Flyers’ Rick Tocchet pushes back on Matvei Michkov narrative after Rangers loss

The Philadelphia Flyers are playing their worst hockey of the season at this point in time. Philadelphia has lost five of its last six games, including its most recent contest against the New York Rangers. Now, there is some off-ice noise, as well. Speculation about the relationship between coach Rick Tocchet and youngster Matvei Michkov has reached a fever pitch.

This discussion truly took off during the Flyers’ loss to the Rangers. Broadcast cameras caught an animated discussion between Tocchet and Michkov on the bench in the second period. It appeared as if Michkov, in particular, was upset over something either in the conversation or during the game.

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After the loss to New York, Tocchet fielded questions about this incident. Suffice it to say, the Flyers bench boss was not a fan of this line of questioning. He classified the interaction as not “even being an argument,” before pointing his frustration toward the media.

“You’re trying to make something that it’s not. He’s got to learn. And he’s trying. He’s a lot better defensively. He’s a lot better playing a team game. That’s how we win hockey games. It’s not about catering to one person, I hate to tell you guys,” Tocchet said, via The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz.

Instead, Tocchet put some focus on other players on the team performing well. Specifically, he named goaltender Dan Vladar as well as defensemen Cam York and Jamie Drysdale.

“We got Vladar having a great year. Drysdale playing really good 5 on 5. Yorkie’s doing a really good job. We’ve got a lot of other players playing a good team game,” the Flyers head coach said.

Whether this will quiet any noise around his relationship with Michkov remains to be seen. In any event, this is a situation to monitor throughout the remainder of the season. The Flyers are currently taking on the Vancouver Canucks in their final game before the NHL’s upcoming holiday break.

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