There has been plenty of drama surrounding Matview Michkov with the Philadelphia Flyers in recent years. Last year, he was upset about his playing time. This year, the slow start and more friction with the team have led to more drama. Michkov got into a heated exchange with Nick Seeler on the bench this week. This also led to Michkov requesting a trade away from the Flyers.
Now, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic is looking into the possibility of the Flyers trading away their young potential star.
“I really don’t think the Flyers want to trade Matvei Michkov, at least not right now. What they’re hoping is that the story that dominated headlines this week quiets down and the young star keeps playing as well as he has for them. But one wouldn’t be surprised to learn that between Kevin Weekes’ post on X Tuesday that started all this and despite the player’s agent telling the Flyers his client hasn’t asked for a trade, some teams reached out to Flyers GM Daniel Briere regarding Michkov. How could teams not be tempted to call the Flyers given all the noise? So, some teams did,” LeBrun wrote.
Michkov was the seventh overall pick of the Flyers in the 2023 NHL Draft. He would join the Flyers in 2024-25, after spending time in the KHL. In his first season, he played 80 games, scoring 26 goals with 37 assists. Last season, he played 81 games with 20 goals and 31 assists. Michkov leads the team in goals and points this year, scoring ten goals and adding five assists. He is slated to be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Article Continues Below“And again, I don’t think the Flyers want to trade him, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire underneath all the denials and noise. It’s definitely a situation to monitor moving forward, especially come July if he’s still unsigned and can entertain offer sheets as a restricted free agent,” LeBrun concluded. “I would imagine the Flyers would want to know where things are with their star player before exposing themselves to an offer sheet situation July 1.”
The Flyers are 5-10-6 this year, placing them seventh in the Metropolitan Division. They will be back on the ice on Saturday, visiting the Columbus Blue Jackets.