🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Kevin Fiala

LAK · Age 30.0 · 🇨🇭 Switzerland · 5′10″, 204 lb · Draft 2014, 11th overall (NSH)
LAKteam
LW,RWposition
25position rank
79skater rank
79overall
37offense
42peripherals

Value over replacement, based on 82 games played.
Ideal for H2H 12-team banger category leagues, 16 roster spots.

Per 82 GP2026-27projection adj2025-2656 GPH216 GPH140 GPPrev 3232 GP · 3y
TOI18.9019.1218.1417.8418.07
PP TOI3.003.413.293.453.08
G2726202931
A3632422842
PTS6359625773
PPP2625262528
SOG230215179230239
PIM5150514954
Hits6057974165
Blocks2835353525

Sample: 56 GP · 810 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingLeft wing · league-wide (of 281)
offenseperipheralsvalue over replacement

Counts = projected deployment × projected /60 rate, per 82 GP. Rates regress off the process metric (ixG, shot-driving), not last year's finishing %. PP points = projected PP rate (anchored on the 2nd-half PP1 role, finishing regressed) × projected PP TOI.

Context-adjusted (▲/▼ vs the rate-model baseline): Hits trimmed to 60. The engine projects 72, above every season he has recorded: his per-82 hits run 63, 67, 63 and 57 across 2022-26, trending gently down at 30. Nothing in his usage supports a career-high hit total, so this pulls him back inside his own range, close to the external 54 without going all the way there. Power-play time hedged to 3.00 from a projected 3.38, since assuming his 3.41 role survives a coaching change is optimistic with Byfield taking a top-unit slot. Goals cut 8%: his 5v5 goal rate climbed from 0.57 to 1.04 per 60 across 4 years while his expected-goal rate stayed flat between 0.77 and 0.86, so the gain is finishing rather than process, and he outscored his own expected goals by 21% in a 56-game season. The quieter worry is his 5v5 playmaking, where primary assists fell from 1.21 to 0.37 per 60 and he recorded zero secondary assists at 5v5 across the whole season. His 10 secondary assists all came with the man advantage or on odd-man ice.

Metrics worth highlighting

The charts that move this projection — where he broke from his own 3-year rate, where the season split in half, and where we’re taking the number next year
Second-half surge
HITS
6022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

Hits ran at a 97 pace in the second half after 41 in the first, per 82 games.

Second-half surge
A
3622-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

Assists ran at a 42 pace in the second half after 28 in the first, per 82 games.

Below his 3-year rate
1A/60
0.3722-2323-2424-2525-26

1A/60 ran 54% below his 3-year rate last season (0.37 against 0.81).

Above his 3-year rate
iSH%
13.7722-2323-2424-2525-26

iSH% ran 54% above his 3-year rate last season (13.77 against 8.96).

Picked automatically from every chart on this card, ranked by how far each number moved. Each claim is measured off the chart drawn beside it.

Similar & complementary players

Similar makeup Forward
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
  • Nazem KadriC · Colorado Avalanche91% match
    shared: SOG, PPP, PIM, G
  • Sebastian AhoC · Carolina Hurricanes87% match
    shared: PPP, SOG, G, PIM
  • Brad MarchandLW,RW · Florida Panthers87% match
    shared: PPP, SOG, G, PIM
  • Dylan LarkinC · Detroit Red Wings85% match
    shared: SOG, PPP, G, PIM
Complementary Forward
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Kevin Fiala is weak or average, light where he’s strong
Profile shape — per-82 category values vs the league p99 for the position (same scale as the hero bars)
This player
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
the profile below
vs Similar
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
similar players hug the shape
vs Complementary
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
complements fill the gaps

Deployment

Deployment projection — next-year TOI & PP TOI vs the last two years (the role that drives every count)
Coaching
2026-27 · Peter Laviolette (LAK) new voice
Last year: Jim Hiller Q1-Q4 · fired Mar → D.J. Smith interim · end Q4 — in-season change
Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI18.9019.1218.07+6%
5v5 TOI14.4814.4814.08+3%
PP TOI3.003.413.08+11%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 16 · 0
TOI*
3-yr 18.0718.14Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 14.0814.81Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 3.083.29Q1Q2Q3Q4
*Total TOI by quarter reconstructs 5v5+PP quarterly totals plus a held-flat season PK/GP — NST has no all-strength quarterly export. Level is accurate; quarter-to-quarter movement comes from 5v5+PP.
By season — year over year
TOI
18.9022-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
14.4822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
3.0022-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

Shooting — volume & conversion

How much and how well he shoots — volume (SOG), finishing (% vs chance quality), and the individual shot-quality funnel (iCF ⊇ iSCF ⊇ iHDCF).

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
SOG/607.457.558.60-12%
G/600.891.040.77+35%
iSH%11.9413.778.96+54%
ixG/600.860.82+5%
iCF/6016.2816.62-2%
iSCF/608.298.58-3%
iHDCF/603.333.47-4%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 16 · 0
SOG/60
3-yr 8.606.33Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 8.9615.96Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 0.820.71Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 16.6214.43Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 8.585.82Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 3.473.04Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
7.5522-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
13.7722-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.8622-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
16.2822-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
8.2922-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
3.3322-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
2722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
23022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindProcess rising: 5v5 ixG/60 0.86 (83rd pct league-wide) up on the 3-yr 0.82 — the shot quality is real, so the projected goal rate leans on chances, not a hot %.
RiskShot volume down 12% (5v5 SOG/60 7.55 vs 8.60) — volume is the repeatable half, so this caps the goal ceiling.
ContextTrajectory: 5v5 ixG/60 fell from 0.93 (1st half) to 0.71 (2nd).

Assists — playmaking & on-ice offense

Primary vs secondary helpers, plus the on-ice offense and luck signals underneath them.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
on-ice SH%7.246.498.46-23%
IPP75.7982.9471.02+17%
1A/600.510.370.81-54%
2A/600.180.000.38-100%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 16 · 0
1A/60
3-yr 0.810.51Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.380.00Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.3722-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.0022-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
3622-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
6322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
RiskIPP spiked to 82.9% vs 71.0% 3-yr — point participation this far above baseline rarely holds; assist share likely gives a little back.

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI3.003.413.08+11%
PP iSH%18.6210.5420.90-50%
PP SOG/6011.8911.9513.29-10%
PP ixG/601.891.94-3%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 16 · 0
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 3.083.29Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 13.299.12Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 1.941.72Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
3.4122-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
11.9522-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
1.8922-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
2622-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
922-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
1722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. PPG and PPA are the 2 halves of the PPP above them, split by the projection's own goal/assist mix. PP-only, so the halves are exact.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindApply a positive team-offense tailwind to LA's skill players and PP. · Coaching landscape report
RiskPP role projected down: 3.4→3.0 PP TOI/gp (hedges the assumption that his 3.41 PP role holds through a coaching change with Byfield taking a top-unit slot) — the biggest PPP lever.
TailwindPP finishing ran cold (10.5% vs 20.9%) over steady PP chances — PP goals should rebound.

Physical — PIM · hits · blocks

Peripheral counting categories. Noisier and scorer-biased — read as role over the years, not pure talent.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PIMs/602.182.222.13+4%
Hits/602.692.072.96-30%
Blks/601.411.551.21+28%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 16 · 0
PIMs/60
3-yr 2.132.03Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 2.963.29Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 1.211.52Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
2.2222-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
2.0722-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
1.5522-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
5122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
6022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
2822-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindHits surging late: Q4 3.29/60 and 2nd-half 3.29 vs a 2.07 season rate (2.96 3-yr) (25th pct league-wide) — reads as a real role/confidence step, so projected UP to 2.69/60, weighting the finish over the 3-yr baseline.
ContextBlocks role-stable at 1.55/60 (18th pct league-wide) → 1.41 projected.