Fiala eager to take the next step in his career, and do it in Minnesota

It didn't take Wild forward Kevin Fiala long to turn his focus forward from the disappointing end of the 2020-21 season to the start of the upcoming 2021-22 campaign.
About 12 hours, to be exact.
With the sting of Minnesota's Game 7 defeat in Las Vegas still fresh, Fiala went about the process of plotting his offseason in an effort to come back to the State of Hockey late this summer the best version of himself.

"I did some points already when I flew home from Vegas, I already write the points down what I want to do better next year," Fiala said earlier this month, just a few days removed from the end of the season. "I'm going to work hard, and I will be better next year."

That proclamation is a good sign for the Wild, who have seen Fiala score at least 20 goals in each of his first two full seasons with the club ... two very different, very unique and very abbreviated regular seasons.
Last year, Fiala tied his career high with 23 goals, but did so in just 64 games. This season, he tallied 20 goals in 50 games.
Fiala's 0.4 goals per game this season was actually the best of his career, and over the course of a normal, 82-game season, Fiala would have been on pace for about 33 goals.
That seems like a solid starting point when it comes to the kind of player Fiala can be. With his fifth largely NHL season now under his belt, it's sometimes easy to forget that Fiala will still just be 25 years old by the time the puck drops on next season.
He's just now starting to enter the prime years of his career. And along with presently 24-year-olds Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek, Fiala represents a big piece of the Wild's young core that could help shape the club's future for years to come.

'We see those guys being here long term. They're part of the foundation of this organization and our team," said Wild General Manager Bill Guerin. "You could see it on the ice that they're -- whether they like it or not, I know they're young players, but they're leaders on our team. And they provided us with a lot on both sides of the puck."
Guerin will be a busy man this summer, not only because of the abbreviated timeline to get all of his business done before the start of next season, but because of the size and scope of his job.
One of those duties will be finding a new contract for Fiala, who also like Kaprizov and Ek, is a restricted free agent this summer.
After a pair of seasons that - had they remained on pace in a full year - would have approached 30 goals means Fiala is likely due a sizable raise from the $3 million per he's made in each of those campaigns.
It's no different than Kaprizov and Ek.

"Each guy that needs a contract, we have that planned out," Guerin said. "We have it planned out for a couple years and what our cap will look like and who fits in where, who's going to get what, all those things, so it's just a matter of getting the process rolling with the players' agents and hopefully getting things done sooner than later."
Fiala says he'll leave the business up to Guerin and his agent, and will instead focus on making himself into the best player he can be.
"You'll watch and see. There's always improvement in every part of my game]," Fiala said. "I think to be consistent, just competitive in the defensive part, to be every single shift. But there's much more. I want to improve my shot. I want to score more goals. So, it's a lot of things."
And when it comes to where he wants that future growth to happen, Fiala said it's right here in Minnesota.
"Yeah, of course. Ever since I got traded here, I love it here," Fiala said. "I want to win here. Let's see what happens."
**Related:**
- [Evason ready for Wild to take the next step - Kaprizov's rookie season smashed Wild's tempered expectations - Eriksson Ek takes strides in contract season - In his first season with the 'C,' Spurgeon is rightfully recognized - Season wrap up: What Guerin and Evason had to say - Season wrap up: What was said around the locker room