On Tuesday, a full-fledged firestorm emerged for the Philadelphia Flyers, with Matvei Michkov at the center, when ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that the player would likely want a “new start” elsewhere — away from Philadelphia.
A day later — after Flyers general manager Daniel Briere and Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Daniel Hilferty flew out to Edmonton to join up with the team and deal with said firestorm — Michkov received 20:44 minutes of ice time against the Oilers. It was the second-highest total of his season, and second-most ever for Michkov under head coach Rick Tocchet.
Coincidence? Or the result of a message to Tocchet from senior management to give Michkov more minutes and satisfy him and his camp? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel asked Tocchet that question after practice Friday in Columbus.
“Well, I don’t what you mean by ‘not so many minutes.’ Like, (he’s getting) 16, 17 minutes. It’s not like he’s playing 12,” Tocchet said. “No, there’s been no message. They don’t tell me what to do.”
The topic of Michkov’s minutes has long been a focus in Flyers fan circles, given the deep level of investment in Michkov’s success. But now, it’s reasonable to guess that Michkov himself has significant issues with said usage. He — or someone in his camp — liked two Instagram posts last Thursday via Michkov’s Instagram account after a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers that were critical of Michkov’s ice time. Two days later in Calgary, Michkov acknowledged on-the-record that he’d like more minutes. And then, three days after that, the possibility of a trade desire on Michkov’s part was reported by Weekes.
Michkov’s ice time is no longer just a cause célèbre for fans. It’s a potential sticking point for Michkov personally.
But Tocchet’s contention on Friday that Michkov’s minutes haven’t actually been egregiously low is worth a look. His point — made earlier in the interview — was that the increased usage on Wednesday was more about the Flyers’ advantage in terms of power play opportunities (4 to 1), combined with the fact that in his estimation, Michkov was “going,” and was also keeping his shifts short, which allowed Tocchet to call his number more often. It wasn’t a promise that 20 minutes is now the new per-game normal for Michkov, despite the hoopla surrounding the Weekes report and subsequent fallout.
So what exactly has been going on with Michkov’s ice time this season? Has it been low enough to warrant frustration on the part of Michkov? And was Wednesday enough of a shift that it seems likely to have been a deliberate organizational strategy?
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