Important Offseason Begins for Flyers’ Fan Favorite Michkov

There are times where it feels like a footnote on Game 4 of the second round of the playoffs. But in the swan song for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2025-26 season, it’s the player who didn’t play that got the most buzz.

Not Owen Tippett and Noah Cates, both out with injury. Not any player in the lineup and battling unthinkable injuries. A healthy scratch that has been the centerpiece of the Flyers’ rebuild since draft day in June 2023.

Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for the second time in 10 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unlike his first in Game 5 against Pittsburgh in the first round, there would be no next game to see the response.

That set off a storm of rumors and opinions as a bow was put on the 2025-26 season. What is the relationship like with Michkov? Is there trouble brewing? Would the Flyers consider moving Michkov, given his sophomore slump and the perceived relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet? It will remain the leading topic in the offseason, even if the Flyers, and Michkov himself, did their best to pour water on the firestorm that was brewing.

Lessons from a Legend

The expectations for Michkov were sky high upon his arrival in North America. Try as they may to calm those expectations, the Flyers’ front office had selected a player with such great potential in the midst of a rebuild that patience was going to be tested.

As overstated as it may be, Michkov’s sophomore season centered around one glaring issue: he came into training camp out of shape. That set the foundation for everything moving forward in the 2025-26 season.

And if it feels like that’s been said too much by Tocchet, or the admission from Michkov himself wasn’t good enough, take it from an ex-Flyer and NHL legend that had the same thing happen early in his career. He ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His name is Chris Pronger.

Pronger spoke about this topic, in relation to Michkov, in a February episode of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. As was discussed on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill on Wednesday’s show, Pronger focuses on the need to be in shape, and drew parallels to his own career.

@spittinchiclets“Playing in Russia and playing in the US in the NHL are completely different.” Chris Pronger weighs in on the Matvei Michkov situation.♬ original sound - Spittin Chiclets

“Number one, I think the buildup for this player has been, not quite [Ivan] Demidov-like, but very close. They’re looping into the fact that he’s going to be the savior,” Pronger said. “He may be. He isn’t right now. I’ve been through it myself as an 18-year-old, high pick, lots of pressure. You need to be coached. You need to be developed. You need maturity.

“The kid came in out of shape, we’ve heard him talk about it. I came in out of shape. There’s a lot of parallels. But you still have to coach the kid and you still have to teach him how to be a pro, teach him expectations.”

But Pronger also focused heavily on the challenges Michkov faces that most players don’t. His upbringing in Russia, and spending time in the KHL, requires even more of a learning curve in many ways.

“Playing in Russia and playing in the NHL are completely different. It’s not that you’re trying to take away his skill. You’re trying to acclimate him to what playing in the NHL is like,” Pronger said. “Since 2012, they have been in what’s called a rebuild for what seems like 12 years, and I think they’re frustrated and want the rebuild to be over, but they didn’t go about the rebuild properly. And now every time they say rebuild, they’re like, ‘but we have our guy.’

“I know you picked the best player available, and clearly he was the best player, but you know, okay, he came in out of shape, get him to work out. Teach him that this is how you need to prepare, this is what the NHL is about. The biggest problem with this situation is the kid’s Russian. He doesn’t speak very good English. And so there’s a disconnect between the player and it looks like on the bench him and Tocchet are always arguing. No, he’s trying to communicate, and it takes longer because there’s the disconnect in the language.”

Michkov Responds to Benching

Now to Michkov himself, who was the first to address the Game 4 benching after the season’s conclusion. Players face the media first, before the head coach or general manager get the chance to address these things further.

Michkov seemed focused, but didn’t want to get into specifics on things. Just a need to get better from the beginning. His primary goal was to be the player he was after the Olympic break. Michkov ultimately salvaged his sophomore season with 20 goals and 51 points after an especially slow start.

“After the break I think I found my game a little bit, and after that, I think everybody saw what happened,” Michkov said through translator Slava Kuznetsov. “It was a tough battle in the playoffs. Overall, the team had a pretty good season because we made the playoffs, but I think we could have done a little bit better, especially in the series against Carolina."

Michkov didn’t offer much thought to the benching itself, noting the coach and team makes those decisions, but vowed to be a better player.

"I'm a player, so my job is just to go out on the ice and do my job,” Michkov said. “If the coach decided that it's going to be better for the team, then my job is just to accept it, come to the next practice, and keep working hard. Unfortunately, not everything depends on us.

"I just need to keep working, and right now I don't know yet. After the press conference, we'll see how it goes."

“After the press conference” meant almost immediately. Michkov was back on the ice each of the first two days as the Flyers held exit interviews, first with the rest of Michkov’s teammates and again the next when Tocchet addressed the media.

"I think the whole team played well in the playoffs. I tried to help out defensively as well, and tried to follow the coach's system and instructions. It was my first playoffs, so it wasn't easy every game,” Michkov said. “Personally, I'm not happy with my performance in the playoffs because I'm the type of player who is expected to produce goals and assists, and at the end of the day, I only had one assist in eight games, and even that was kind of accidental.

"The atmosphere was unbelievable. I saw a lot of kids wearing my jersey, and that's probably the only thing I feel bad about — that I couldn't score a goal in the playoffs for them. Huge thank you to the fans. Without them, it wouldn't be possible because we play for them so they can come to the rink and enjoy the game."

You can debate Michkov’s relationship with Tocchet, the Flyers organization, and everything else for days and weeks on end. But at least Michkov said the right things toward the end of his press conference to give confidence that he wants to turn things around in his career, and that’s a start.

Tocchet Wants to Stick with the Process

Now to Tocchet, who has been in the spotlight in this situation almost equally as much. The need for so much discussion around Michkov in February stemmed from comments made by Tocchet at the Flyers Charities Carnival on Feb. 1. That prompted GM Danny Briere to hold a pregame media availability on Feb. 3, before the team’s next game, to further state that Michkov knew there was work to be done, and that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Most of that discourse died down during the playoff run, as Michkov became a primary contributor. But when the production dried up in the playoffs, and Michkov found himself out of the lineup twice, the noise grew again. Tocchet certainly did his part to try to turn down the temperature.

Why did Michkov sit out Game 4, which was ultimately the Flyers’ last game of the season?

“We just felt honestly I wanted to get more speed in the lineup and, listen, it's not like everybody was on point in their game. I'm not going to single him out. There were a couple guys that struggled, and I just at that moment, as a coaching staff, talked to other people and we just felt, hey, maybe a little fresh air in the sense.

“It’s his first playoff run. He's a second-year player, so I think if it happened to another young guy, nobody would really say anything, but it's the pressure of that. We just have to let this kid breathe because I think he's made a lot of strides.”

With so much made about the relationship between Michkov and Tocchet – the day prior, Michkov called it a “regular” and “good-working relationship” – does Tocchet believe Michkov has the drive to be the best he can be and reach his full potential as a high-skill player in the NHL?

"Oh, absolutely. I mean, the kid wants it, don't get me wrong,” Tocchet said. “But, we have to understand he's 21 years old. He wants it, and we have the tools to help him. That's a thing that this summer, and he's already got all these different plans, which is great. And we have these tools that can help him. So we’ve got to remember he's 21 years old. Is there the vision? Yes. Is there something that he needs to improve? Of course. I think there's something he can work on this summer: separation speed, shot, all that stuff he can work on. But it's not just him. Every young guy, I could carbon copy the exact same thing. You have to be able to improve on all different areas.

“But he does want to improve. I know there's a bit of a narrative with the coaches and he. He's in the meetings. He's one of the guys that grabs [assistant coach] Yogi [Svejkovsky], 'Hey Yogi, let's go watch the power play.' He's one of those self-starters where he wants it. But I think he's learning to understand certain things and how we do things around here. And like I said, he's a spoke in the wheel, and he's a big spoke for us if we can develop him."

As for Michkov getting right back on the ice, Tocchet would more than understand if Michkov took a break with the season’s end so fresh, but sees the third season for the forward being one that could really announce his presence in the league.

“I mean, jeez, I think he skated yesterday. It’s pretty cool. I’d rather not skate, I want him to take a break, but I'm not going to tell him what to do. It's almost like a vengeance tour and I love that,” Tocchet said. “I think every player should have some kind of motivation in their head to prove anybody wrong. I think that's really important."

Briere Reaffirms Michkov’s Importance to the Rebuild

Finally, there was Danny Briere. Michkov was the GM’s first pick with the Flyers, and an important one at that.

Briere had already spoken multiple times on Michkov’s development from the day he arrived in North America. Briere cautioned calling him a savior. He was adamant that Michkov wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon in February and did so again at his end-of-season availability.

"He's a great talent. Matvei, we see him being part of the picture for years to come. That hasn't changed,” Briere said. “It's not because he was scratched in that last game that it changes everything. The coaches wanted to put the best lineup to give them the chance to win in that last game, and you know, it's no secret that it had been tough. Carolina is a skating team and put a lot of pressure and there wasn't a lot of room to create. They decided they like to have a little bit more speed. It’s one game, and in the playoffs you have to go with the best team that you think can make you win. But it doesn't change anything for the future. Matvei is part of that and we hope that he's a big part of you know the future years."

Briere has always taken a patient approach and is doing the same with Michkov. At 21, Briere sees that there is rawness to his game and an adjustment process given his background. There is still plenty to learn.

“It's not a secret. He's made some mistakes along the way,” Briere said. “I've made some mistakes, and I was older than him in my career. We forget sometimes that he just turned 21. He’s already accomplished a lot. It's really impressive what he's done and had such an impact that he's had at such an early age. We don't see that very often in the NHL. So it doesn't change the future for him and being part of what we're building."

Briere also noted that there are rare exceptions where players put it all together at such a young age. Again, Briere noted the adapting to the North American game as a hurdle for Michkov. He added that finding another gear in the later part of the regular season and into the playoffs is also important for rounding out your game.

“It's finding another gear. He knows he needs to improve off the ice in his training,” Briere said. “That’s not a secret. He's admitted that himself. I think he told you guys when he came back from the Olympics. So the big thing for Matvei is adapting. I think he's a very smart young man. He will adapt and he will learn from what happened this year.

“You look at players, even really star players, not too many of them, other than [Sidney] Crosby and [Connor] McDavid and maybe now [Macklin] Celebrini, there's not too many guys where the arrow has been pointing up the whole time. You're going to go through some ups and downs. I know I did in my career, and it’s how he's going to adapt to it, how he's going to get himself back up from it. I think he's a smart man and will figure that out."

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.