Philadelphia’s summer checklist still has a few big boxes to check, and Matvei Michkov sits near the top of the list.
After last offseason’s conditioning concerns turned into a season-long storyline - one that even led Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet to say publicly that Michkov did not arrive at training camp “in shape” - the winger is under real pressure to make this summer count. He’s heading into the final year of his entry-level contract, and the Flyers need him ready to go when camp opens.
There are signs Michkov is attacking the offseason differently. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported that “Michkov had a trainer that he is comfortable working with - and whom the Flyers know - visit him in Russia for approximately three weeks last month.” Kurz also reported that Michkov is expected back in the Philadelphia area from Russia in early August so he can keep working and build toward training camp.
None of that guarantees anything once the games start, but it does suggest Michkov is trying to avoid a repeat of last summer’s mess.
Philadelphia also has another major item hanging over its offseason: a new deal for restricted free agent Trevor Zegras. The two sides are set for an arbitration hearing next Wednesday, and Kurz reported there is “nothing imminent” on an extension.
That process may have gotten a little trickier because of the Flyers’ recent $18MM AAV offer sheet for Anaheim Ducks RFA center Leo Carlsson. Philadelphia made it clear it is willing to pay a premium for a young No. 1 center, and while Zegras is not a perfect comparison to Carlsson, the Flyers did see enough from the 2019 No. 7 overall pick at center late last season to believe he can handle that role. They’re reportedly viewing Zegras as a center heading into training camp next month, and that could have pushed his asking price higher.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan Division, Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Sergei Ivanov is not headed to North America just yet.
Ivanov, who recently signed an entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets, was initially expected to join the organization full-time next season. Instead, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports he will be loaned back to SKA St. Petersburg for one more season before making the move across the Atlantic next fall.
The 22-year-old put together a strong year with St. Petersburg in 2025-26, finishing with a .928 save percentage in 29 KHL games. The season before that, he posted a .911 save percentage in 38 games while playing behind a struggling HK Sochi team.
In Other News...
The Day Columbus Landed The Free Agent Nobody Thought Would Come
The summer of July 13, 2022 still stands as one of the most stunning days in Blue Jackets history, when Columbus landed Johnny Gaudreau in free agency and instantly changed the mood around the franchise. For a fan base used to watching bigger markets and brighter lights win those kinds of battles, the signing felt like a line had been crossed in the best possible way, with a star winger choosing Columbus and giving the organization a jolt it had been chasing for years.
Gaudreau spent two seasons in Columbus and gave the club exactly the kind of skill and playmaking it had hoped to add, producing 21 goals and 74 points in his first year before following with 60 points the next season. The memories are still tied to the excitement of his arrival and the ways he fit into the lineup, even as the story of what came afterward has left the franchise and its fans carrying a very different kind of weight. [Read more 🡒]
Jet Greaves May Be The Answer Blue Jackets Fans Need Most
Jet Greaves has already given the Blue Jackets something they have spent years chasing, a sense of stability in goal. After finishing his first full NHL season as Columbus starter, he did it with career-best numbers, including 55 games played and a 2.60 goals-against average, and the organization is now leaning into the idea that its goaltending can be built from within rather than chased on the open market.
There is still work to do before that vision becomes reality. Greaves is headed toward a new contract, Elvis Merzlikins is still in the mix for the top job, and Columbus is betting that internal development and dependable goaltending can finally help push the club into playoff position next season. For a team that has been searching for a long-term answer in net, the next few weeks could say a lot about whether Greaves is merely part of the plan or the centerpiece of it. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Need Fantilli And Mateychuk To Change Everything
As the Blue Jackets gear up for a season that feels pivotal to their playoff hopes, the focus keeps landing on a few young players who are supposed to help shift the whole outlook. Denton Mateychuk and Adam Fantilli are at the center of that conversation, with Columbus needing both of them to move from promising pieces to reliable difference-makers if the club is going to climb back into the Stanley Cup picture.
Fantillis talent has never really been in question, but the next step is turning that skill into the kind of consistent production the Blue Jackets can count on every night. Mateychuk brings a different kind of urgency, because Columbus badly needs another defenseman who can handle tough minutes and stabilize the back end, and the organization is still waiting to see whether his game can take that kind of leap. [Read more 🡒]