knocked him out for the rest of the 2025-26 season. Fiala also missed training camp and the first month of the new campaign while recovering.

The 30-year-old will be a welcome addition to the lineup, as the Kings have struggled through the first quarter of the year. Through 16 games, Los Angeles has scored just 45 goals, which ranks 30th in the NHL. They also have a goal differential of -10, tied for 24th in the league.

Fiala has been one of the Kings’ top scoring threats since he joined the organization in 2022. After posting consecutive 70-point campaigns, he registered 60 points in 81 games during the 2024-25 season. He was on pace to reach 60 points again last year before the injury, as Fiala had notched 18 goals and 40 points in 56 games prior to the Olympic Break.

In 707 regular-season games in the NHL, Fiala has posted 229 goals and 299 assists for 528 points, with another 30 points in 49 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

Fiala is in the fifth season of the six-year contract extension, which he signed in June 2022. The deal carries an AAV of $7.875 million and includes a modified no-trade clause.

The Kings (5-9-2) have lost back-to-back games heading into Thursday, and sit seventh in the Pacific Division, nine points back of the Utah Mammoth for the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.