The Philadelphia Flyers have thrown cold water on the rumblings that winger Matvei Michkov may want to be traded.
Michkov’s name was in the news when ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported Tuesday that the 21-year-old Russian would prefer “to have a fresh start elsewhere” after Philadelphia’s rough start to the season and some “internal discord.” However, top Flyers brass disputed the accuracy of that reporting, saying they are completely unaware of any potential trade request and have no plans to move Michkov.
“This is all news to me,” general manager Daniel Briere told Sportsnet’s Frank Seravalli. “No, that’s not the plan at all. We’ve never discussed that.”
“There’s nothing to talk about because it’s not true,” head coach Rick Tocchet told The Athletic’s Janson Duench. “You can’t comment on somebody blogging something that’s not true.”
The Flyers are dead last in the Eastern Conference with their .375 points percentage after a 5-10-5 start to the season. Michkov leads the club with 10 goals and is tied with Trevor Zegras for the team lead in overall scoring at 14 points.
Michkov himself was asked to comment on the rumors ahead of Philadelphia’s game against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.
“You know, I no read all news,” Michkov told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. “I no talk interview. I need concentration just on tonight’s game. That’s all.”
All of the speculation on Tuesday came after Michkov had a heated argument with teammate Nick Seeler on Philadelphia’s bench during their 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday. During the televised, now-viral spat, the two appeared to disagree about Michkov’s choice not to pass Seeler the puck during a spell of offensive zone possession.
Matvei Michkov and Nick Seeler get into heated argument
“This is emotional game,” Michkov said of the incident on Wednesday. “Everybody want win. Seels emotional guy. Me too. All guys hungry for wins on the bench, too. For me, this is good. When all guys emotional, this is good. Before this game we sit together (at) dinner and eat. This is all good.”
Michkov’s opinion that the argument wasn’t a big deal was shared by Briere, who actually celebrated his players showing some emotion.
“I actually like the fact that our guys are fiery and they want to win,” Briere said. “That’s what I saw [in Vancouver]. It’s showing competitive players. That’s what we’re looking for, that’s what we want. The reality is, the team hasn’t performed great this year, and players expect more out of themselves.
“If we had a culture where guys are yelling at each other and no one is responding, a culture that guys don’t care about winning, then we’d be in trouble. But when you show a culture that guys want to better themselves, and they’re not happy where they are, I expect that.”
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. He became eligible to sign a contract extension last July.
