Matvei Michkov has made his point loud and clear: he wants more ice time.
The Flyers winger addressed the issue after practice on Saturday, and his comments left little doubt about how he feels about his current role. With Philadelphia set to visit the Flames in Calgary on Sunday to open the Western Canada portion of its road trip, Michkov said he wants to be out there far more often than he has been.
“I feel so comfortable on the ice,” Michkov said. “I want to play more.
This is my mentality when I play 10 minutes. I want maximum, all shifts, all ice time.
I want 60 minutes. I want lots of goals, lots of points.
First option is the team [to] win. When the team wins I’m so happy, but right now [we’re] not [in] a good situation.
We’re last in the league. This is so bad.
I want more play. I want more support.
This is so important to me. Hockey is my life.
I’m emotional sometimes and this is my mentality. I don’t know.
Yeah, and hard work.”
Michkov’s message comes after another night that put his usage back under the microscope. On Thursday against the Rangers, he finished with 15:56 of ice time, and fans were unhappy that he wasn’t used in the kind of scoring situations the Flyers needed late in the game. That frustration only grew because Philadelphia had a chance to lean on one of its most dangerous offensive players and didn’t fully do it.
The numbers behind Michkov’s recent stretch make the case for him. Over the last 10 games, he has scored eight goals and 11 points. During that same span, the Flyers have scored 29 goals overall, which means Michkov has accounted for more than a quarter of the team’s offense since the club’s nine-game losing streak to open the season.
That production has made him the team’s most reliable forward offensively, even as his role has still looked more like that of a secondary winger than a centerpiece. For a player who has been carrying so much of the scoring load, the limited minutes have become harder to ignore.
There was also another sign of frustration on Friday. Michkov appeared to re-enter his Instagram account and liked a post suggesting that he and Porter Martone were not getting nearly enough ice time. Charlie O’Connor of PHLY noted the post and pointed out that, if it was Michkov himself, it would be a clear outward sign of frustration.
Michkov had recently said he deleted Instagram because it was a distraction, so it remains possible that someone else in his camp was responsible. Still, the timing matched the tone of his comments, and the message was hard to miss.
Thursday’s game added fuel to the conversation in another way, too. Michkov extended his shifts multiple times and stayed on the ice well after his linemates, trying to create offense on his own. There were also reports of Travis Konecny showing visible frustration on the bench and banging his stick while Michkov remained out there.
For now, the situation has moved well beyond fan chatter. Michkov has now spoken for himself, and he has made it clear that he wants a bigger role, more support, and a lot more time on the ice.
What the Flyers do next is the question. Sunday in Calgary could bring a heavier workload, or the discussion could keep rolling into another week.
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