NHL Rink Wrap: Hockey world mourns Guy Lafleur; Big nights from Fiala, Kane

During the Friday NHL action, Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov, and the Wild team overall set some significant records.

For just about every level of NHL fan, Friday presented just another example of Kirill Kaprizov being a clear superstar.

It’s probably worth noticing that Kevin Fiala hovers somewhere between star and superstar, too.

Kevin Fiala over his last 164 games played (two full seasons' worth):

69 goals, 86 assists, 155 points.

Divide that by two, and that's a 35-goal, 78-point pace.

We love to see it. #mnwild

— Tony of the USS 10KRinks.com (@OhHiTony) April 23, 2022

Here and there, we’ve heard rumors about the Wild possibly needing to trade Fiala. Part of that could be a numbers game: the cap-strapped Wild will get hit with the Ryan Suter/Zach Parise buyouts as pending RFA Fiala readies for a raise.

If at all possible, the Wild should make other omissions (painful or not) to keep Fiala instead.

It may not be the feel-good story of the 2021-22 season, but credit’s where credit’s due. Evander Kane has been very productive with the Edmonton Oilers. He helped the Oilers clinch an NHL playoff berth on Friday.

If you only could pick one top NHL star from Friday, it would be a real debate between Kane, McDavid, Kaprizov, and Fiala. In the case of Evander Kane, he generated a hat trick and an assist. McDavid was close behind, producing three assists.

While Fiala generated five points, Kane faced tougher competition in the Avalanche. So it may come down to what you weigh more or less. Through 38 games, Evander Kane’s generated 32 points (17G, 15A).

When it comes to the next Evander Kane contract, I’d advise the Oilers and/or other suitors to note that he’s ridden shotgun very often alongside Connor McDavid. We’ve seen the