It was a short few months ago that we were talking about Philadelphia Flyers rookie forward Matvei Michkov being benched for two games. Between lackluster even strength play and an incident that happened on the bench, head coach John Tortorela felt the need to sit the 20-year-old Russian phenom.
Matvei Michkov Dec 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov (39) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
The benching worked in the interim, which resulted in Michkov compiling a point per game through his first 27 contests. But just when things were seemingly over the hill (positively), things went sideways for the rookie. After going pointless in three consecutive games, Michkov saw his time on ice dip below 13 minutes in three of four games; he played just nine against the Anaheim Ducks two games ago.
Michkov did snap his seven-game pointless streak versus the Los Angeles Kings Sunday night, tallying one goal and one assist in a 5-4 loss for the Flyers. His ice time climbed back to 16:35, presumably getting things back on the right track for the 2023 seventh overall pick.
Michkov once again catching himself in Tortorella’s crosshairs sent some alarm bells through the hockey landscape. As you can imagine, fans – and many pundits, as well – have taken umbrage with Tortorella’s usage of Michkov. And quite frankly, I can’t blame anyone who has had enough with the coach’s antics.
Tortorella preaches accountability across the board for everyone. Is there validity to Tortorella benching Michkov because of the latter’s holes in his game? Absolutely, but we would be naive to think that every player should be held to the same standard in 2024 (soon to be 2025). Whether Tortorella likes it or not, star players need to be given more leeway than the average joe. Even with the deficiencies in his game, Michkov’s near 70-point pace is extremely impressive given the Flyers’ lack of offensive insulation around him. If we’re being brutally honest, Michkov has not had a consistent top-six caliber center to play with – he’s currently playing with Morgan Frost – since arriving in North America.
All this being said and there being fair criticism to be tossed Tortorella’s way, I don’t believe there is any reason to panic. Ultimately, Tortorella is a fan of Michkov and is well aware of the player’s talent. I have gotten no sense of any internal fear of Tortorella’s antics potentially “losing” the player mentally or causing irreparable damage. Michkov is a competitor – almost to a fault. He wants to win so badly and despises to lose, so much so that it can come off badly at times. But ultimately, you want a player that you need to reel in as opposed to one that you need to drag into the fight. That is something Tortorella respects and looks fondly on; the holes in his game are being rectified now before they become part of Michkov’s development.
Flyers management is in constant communication with the player to ensure there are no turbulent feelings that can be festered over a long time. For the time being, there is no reason to panic on Michkov’s future with the club.
As far as Tortorella’s job security goes, I’ve continued to get no indication of there being any potential of his dismissal in the near future. While some of his isolated decisions can be (justifiably) criticized, his results on a macro scale with the team are evident. Given the team’s roster and overall talent, it is hard to imagine any other coach gaining a better record and point pace than what Tortorella has provided. Sitting four points back of a Wildcard position, the Flyers would likely be in a playoff position had they gotten more consistent goaltending this season. His usage of certain players can be critiqued, but Tortorella’s overall work with the Flyers has been hard to be argued as anything other than overachieving.
As it was described to me, Tortorella’s time as coach is on somewhat of a game by game basis. We likely won’t see it coming when he ultimately does move on as coach; it may just be an incident where he blows things up on himself. But for the time being, he remains the guy for the Flyers to man the bench.
Nothing on Ristolainen trade front
In the midst of the Flyers fighting to stay in the playoff picture, the trade winds have continued to blow around defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
Ristolainen has seen his elevated play draw the interest of teams going back to last season before his untimely injury several weeks ahead of the 2024 trade deadline. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks were two of the teams who had interest at the time. While I can’t speak to who any of the teams are at the moment, there have been some poking around on Ristolainen’s availability.
The continued solid play of Ristolainen has only solidified the Flyers’ asking price for the Finnish blueliner, which starts with a first-round pick or valued equivalent. Given the Flyers’ firm asking price, there may be a lowered possibility of them finding a team to meet their ask.
Speaking with two Western conference executives, both shared the belief it will be a hard sell to garner a first-round pick for Ristolainen via trade. As one pointed out to be, the Calgary Flames tried to pry a first round pick back for Chris Tanev for months last season before ultimately settling for a lesser return. Much like the Flyers did when they traded Sean Walker last winter, they may need to take back money in order to pull a first-round pick for Ristolainen.
Unlike Tanev and Walker, Ristolainen is not a pending UFA. You can look at it as a positive or negative for an acquiring team, but for the Flyers, I imagine they will leverage it and sell teams on getting him for more than one playoff run. The Flyers are also not in a position to deplete their defense corps, as the recent demotion of Emil Andrae back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms only made their defensive depth (and overall strength) much more shallow. Moving on from Ristolainen, who has become an anchor for the club’s second pair and on special teams, would risk torpedoing the entire outlook of the blueline.
If a first-round selection is in play as part of the return, the Flyers must absolutely look at it. But moving on from Ristolainen is not as easy as some make it out to be. Yes, he is on the wrong side of 30, but Ristolainen is currently not blocking any rookie and has evolved into a solid second-pair, right-shot blueliner who is a steady partner for a young, left shot defenseman – like Andrae or Egor Zamula. Even at Ristolainen’s current price tag, his current level of play has made him hard to be considered overpaid and his style of play on an already not very large Philadelphia blueline would be missed. As one person said to me, he is a player that you’ll be looking to get back the moment you move on from him.
Ristolainen, 30, has two years on his contract remaining beyond this season at a $5.1 million AAV.
