Flyers Mailbag: Leadership, Michkov, Bonk, and Konecny's possible extension

There may have been a month-long hiatus. But it’s high time for the triumphant return of Flyers Mailbag.

We’re still a few weeks out from the NHL offseason really kicking into high gear. In fact, there’s still NHL hockey being played, with the Stanley Cup Final rolling along. But Flyers fans are desperate for news about their club, and the questions were plentiful.

As always, Part 1 will consist of questions from Twitter, and is accessible to all readers. Part 2, which will be published later this week, will be filled with questions exclusively from Diehard members from our Discord server, who all are guaranteed to have their questions answered.

@Spfly20: Given the front office’s clear objective of “building a good culture,” do you think it’s odd that all three guys with a letter and the social leader of the team Farabee are all being discussed as guys who could get traded? What message is that sending about culture and leadership?

So there’s really two separate questions here — the “rumors” involving Sean Couturier, Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton, and then the rumblings surrounding the potential availability of Farabee.

Especially when it comes to Couturier and Konecny, I think most of the chatter is fan-driven.

Couturier’s switch to Pat Brisson as his new agent was eyebrow-raising, to be clear, but I’ve always viewed it most likely to be more of an “in case of emergency, break glass” type of long-term thinking from Couturier. Right now, I have no reason to assume that Couturier doesn’t want to make it work with John Tortorella in Philadelphia. And Couturier would have to be the one driving a trade — he has a no-movement clause. My guess is that Couturier wanted a power broker like Brisson in his corner in case the situation devolves further and he feels a trade is the only option to resolve an increasingly untenable situation. Given Couturier’s age, cap hit, and injury history, it won’t be easy to put a trade together even if he does request a trade. Brisson, in theory, could really help in that regard. But any idea that the Flyers are “trying to trade Couturier” is more fan-driven speculation and Twitter chatter than anything else, and it’s a very reductive way to view a complex situation.

As for Konecny trade talk — he’s coming up on a major career crossroads, in terms of signing what will be the biggest contract of his life. When a player approaches this kind of pivot point, there’s inevitably going to be trade speculation. That’s just the reality of the 24/7 hockey media world.

But everything I’ve heard about the situation is that Konecny wants to re-sign in Philadelphia, and the Flyers want to keep him. I’ve yet to hear from any of my sources — local and leaguewide — that the Flyers are shopping Konecny. More than anything else, I think the “rumors” are more wishful thinking on the part of online fans who think re-signing Konecny would be a foolish move for the Flyers — not grounded in actual reality.

Laughton is the only player with a letter who has truly been “made available” by the Flyers over the past six months. But it’s that leadership quality which has led the Flyers to place such a high price tag on Laughton that no club has come close to meeting it. If Laughton didn’t have the leadership stature in the Philadelphia room that he possesses, he’d be gone by now. The fact that he’s still here speaks to how highly the organization views his intangible characteristics. So if anything, it’s sending a positive message about culture and leadership, not a negative one. (Again, most of the Laughton rumors are being driven by online Flyers fans who want him traded, not actual NHL trade talks.)

Farabee, however, is a fair point. Over the past 12 months, Farabee took a much bigger leadership role in the organization, starting with his summer workouts and social gatherings, and continuing into the regular season. Numerous veteran players named Farabee to me without prompting when asked about future leaders on the team over the course of the 2023-24 season. And I do believe the Flyers are at least listening to offers on Farabee — that seems real.

Now, I don’t get the sense that the Flyers are actively shopping Farabee. That’s going too far. Again, I beseech you, do not take Twitter trade chatter at face value — it’s driven largely by media members and bloggers looking to generate clicks, and fans who desperately want the Flyers to make any trades largely because they’re frustrated with the team’s direction and bored in the summer. But the fact that the Flyers have left the door open for a potential Farabee exit in a hockey trade does imply that they don’t view his burgeoning leadership credentials as essential to the future of the club. And that’s notable.

TheRealLefthook: What’s the realistic Oliver Bonk timeline?

I would be absolutely shocked if he makes the Flyers out of training camp in September. There isn’t a clear spot for him, for starters, and I also don’t view his puck game in particular as NHL-ready. It’s the easier move to send him back to the OHL for one more season — and most likely the right move as well.

As for 2025-26, however? That strikes me as possible. He’d have to take legitimate steps forward as a puck-mover with London this season, and then have a good camp in September of 2025. But it’s possible, as long as his development continues on this upward trajectory.

If I had to guess? He plays next year in juniors, has a good showing in NHL camp in 2025 but gets sent down to the AHL to start the season, and then makes his NHL debut at some point in the middle of 2025-26.

BubonicPig: With all the draft discussion going on, will you have time to discuss whether TK should be re-signed?

We’ve broken down the “should they or should they not re-sign Konecny?” debate on the PHLY Flyers podcast numerous times over the past month, most comprehensively on May 30. So it’s not really something I’m necessarily going to rehash in a full article. My in-depth thoughts are all expressed in that show.

The short answer, however? I personally wouldn’t be comfortable taking the risk on re-signing Konecny. I worry about the length of a likely deal (will take him until he turns 36), the probable cap hit on such a deal (my guess: in the $9 millions), the Flyers’ projected timeline for contention (I don’t see them being Stanley Cup contenders until at earliest Year 3 or 4 of that deal, and I worry by then, age-related decline will have him approaching overpay territory), and my worries that given his chippy style of play and his size, he’s a candidate to age poorly.

A Konecny signing could work very well for the Flyers, too, and I detailed all of the merits of such an extension in the May 30th podcast. (Seriously, listen to it.) He’s a great player and would look even better by the numbers with more high-end talent around him. He’s also the type of player you’d love to see finish out his career in Philadelphia; in terms of playing style and on-ice mentality, he fits this city very well. But at heart, an extension is a bet that Konecny will age very well into his 30s, and that’s not one I’d personally be ready to make.

flyersh0ckeyfan: Which Flyer would you want to be stuck in an elevator with?

Fun question! I’m gonna go with Travis Sanheim. He’s got a good sense of humor but not to the point where he’d drive you up the wall, and he really knows his hockey. You could kill two or three hours with him just shooting the shit about the players and teams around the NHL.

ihaveahole: If Michkov fully reaches his potential, what would you say is his closest comparable player?

The most obvious comparable is Nikita Kucherov, though it’s also a bit lazy — they’re both high-skill small-ish Russian wingers. But Russian players do have a unique style as compared to North American-developed forwards especially — their offensive creativity manifests itself differently, because the same “defense matters/be gritty!” mantras aren’t drilled into them by coaches over there the same way they are here. So I don’t hate the Kucherov/Michkov comparison, especially in terms of expressing his sheer upside.

Yeah, Michkov could end up being that good.

ZachNotMax: keep hearing people say “MEECH-kov” while it seems to be pronounced by Russian announcers phonetically (“MITCH-kov”).

Any confirmation on correct pronunciation? The latter makes more sense to me while the former seems to be “different for the sake of foreign language.”

Fascinating question. I’ve always leaned more towards the latter pronunciation, but I’ve also noticed that Flyers GM Daniel Briere in particular goes with the heavy MEECH one. And presumably he knows the right way to say it.

Listening to KHL broadcasts, however, it seems like true Russian speakers are somewhere in the middle. They certainly don’t quite say it like we would say the name “Mitch,” which is too flat to match how they enunciate it. This isn’t Mitch-a-palooza a la Old School. But there’s not usually a heavy emphasis on the long “E, “either. It’s quick and a bit higher than “mitt,” but not especially extended, either.

It seems like “Meesh Kov” is probably closer to correct, but don’t overdo it. We’ll (hopefully) all find out what pronunciation Michkov himself prefers when he gets here.

beerandapathy: Out of Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, Ronnie Attard and Egor Zamula, who finishes the year on the Flyers roster? Who sticks around long term?

Zamula is the best bet to finish the year on the Flyers roster, given the fact that he already spent all of this season with the big club. Attard and Ginning still have some proving to do internally to get to that point. Andrae, however, is the player out of the group that has the highest potential in my estimation, and I believe the front office agrees. I’d give him the highest odds of a long-term future with the organization out of this group.

provolone22: Will Ginning and Attard be the 3rd pair going into the season? Do we expect Rasmus Ristolainen to be traded in the offseason?

I personally am not expecting Ristolainen to be traded this summer. I suspect the Flyers are open to the concept — there was a lot of smoke in that regard during the spring. But Ristolainen’s injury-plagued season complicated further what was already going to be a complicated trade negotiation process.

Some NHL teams like Ristolainen, but even his biggest fans don’t especially love him at a $5.1 million cap hit. So Briere and the Flyers were already going to have to get creative to move him; maybe retaining some salary (less than ideal given there are only three retention slots and they’re already burning one on Kevin Hayes through 2025-26) or taking back another contract in return.

Now, we’re talking about a Ristolainen who missed 51 games this season. A trade is not impossible, but it was already going to be difficult, and the teams interested enough to explore the kind of creative solutions necessary now very well might prefer to wait and see if Ristolainen’s surgery succeeds and he can prove he remains a useful defenseman before they pull the trigger. It just cuts down on the likelihood of a deal.

And if Ristolainen is still here, then it’s highly unlikely that the Flyers would start the year with a Ginning/Attard third pair. Obviously, all of Sanheim, Drysdale, Cam York, Nick Seeler and Risto would be lineup locks. Zamula would enter camp the odds-on favorite to be the No. 6, with Attard and Ginning fighting to supplant him.

Barring injuries, no, I don’t see them rolling with that third pair.

Bortz: If you could target a reclamation project that you think could be rescued from their current organization for a low cost, who would it be? (Who has a Ferrari in their garage that they just don’t take out?)

Cole Perfetti of Winnipeg is very interesting to me — he’s a talented 22-year old wing with solid early-career underlying results but sat as a healthy scratch for the bulk of the playoffs. I’d check in on him to be sure. Really like his upside, and I have since his draft year.

I’m guessing he’s moved up their organizational depth chart due to his solid work as a playoff spot starter, but Philip Broberg of Edmonton is worth a look if the Oilers are selling — he racked up a ton of points in the AHL this season and has lots of raw talent. I didn’t love him in his draft year, and I’m not sure the Flyers have space for him right now at the NHL level to develop him properly, but part of me would love to see what Brad Shaw could do with the tools of Broberg.

If you’re looking for a couple real shot-in-the-dark reclamation guys? Maybe Los Angeles’ Alex Turcotte or Utah’s Victor Söderström. Both were top draft picks in 2019, are still young-ish (23), and maybe could benefit from changes of scenery as they both appear stuck in the AHL with their stocks way down compared to five seasons ago.

kennedyman69: Which style of roster do you think is better, two first line caliber lines, a third, and a fourth line, or 3 second lines and a third line?

So basically, the question is high-end talent or superior depth.

Yeah, I’m going with the two first lines. I’m not sure a team with three 2Cs — or a club with not a single star-level winger capable of elevating a true-talent 2C to 1C results — can win a Stanley Cup. You could argue that Los Angeles has tried to do this the last two seasons, and all it’s gotten them is two quick first round exits.

And those first round exits have come at the hands of a team built the other way — the Oilers. They clearly have two first lines (McDavid’s line and Draisaitl’s group), a perfectly-fine third line, and then a traditional fourth line. They’re four wins away from a Cup with it.

Now, ideally, your depth at forward doesn’t quite fall off that much. Florida, for example, is probably closer to two first lines and a second line (which also hints at why they’re 2-0 against the Oilers right now). But the star-driven lineup strategy strikes me as the one more likely to succeed.