Danny Brière spent Wednesday night in Edmonton trying to put out a fire that started with a report about Matvei Michkov wanting out, and the Flyers GM didn’t leave much room for interpretation.
“The report was not correct,” Brière said over Zoom before the Flyers were set to face the Oilers. He said he had spoken directly with Michkov and with agent Paul Theofanous, and both denied that the winger had asked for a fresh start elsewhere.
“You know, speaking to Matvei and his agent (Paul Theofanous), part of the reason why we’re in Edmonton is to, this morning, got the chance to meet up with Matvei, and Matvei said it wasn’t from him. He never said anything about that. He doesn’t know where it came from, who it was from, and we also spoke to his agent, and his agent swears that it wasn’t from him either.
“So I don’t know what else to tell you guys [about] where it came from. I mean, it’s really easy to just make up anything that you want. It’s unfortunate that this is the stuff, I guess, we have to deal with nowadays.”
The report itself came from ESPN’s Kevin Weekes on Tuesday, who said Michkov’s “preference to have a fresh start elsewhere” was tied to the Flyers’ rough start and “some internal discord,” citing “multiple league sources.” Soon after, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and other local Flyers reporters said Michkov had not asked for a trade, and the Flyers had not even known that such a possibility was on the table before Weekes’ post.
Still, the story had already taken hold by then, especially after what happened the night before in Vancouver.
The Flyers beat the Canucks 3-1, and Michkov was right in the middle of the action, creating chances and setting up the power-play goal that put Philadelphia ahead 2-0 with a pass from behind the net to Travis Konecny. But the goal celebration drew attention for the wrong reasons. Konecny barely smiled, and Michkov’s own reaction, along with the teammates around him, looked subdued.
The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast later caught Michkov in a heated exchange on the bench with veteran defenseman Nick Seeler. Noel Acciari and Noah Cates tried to calm him down, and 20-year-old rookie Porter Martone eventually stepped in to help settle things.
Postgame comments from Konecny and coach Rick Tocchet stayed focused on the team as a whole when asked about Michkov, and Tocchet’s handling of the winger has already been a talking point for some time. Within 24 hours, the fresh-start report was out.
Brière said he does not believe there is a problem between Michkov and Tocchet.
“As far as I know, I don’t think there’s a problem there,” he said, while adding that he expects Tocchet to find answers for the team’s struggles and that he does not expect the coach to be going anywhere.
As for any tension between Michkov and veterans such as Seeler, or leadership figures like Konecny, Sean Couturier and Travis Sanheim, Brière brushed it off as part of the game.
“Look, there’s always moments,” Brière said. “It’s like brothers and sisters fighting.
It happens. We saw it the other night with Nick Seeler.
They’re competitive guys. Matvei is one of the most competitive players that we’ve had here in a while, and when you’re not winning, yeah, there’s some rifts here or there.
I’ve been through it in my career many, many times. That’s part of the passion.
That’s part of what you love about your players and teammates. They’re gonna fight here and there because they want to find a way out of this.”
He said he actually likes that the players are bothered by the losing.
“I’m not worried about that,” Brière continued about Michkov and his dynamic with the rest of the team. “I’m actually glad that they don’t accept it [losing].
If they were all good with what’s happening, I’d be more worried. I’d be more worried that guys don’t have the second wind to go after it and just accept and bow down.
So I think it’s a good thing that they want to get better, they want to find solutions. Sometimes there’s gonna be riffs here and there.
So I don’t have a worry about that.”
Brière declined to discuss contract talks, saying that is his policy for all players. But he did make clear the Flyers still see Michkov as a major part of what comes next.
“There’s no doubt that we believe in him,” Brière said. “He’s part of the solution for the future.
But look, the reality is he’s one of the pieces. In hockey, more than any other sport, you don’t win with just one player.
We see it with so many teams that have had some superstar players.
“It’s not easy to win. You gotta build a full team. Matvei is a big piece of that, and we hope it stays that way for the long term.”
For the Flyers, the damage from the last 24 hours was already done.
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The Flyers are suddenly dealing with more than just the usual early-season scrutiny, because Danny Briere has now publicly weighed in on the noise surrounding Matvei Michkov and his reported desire to leave the team. Brieres comments also put a spotlight on the relationship between Michkov and Rick Tocchet, a pairing that has become part of the larger conversation around where this season is headed and how quickly the organization expects progress.
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The Islanders, meanwhile, have been floated as a possible landing spot in the kind of speculative scenario that gets attention because of fit as much as talent. Michkovs skill set would naturally invite questions about how he would mesh with New Yorks roster and coaching structure, especially if the Flyers decide his situation has become too complicated to manage. For now, it remains a possibility rather than a move, but it is the sort of storyline that can linger when a young player, a frustrated team and a division rival all enter the same conversation. [Read more 🡒]
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