Will Matvei Michkov stay with the Flyers for the entire season?
It was a tumultuous week for the Philadelphia Flyers, who worked to dispel a notable report from ESPN NHL insider Kevin Weekes that winger Matvei Michkov wanted a trade.
Michkov, who has reportedly been frustrated with this ice time and treatment over the course of the last two seasons, told reporters this week that he was ‘of course’ happy with the team.
In his third year in the NHL, Michkov leads the Flyers in points with 16 and goals with 11, and he will need a new contract after this year, as he will be a restricted free agent upon the expiration of his entry-level contract.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed whether or not the Flyers and Michkov will be able to quiet the noise enough to mend the relationship at least for the remainder of this season.
Tyler Yaremchuk: You weren’t on the show yesterday, Hutts, so you didn’t have a chance to chime in on the Matvei Michkov drama. Kevin Weekes with the report that he wants a fresh start, a change of scenery. Danny Briere comes out, says ‘I’m not trading him…’ Rick Tocchet said it was false, I think he called it false blogging, or something like that. Your second percentage game question: There is a blank percent chance that Michkov stays in Philly for the whole season.
Carter Hutton: I’m going to say that it’s 80-90 percent. I don’t think they trade this guy. He’s 21 years old. He’s got 10 goals; he can produce. I think it’s just a matter of surrounding him with more of a supporting cast that’s going to work. I also think if you’re Danny Briere, and you look at what you have in your cupboards for offensive guys, you don’t just trade guys away like this and get something back, so you just need to find a way to temper this relationship and make it work. I don’t think he’s going to go and just make a trade for him, Ty, in my personal opinion.
Tyler Yaremchuk: I’m going to go lower. I’m going to say it’s 45 percent. I think it’s on the down side of being 50/50. It’s been, I think bubbling behind the scenes there for too long, and if the season continues to get ugly, I think we’re just going to get more clips of him arguing with teammates on the bench. I think we’re going to get more soundbites from Tocchet, all of this stuff.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…
