One of the quickest ways to inject skill into an NHL lineup is to target another team's disgruntled young players via trade. In that vein, it's going to be a tremendously long offseason for the Philadelphia Flyers, who are going to have to deal with speculation surrounding Matvei Michkov until the regular season opens in October.
Philadelphia head coach Rick Tocchet is arguably the most frank coach in the NHL. He generally doesn't dance around questions, and he understands that a not insignificant part of his job is handling the public perception of his moves. So when given the chance recently to talk openly about his relationship with Michkov, Tocchet did what he does and answered candidly.
Speaking on PHLY’sThe Anthony Gargano Show, the head coach said, "I just think the expectations were put on him. I know the Flyers fans, everyone wants him to be a star, and he’s not there yet. And it’s okay. He’s a spoke in the wheel. He’s part of the young group... I think it’s important for him to be in that group. We shouldn’t put him on a pedestal." (h/t to Thomas Williams at broadstreethockey.com for the transcription)
Tocchet continued, acknowledging again that Michkov wasn't physically ready to hit the ground running when the 2025-26 season started, and he had a hard time bouncing back from those early struggles. That all culminated in the forward getting scratched multiple times during the playoffs, and reports indicated that there wasn't much pushback in the room to get him back in the lineup.
Would Michkov be a better fit for the Lightning and Jon Cooper?
From the outside looking in, it's always appeared that there has been a bit of an on-ice cultural disconnect between Michkov and the Flyers. It's also tough to imagine Lightning head coach Jon Cooper being alright with one of his players showing up to camp out of shape and unprepared to start the regular season. Odds are good that if the 21-year-old had been in Tampa this past season, things would have unfolded similarly for him.
The biggest difference is likely in how Cooper would have handled Michkov's situation in public. While Tocchet's modus operandi is to hold his players accountable no matter who is standing in the room with him, Cooper tends to protect his guys in the public eye. Sometimes to the point of it being detrimental. That isn't to say that one method is better than the other. It is to say that different players respond to different leadership styles.
Michkov's situation was a tough one. Yes, he showed up to camp out of shape, but some of the blame for that has to fall on the Flyers. It's on the professional sports franchise to teach a Russian kid how to be a star in the league. Getting buried in public almost certainly didn't help, and it isn't like the forward is able to launch in-depth self-defenses due to the language barrier. Tocchet having his back early on in the campaign could have made a World of difference. We'll never know for sure.
So it stands to reason that Michkov might be a better fit, culturally, for the Lightning. And, let's be real, the temperature around hockey is significantly different in Tampa than it is in Philadelphia. Both fan bases are passionate. Those passions are just expressed in different ways.
Michkov would help right the wrongs Tampa has made in chasing Panther's model
The NHL is a copycat league, but the Lightning have had enough recent success that it shouldn't be chasing the Florida Panthers around, trying to out-nasty them. When this team has been at its most successful, it has been on the back of skill and speed. The organization started to move away from that, and it still ended with them getting bounced in the first round.
Landing Michkov would provide a significant boost to the team's right side. In Philadelphia, he's been tried at left wing and with less talented linemates. Neither of those situations worked out well for the team or player. In Tampa, he'd be locked in playing behind Nikita Kucherov on the right wing of the second line, where Corey Perry finished the postseason skating. A line of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and an engaged Michkov could cause matchup nightmares for opposing coaches in playoff scenarios.
It's worth noting that Kucherov isn't getting any younger, either. The idea of trading Kucherov away seems silly, but locking in a possible succession plan in Michkov would not be.
Even if there isn't a desire from the Flyers to move on from the former seventh-overall pick, these are the kinds of players that the Lightning ought to be targeting in the coming months. Situations like this do arise during the regular season, and smart managers find ways to leverage draft picks into young, established NHL talent. Michkov fits the bill as a possible change-of-scenery trade candidate, and it seems like the Lightning could be a great fit for him, both on and off the ice.
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