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A day after a bombshell report by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes regarding star forward Matvei Michkov, the Philadelphia Flyers spent Wednesday refuting it. While they didn’t attempt to paint a rosy picture regarding the team’s 5-10-5 start, Weekes’ report sent shockwaves through the organization and it’s fan base, forcing the team into damage control.
Weekes quoted “league sources” — which sometimes means someone for a different organization speaking on condition of anonymity — who stated with the Flyers’ “unimpressive start and internal turmoil” that Matvei Michkov would be a “prime trading candidate going forward.”
ESPN reporter Emily Kaplan followed up Weekes’ report. She stated that Michkov hadn’t formally requested a trade and that the report was “news to the Flyers’ front office.”
Flyers sources also informed Hockey Hot Stove’s Bill Meltzer yesterday: “Not sure where Kevin got that. Not from us.”
Philadelphia’s rough opening 20 games of the season has ratcheted up the pressure on the team, just six months removed from a second round playoff appearance. Reports like Weekes’ are unquestionably an inflection point for the player and the team.
Therefore the big question on everyone’s mind: does Michkov truly want out of Philadelphia? The Russian forward gave somewhat of a non-committal response to reporters in Edmonton after pregame practice.
“I don’t read all the news,” Michkov said. “I need concentration on tonight’s game. That’s all.”
When asked by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel if he was happy in Philadelphia, he answered “of course.”
Briere & Tocchet on Michkov
There’s little question that an already difficult campaign was going to get worse if key figures didn’t address the situation. General manager Daniel Briere travelled to Edmonton to talk with Michkov and his agent Paul Theofanus about the report.
“There’s nothing to talk about, because it’s not true,” Flyers head coach Tocchet said after morning practice “There’s nothing to report. You can’t comment on someone blogging something that’s not true.”
According to Briere via a Zoom call press conference, both Michkov and Theofanus stated the report didn’t come from them.
“That’s the disappointing part, that the report was not correct,” Briere said. “Matvei said it wasn’t from him. He never said anything about that. He doesn’t know where it came from, who it’s from. His agent swears it wasn’t from him, either.”
Briere was asked whether the report might affect contract negotiations with Michkov, a restricted free agent this summer. He declined to discuss the status of those negotiations, but made it clear he was unhappy with the report, specifically with Weekes’ characterization of the team’s “inner turmoil.”
“It’s real easy to make up what you want,” Breire said. “It’s unfortunate but this is the stuff we have to deal with nowadays.”
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“Nobody is happy with the way the season has gone,” Briere continued. “I don’t know if that’s the turmoil they’re talking about. Nobody is happy with what’s going on with only five wins in the first 20 games. That’s the competitive nature of the players, especially after last year. They came in this year expecting to be better.”
Briere believes Michkov’s competitiveness despite the situation is a good sign.
“When you don’t win, there’s lots of meetings, lots of discussions. That kind of turmoil? Absolutely. That’s one of Michkov’s strengths, his competitiveness. He said it publicly, he’s not happy with the fact the team isn’t winning enough. These guys stuck together last year and they want to get back to winning ways.”
All Sides Downplay Michkov-Seeler Disagreement
Michkov and defenseman Nick Seeler’s verbal disagreement during the second period of Monday’s game in Vancouver was magnified in light of the report.
Both Michkov and Seeler were quick to tamp down speculation on that front.
“This is an emotional game,” Michkov said to reporters in Edmonton on Wednesday. “Everybody wants to win. ‘Seels’ is an emotional guy, me, too. All guys are hungry for wins on the bench, too. For me, this is good. When all guys get emotional, everybody wants to win. Before the game, we sit together at dinner and it’s all good.”
“That happens when teams are playing well, too,” Seeler said. “He’s a competitive guy and plays with a lot of passion. We had no issue with it. It’s good to show that you care. He’s a guy who’s obviously having a good year.
“He cares and it really wasn’t a big deal. Then the media got ahold of it. We spoke after the period and (hought it was over with. Then, all of a sudden after the game, where there was this big deal when it really wasn’t. That’s kind of the day and age we live in.”
Briere actually sees those kind of disagreements as constructive.
“It’s like brothers and sisters fighting,” Briere said. “It happens. They’re competitive guys. When you’re not winning, there are some rifts here and there. I’ve been through it in my career many, many times. It’s part of the passion. They’re going to fight here and there. It’s (losing games) is a drag. They don’t accept it easily.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m actually glad they don’t accept it. If they were good with what’s happening, I would be more worried. I think this is a good thing.”
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So while it certainly isn’t surprising to hear most of the principals go into damage control mode, it certainly puts the Flyers in an uncomfortable situation. Until Michkov is secured to a contract, there will be continual speculation, no matter how much the team attempts to tamp it down.
Additionally, when it comes to Michkov’s response, there has to be context especially since he started giving interviews in English this season. However, it remains to be seen where the relationship between Michkov and Tocchet will go. Stylistically, Michkov wants to be in attack mode carrying the puck, which runs counter to Tocchet’s system which involves more dump and chase. Is that a marriage that will work over the long term?
There’s also been plenty of discussion about Michkov’s ice time deployment. He doesn’t play on the penalty killing unit, which will cap the amount of time he gets on the ice. But Michkov has stated he wants to be on the ice more. That certainly means in crunch time situations like the third period. While he still needs to earn some trust when helped the Flyers protect a lead, it stands to reason those opportunities need to be extended to him more.
Briere has publicly stated that he wants Michkov in Philadelphia “for a long time.” At the moment, It remains to be seen if his leading scorer feels quite the same way.
In the end, the idea of losing Michkov would be cataclysmic in terms of franchise optics. So while Briere might’ve been able to cool off “change of scenery” speculation today, it’s unlikely they’re out of the woods on this for a while.
Michkov Video
Seeler Video
Tocchet Video
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