It didn’t take long for Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov to establish himself as one of the top young stars in the NHL. The 20-year-old led all rookies with 26 goals this past season and recorded 60 points, finishing only behind All-Star Travis Konecny for the Flyers’ lead.
But now it appears Michkov has found himself in some postseason trouble. With Philadelphia missing the playoffs, Michkov returned to Russia before traveling to Dubai for vacation. While there, he was reportedly involved in a car accident (in which he was not driving). Michkov was uninjured, but the rental car company then allegedly attempted to extort the star athlete.
“Earlier, Michkov was the victim of an incident with a car service in the UAE. The company took the hockey player a foreign passport and extorted a significant amount in dollars,” Michkov’s lawyer told Russian website MatchTV.ru. “We are in the UAE – a country that respects human dignity, impartially respects the law and provides legal protection to all people.
“Today, the court ruled in favor of our client, obliging Sokol Car Rental L.L.C to forcibly return the illegally withheld passport of our client Matvey Michkov,” he continued.
“No one has the right to withholds any personal documents. The actions of the company for car rental were not only illegal, but also unreasonable in relation to our client. This court decision serves as a reminder that the UAE legal system uncompromisingly opposes any such violations.”
Flyers general manager Danny Briere told Kevin Kurz’s of The Athletic that the team was not concerned about the situation. Briere said Michkov’s friend lost control of the vehicle, but that both are in good health and will not face legal repercussions for the incident.
