Where do the Flyers and Matvei Michkov go from here?
If you were to have handed Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones an arbitration ruling before the season that their team would’ve made it to the second round of the playoffs, would they have taken it? Given that the Flyers have been in a rebuild (of sorts) since 2023, it would be fair to assume yes.
When the Flyers were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, they received a standing ovation from the home crowd at Xfinity Mobile arena despite bowing out in a four-game sweep. So it’s fair to say that the (lion’s share of the) fanbase feels similarly, as well.
Despite the (objectively) successful season for the Flyers, a negative narrative has once again clouded over everything else: the Matvei Michkov situation.
Michkov, 21, was scratched for the fourth and final game versus the Hurricanes – two weeks following his benching in Game 5 versus the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move was obviously an unpopular one given Michkov’s pedigree being drafted seventh overall in 2023 and his undeniable raw talent.
The benching was even more frustrating when you consider the Flyers’ offensive woes during the playoffs, unable to score more than three goals in any game during the second round and ranking second last among all playoff teams in expected goals for per 60, per Money Puck.
Yet while the move to scratch Michkov was definitely questionable on the part of head coach Rick Tocchet, it was far from unwarranted given the player’s on ice play and production. Michkov, who skated the majority of the playoffs beside center Noah Cates, tallied just one assist in eight games and ranked dead last in xGF% among players who played at least five games during the playoffs.
Additionally, Michkov’s play away from the puck was noticeably behind the eight ball. His foot speed was lacking; he coughed up pucks often when stick checked; he struggled to win board battles; his defensive awareness was far from satisfactory.
When he was benched in the first round, multiple sources from other NHL teams expressed to Daily Faceoff that the Flyers were right to do so, with one saying, “he hasn’t played well – (I) get it.” In Round 2, an NHL team executive who specifies in amateur scouting reached out to DFO, suggesting the Flyers should “cut bait before he has zero value’” and that it is “only going to get worse; terrible kid.” The same executive added that the player was a no-fly zone for his club during the leadup to the 2023 Draft, citing that Michkov is uncoachable and isn’t a good teammate.
Speaking with two assistant coaches (one of which has worked with Tocchet in the past), both feel like this season’s struggles are completely on the player. One of the coaches went on to say that, “Michkov will never come into another season out of shape” because of Tocchet and that the narrative surrounding Tocchet being bad with younger players is “untrue.”
The Flyers were aware of the risks that came with taking Michkov, and it is far from an irreparable situation. As one source told DFO, Michkov’s fiery character is both one of his best and worst characteristics – it just depends if things are going well with the team. In an ideal world, Michkov’s ultra-competitive nature will make him come back next year twice as hard and his sophomore season will ultimately be just a blip on the radar.
All this to say: the exasperation the Flyers have felt with Michkov this season – going all the way back to him showing up to training camp out of shape – is not something exclusive to them. By all accounts, Michkov is not held in high regard by plenty of team personnel members across the league at this point.
That being said, the Flyers are in no hurry to run Michkov out of town. Yes, things did not go well this year, but Michkov is still a valuable piece to this rebuild and possesses a skillset that perhaps only Trevor Zegras also shares on the Flyers. Additionally, trading Michkov after a down season – though he still registered 51 points – wouldn’t be the best asset management; you do run the risk of his value torpedoing even more if the ship isn’t righted next year, however.
While the Flyers are certainly in no rush to move Michkov, it feels like he isn’t as untouchable as we once thought. Speaking with team sources earlier in the week, DFO was told that the Flyers would “listen on everyone” if it meant improving the team – which is what every good NHL team does. But given that this was said during a conversation regarding Michkov, it is at least somewhat noteworthy given that the word “untouchable” had been synonymous with him in the past.
A team source told DFO that the club’s biggest need this summer is a scoring-line centerman. Those are few and far between in terms of availability, and any available one goes for a king’s ransom – just ask the St Louis Blues for their price tag on Robert Thomas. I’m not saying this is something that has been talked about or will happen, but if Auston Matthews were to become available, would a package surrounding Michkov be enough to start a conversation with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Again, very premature and speculative, but something worth thinking about, at the very least.
This season was anything but ideal for Michkov, but the team as a whole played out an extremely successful campaign. The ideal situation for all involved would be a bounceback year for Michkov in 2026-27 and him adding to the already bright future in place for Philadelphia – but it is on the player to come back strong in the fall and shift the narrative. If not, maybe the end result of this story won’t be as poetic as we all hope it to be.
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