Matvei Michkov may be the latest star player to try to force their way onto another team.
According to ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, Michkov “would likely want a new start elsewhere” due to “internal turmoil” and the Philadelphia Flyers‘ rough start to the 2026-27 NHL season. Michkov, 21, is playing his third season with the Flyers and is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the year.
“Per multiple league sources, given the Flyers’ difficult start to the season and some internal discord, I’m told that it’s the preference of star forward, their leading goal scorer, Matvei Michkov, to have a fresh start elsewhere, given those factors,” Weekes said. “Keep in mind, he is a free agent at season’s end and is a very, very much in-demand potential trade target.”
After Weekes dropped the bombshell news, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan followed up by reporting that Michkov has not yet formally requested a trade from the Flyers.
“In fact, this report was news to the Flyers front office,” Kaplan tweeted.
The 2026-27 campaign is the final year of Michkov’s entry-level contract, which he signed with the Flyers in 2024 after the team selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. After posting 63 points (26g, 37a) in his rookie season, Michkov couldn’t repeat that level of success in his sophomore campaign, recording just 51 points (20g, 31a) last year.
So far this year, Michkov has notched 14 points (10g, 4a) through 20 games, putting him on pace for 59 points at season’s end. He leads the Flyers, who have the worst points percentage (.375) in the Eastern Conference with their 5-10-5 record, in both goals and points, but he also has a team-worst minus-11 rating.
Michkov made headlines Monday night after TV cameras caught his heated exchange with teammate Nick Seeler during Philadelphia’s 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
Matvei Michkov and Nick Seeler get into heated argument
During the fiery back-and-forth, Flyers forwards Noel Acciari, Noah Cates, and Porter Martone all tried to calm Michkov down as he also slammed a water bottle on the team’s bench.
Michkov is no stranger to mid-game drama with the Flyers, as former head coach John Tortorella benched him for half a game in 2025 after the two got into a screaming match. The enigmatic winger has also clashed with his current bench boss, Rick Tocchet, who healthy-scratched him during the playoffs last spring.
The Flyers aren’t the only Metropolitan Division team potentially looking to move a young Russian forward, as the Washington Capitals recently gave Michkov’s junior hockey rival, Ivan Miroshnichenko, permission to seek a trade. The two are joined in the rumor mill by the active trade requests from Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin and Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov.
