Source: Kevin Fiala’s season likely over after Olympic injury

Los Angeles Kings star Kevin Fiala’s leg injury suffered in Switzerland’s loss to Canada will likely end the season, an NHL source told ESPN on Saturday.

Fiala, 29, was ruled out of the remainder of the Milan Cortina Olympic tournament after being forced off the ice with what the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said was a leg injury. The Swiss said Fiala had surgery on his leg after being hospitalized.

With just under three minutes remaining in Canada’s 5-1 win over Switzerland on Friday, Fiala backed away on a hit from forward Tom Wilson near the sideboards. Their legs tangled and they fell to the ice, with all of Wilson’s weight on Fiala’s leg. The game was stopped and Fiala was eventually propelled off the ice, face down, on a stretcher with an air blast on his left leg.

No penalty was called on the play. Swiss coach Patrick Fischer called the incident “accidental” after the match.

Wilson said the play was “just unlucky” when discussing Fiala’s injury.

“He’s a competitor, obviously. At this point, it’s the Olympics, and I feel terrible that he can’t continue to play and give his family and his best,” said Wilson, who plays for the Washington Capitals. “You never want to see a guy go down in a tournament like this, especially. It sucks for the country, for his team, and I just wish him a speedy recovery.”

Every NHL team feared losing players to injury when sending them to the Olympic tournament, which is one reason the league has debated participating in the Games over the years. Fiala’s loss is potentially devastating for the Kings, who are three points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference but added former New York Rangers star Artemi Panarin in a trade before the Olympic break. Fiala is second on the team with 40 points in 56 games and second on the team with 18 goals.

“It’s obviously sad, and it sucks for him and for us,” Kings teammate Adrian Kempe said after Sweden’s win over Slovakia on Saturday. “It’s really hard for him personally and for us as a team. You know how much he means to our team in Los Angeles. It’s just very unfortunate for him that this is happening in a tournament like this that we’ve been looking forward to playing in for so long. I feel for him.”

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.