The '25-'26 Philadelphia Flyers thread

[zambonir]

And that's who they should trade Michkov for! (Not Ghost specifically. But an elite PP QB d-man. Easier said than done either way).

I think they might still trade Risto. He was a horse but he still got beat more than a few times and obviously should not be running a PP. Viricek has to make the team next year too (but he probably doesn't get Top 4 minutes or that role either). Bonk probably makes the team as well.

We'll see how serious they are about continuing to wait on the young Cs (or experimenting with Zegras and Barkey still). Tocc made it sound very possible that Couts will be back to more ice time and better wingers next season too. But next year could still be very much transitional.

[LegoDoom]

This is where my vision of Michkov is different. He actually can play the blueline on the PP. Yes, he doesn't have the shot for it, but he has the creativity. And he still has a decent shot.

I tend to like players with a good hockey IQ that can skate.

I am sure there are teams lined up for Michkov, which is only possible because Tocchet is an idiot.

[phillychuck]

Just to keep beating an already dead horse, from the Twitterz:

"Michkov is the first player in 20 years to finish top 3 in regular-season points on a playoff team yet average <15 mins of ice time in the regular season and <12 in the playoffs

He is the first player since Kucherov with 50+ points on a playoff team despite averaging <15 mins

He is the first player in the last 50 years to finish top 3 on his team in points and be healthy scratched in an elimination game.”

Seems fair to me...sensible treatment of a young future star player (for the Maple Leafs).

[zambonir]

Sounds good to me

How Nikita Kucherov went from scratch to star

[flyers19rw]

If the Flyers deal Michkov and then don’t make the POs next season, the FO and coaching staff will be going down the road. Briere is no dummy so he knows this. He’ll keep Michkov. If the Flyers fail to make the POs next year, it’ll be Tocchet’s tail on the hot seat.
A good coach would accept Michkov’s assets and utilize them. They’d also understand his weaknesses and find ways to work around them.

[LegoDoom]

If the Flyers deal Michkov and then don’t make the POs next season, the FO and coaching staff will be going down the road. Briere is no dummy so he knows this. He’ll keep Michkov. If the Flyers fail to make the POs next year, it’ll be Tocchet’s tail on the hot seat.

You're forgetting the part about Michkov being unhappy and Tocchet being a rational person.

[VoteForKalas]

We have no evidence that Michkov is unhappy.

Every interview I've seen shows him to be a sensible & accountable player who understands he needs to do more work on his game and is more than willing to do that.

I'm pretty critical of the Flyers handling of young talent,.especially losing Gauthier recently and, historically, letting talents like Patrick Sharp and Justin Williams go too early.

I think (and hope) that Briere understands how to communicate and relate to Michkov, will work with Tocchet and Michkov and help provide the support and structure Michkov needs to succeed.

It is never a one way street. Both the team and Michkov need to do their parts. All the other players and any player the Flyers may or want to bring in will be watching to see how Michkov does. The Flyers must not gain a reputation for managing young players badly or not giving elite talent opportunities. That would impact the rebuild and sustainability of the team in a negative way.

[zambonir]

We have no evidence that Michkov is unhappy.

What do you mean? I saw an Instagram reel from his former agent's sister's cousin that said he was! And then someone put it on a blog. But the translation may have been wrong.

[LegoDoom]

We have no evidence that Michkov is unhappy.

If Michkov isn't unhappy, then I don't think I want him on the team.

[VoteForKalas]

I'm sure he is disappointed in his usage privately (as are the Flyers in his conditoning and playoff performance), but the key is there is no public evidence from either side that indicates that so far.

That tells me both sides understand how important this relationship is and how much they both want it to work. That is healthy and positive.

Hopefully, the Flyers are making it clear what they expect of him next season and working with him to implement an offseason plan to make that happen.

[LegoDoom]

Is there any evidence about his conditioning other than what is on social media?

He has been mishandled and likely put down by his own coach. If I were him, I wouldn't play another minute in Philly.... which is why I tried to make a bet that he would be gone in a year.

[bigegypt0417]

It's just the new era of sports where the idea is all young players are made of glass.

The Flyers hold the rights to him for the foreseeable future and hopefully they are working on a better off season program for him. The Flyers need Michkov...there is no doubt about that.

This seems to be alot of energy being wasted on worrying about hurt feelings.

[bigegypt0417]

a nice little story...the fanbase really showed up.

It 'gave us chills': Flyers thank fans following exit from NHL postseason

[LegoDoom]

It's just the new era of sports where the idea is all young players are made of glass.

The Flyers hold the rights to him for the foreseeable future and hopefully they are working on a better off season program for him. The Flyers need Michkov...there is no doubt about that.

This seems to be alot of energy being wasted on worrying about hurt feelings.

How did that work out with Gauthier?

[LegoDoom]

Look, he was put on the worst line, was given the fewest minutes, and then eventually scratched.

It's not about him being fragile as he should be pissed. I'm with PC... I'd fire Tocchet today. You can make 20 playoffs in a row for all I care, but if you push out all of the talent, then you are never going to win anything.

[LegoDoom]

Lego, you are constantly comparing the opportunity that Martone received compared to Michkov - did you actually watch the games? Sure, he made a couple of mistakes as a 19yo in his first playoff action, but, damn, he made his presence noticeable in a good way throughout the 10 games. His ice time was earned. Michkov, on the other hand, looked like he didn’t belong most of the time. Not entirely unexpected from a young player.

IMO, you are wrong. Martone was given the first line and PP. He didn't earn ■■■■ outside of his draft position. Of course he is going to look better than Michkov when he is on the top line and Michkov is being given 10 minutes a night on a nothing line.

Martone is not a good defensive player and can't skate. It's why he shifts are so short. Yet, everyone is complaining about Michkov's conditioning.

Are you watching the games?

[VoteForKalas]

Is there any evidence about his conditioning other than what is on social media?

Yes, there were public comments by both Tocchet and Briere at the time on the level of fitness Michkov had coming off the offseason.

There were also reports that Michkov suffered some type of ankle injury during the offseason and was not able to work out/condition himself as much as he wanted. Michkov confirmed this last October in comments to the press, said he rolled his ankle working out which caused a setback in his training.

That makes it more reasonable that he started behind and had to play catch up the first part of the season IMO. Others may disagree with that; obviously I would hope that the Flyers have someone working with him during the offseason and helping him achieve his fitness goals, but players today usually have their own teams of people and can be resistant to their team running their programs. I'm not sure what the reality is for Michkov and the Flyers.

Bottom line, I hope both sides maintain open and honest communication and both sides understand how important this offseason is for Michkov and the team. He has a chance to come back next season in excellent shape and make it clear with his play that he deserves to be on the top line with the best talent the team has to offer and a fixture on the PP. The Flyers have a chance, if that happens, to take another impressive step forward as a team and do more damage in the playoffs.

[VoteForKalas]

I think the Flyers future has, based on this season's progress, a decent shot to be bright.

However, they do have roster management & talent issues they need to work through that, if done well, would increase our chances of sustained success.

I would try hard to trade Risto this offseason. He had a successful season, showed well for the Flyers and at the Olympics for his country, but he is 32, injury prone and struggled in the playoffs as a skater and mover of the puck. I do not think his value will be any higher than now and bringing him back next season risks another injury that would diminish any trade return. Plus we need that salary cap space and have Jiricek and maybe even Bonk who make the jump to the NHL next season.

We need to find a capable backup G. I really like Ersson, but he is just not reliable enough to resign unfortunately. He has had chances and I understand he was playing behind a struggling, building team, but he struggled again this season and the defense was definitely much improved. I could bring him back on a 1 yr bridge if we cannot find anyone else and he remains on the market. I would target backups who are blocked by the starter, but have shown, like Vladar, real unrealized promise.

They need to get a #1 center or at least a #2 that can fill that role temporarily and then slide back into the #2 hole when we can find an upgrade. We should have cap space this offseason and need to reward this team for the progress this season and shift Zegras to the wing. Dvorak would be the #2 center, Cates #3 and Coots would stick at #4 where he has excelled.

Figure out the wingers: we have a plethora of wing options and putting them in the optimal places is important along with who gets to play PP and PK.

Konecny, Tippett, Foerster, Zegras, Michkov & Martone are your top 6, but in what line formations and with which centers? That is what Tocchet and the coaches need to figure out as someone or multiple someone's are going to have to play out of position. We have 5 RW (Michkov, Konecny, Tippett, Foerster & Martone) and only 1 true LW (Zegras). Foerster has played LW quite a bit as a result, but that still leaves one other player to shift to LW.

[Philsmania]

a nice little story...the fanbase really showed up.

It 'gave us chills': Flyers thank fans following exit from NHL postseason

I don't post much on the other teams' threads but, yes, as the article notes, it is interesting how Philadelphia responded to both the Flyers and Sixers who really had identical things going on in opposite ways. Both teams were in the second round of the playoffs, down 3-0 though both teams had gotten there by upsetting a hated historical rival in the first round. Yet, the Flyers were greeted with unprecedented (in recent years) enthusiasm while the Sixers were greeted largely with apathy. Obviously, there is a different dynamic with each and that is part of it--the Flyers are up and coming and enjoyed something of a coming out party which leaves the fanbase hungry for more while the Sixers have been stuck on the same treadmill for years now and there appears to be no way to get off it which leaves the fanbase jaded. However, at the same time, it does seem that Philadelphia has a had a special love affair with the Flyers ever since the Broad Street Bullies days of the mid-'70's. The Losts, Greatests, Silents, Boomers and young Xers who experienced those teams really bonded with them in a deeply personal way and it has stuck with them ever since. In recent years, I was beginning to presume that the younger gnerations--younger Xers, Millennials, Generation Z, Gen Alphas old enough to follow sports--had simply grown up completely disaffected by the Flyers and had tuned them out. Nevertheless, one thing that jumped out at me was all the young people and young adults I saw wearing Flyers stuff in recent weeks so perhaps that same love affair was passed on to them as well and was just dormant.

[LegoDoom]

Then he should be commended for what he was able to accomplish considering his time on the ice.