Flyers Top Prospect Matvei Michkov Appears To Be Headed To NHL Years Ahead Of Schedule
If you ever need to cut a deal with Russians, get the Philadelphia Flyers front office on the blower, because those guys know what they're doing.
Maybe they're still scared of them from when the Red Army team toured North America and got chased off the ice by the Broad Street Bullies, but for some reason, the Flyers appear to have successfully navigated two prickly personnel situations involving Russian players in just a couple of months with news that top prospect Matvei Michkov has had his deal with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg terminated, freeing him up to come stateside.
Michkokv was the No. 7 pick in the 2023 Draft, and the Flyers being able to pick him there was widely considered to be one of the biggest steals of the draft. It stands to reason that the prospect of not having him in North America for a few years scared some teams away, but not the Flyers, who are in the midst of a rebuild.
He played most of last season on loan to Sochi HC with whom he registered 41 points (19G, 22A) in 47 games.
NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 28: Matvei Michkov is shown with Daniel Briere and Keith Jones during the first round of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, held on June 28, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
With Michkov On The Way, No GM Has Had A First Year On The Job Like Daniel Briere
This news about Michkov comes just months after the Flyers navigated another similar situation involving goaltender Ivan Fedotov, who was forced into military service when the Flyers first tried to bring him to the NHL. They were successful in bringing him to Philly at the tail end of the season.
As I said, whatever GM Daniel Briere, President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones, and the rest of the Flyers organization are doing works when it comes to dealing with Russian situations.
I mean, if they were the ones negotiating to bring Brittney Griner, not only would they not have coughed up the Merchant of Death, but we'd have gotten a couple of draft picks and the Russians would have retained some salary too.
Briere just wrapped up his first full season as Flyers GM, and the number of unusual player situations he has had to deal with is wild. In addition to the Fedotov and Michkov sagas, there was the Cutter Gauthier situation, when the highly-prized prospect was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks for D-man Jamie Drysdale after it became clear the former had no interest in being a Flyer.
Then there's the situation surrounding goaltender Carter Hart. He's one of five current and former NHLers facing sexual assault charges in London, Ontario in connection with a 2018 incident.
On top of that, Danny B's kid got booted from his college hockey team for throwing a woman's wheelchair down a staircase.
He handled all of that and — in the first year of a rebuild — the Flyers still nearly made the playoffs if it weren't for the wheels completely coming off in the spring.
What a year.
With Michkov apparently on the way, Briere and the Flyers will turn their focus toward the 2024 NHL Draft (they currently have the No. 12 pick) and then free agency which begins on July 1.