Note: This was originally published on May 19.
The Philadelphia Flyers officially ushered in a New Era Orange at last year’s draft. General Manager Danny Briere took a big swing by selecting Matvei Michkov with the seventh overall pick. Michkov was touted by most as the second-most talented player in the draft, but his KHL contract would keep him in Russia through the 2025-26 season.
However, there has been speculation this spring that Michkov could join the Flyers sooner than that. That ramped up on Sunday morning with a Russian outlet reporting that Michkov will soon continue his career in Philadelphia.
Briere put his stamp on the rebuild with the Michkov selection, and it also put a bit of a timeline on the Flyers’ rebuild. The organization’s top prospect wasn’t going to be available until 2026, giving the Flyers three years to restock the cupboard, get the culture right, and put the organization back on the map. The arrival of Michkov would ideally be the culmination point in the rebuild with the Flyers going from pretender to contender. However, what if Michkov can come over early? Is the timeline built around Michkov’s arrival or should the timeline still be to compete in or around the 2026-27 season?
Well, this past season’s success — yes, 82 meaningful games of hockey in the first year of a true rebuild is a success — combined with Michkov’s potential arrival this summer raises a few questions. The Flyers certainly have a solid locker room to bring Michkov into, but how would adding the Mad Russian impact the offseason and beyond?
Adding Michkov to the current Flyers roster would very likely put Philadelphia right back on the playoff bubble for the 2024-25 NHL season. They wouldn’t necessarily be expected to make the playoffs — although some fans may think that — but it also wouldn’t really be possible for the Flyers to tank. They’d be right back in the same limbo that they were in for years but this time they’d have hope and a clear path to success — whether Michkov is here or not, really.
So, what if Michkov is able to join the Flyers for next season? Well, there could be quite a few changes to the plan this offseason.
Let’s start by looking at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The Flyers currently own the 12th pick as well as the Florida Panthers’ first-round selection, which could very well be pick 32 given how the Cats are playing. Sure, adding one player shouldn’t change the draft strategy all that much, even if that player is potentially a generational talent, but the Flyers could look to take another big swing to get a top-tier prospect who will be ready to play with Michkov this year or next.
There may not be many NHL-ready forwards in this year’s draft after Macklin Celebrini, but even trading up to get someone like a Cayden Lindstrom or Berkley Catton, or settling for a Konsta Helenius or Tij Iginla at 12 would give the Flyers a much-needed center with a first-line ceiling to go along with their top-tier winger. Hell, Michkov could end up turning into a center at the NHL level, but penciling him in at wing seems safest as of now.
Lindstrom and Catton are expected to go within the top five (or so) picks in this year’s draft. Luckily, this Flyers front office already has experience dealing with the team’s holding the third (Anaheim Ducks) and fourth (Columbus Blue Jackets) selections. It’s also possible that a team like Utah (sixth) would be willing to trade down given its timeline. A trade into the top picks certainly is rare but it’s not unprecedented.
The potential arrival of Michkov would also have an impact on the Flyers’ in-house options and trade talks over the summer. There are already quite a few wingers with top-six potential on this roster — Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink — but not nearly as many centers. Sean Couturier may be able to play at a second-line level given the right linemates and Morgan Frost’s ceiling may be the same. Scott Laughton, Noah Cates, and Ryan Poehling then fill out the bottom six centers with one of them sliding to the wing.
Outside of Konecny and Tippett, depending how you feel about them that is, the Flyers really have a bunch of mid-tier pieces. Could Farabee, Foerster, or Brink turn into a solid contributor in the top-six? Sure. They’ve shown some promise, especially the latter two. In an ideal world, though, the Flyers would be able to turn a few of those pieces (and perhaps a prospect or draft pick) for a center with top-six potential.
Unfortunately, that’s a lot easier said than done, but Briere has already shown a knack for working out trades that benefit the Flyers. He turned Ivan Provorov into multiple first-round picks (including Oliver Bonk) last year and maneuvered the Cutter Gauthier situation with finesse to get another former top selection as well as a second-round pick. Hell, he even got one of those first-round picks at the deadline for Sean Walker, which is impressive given the level of players traded for top selections earlier this season.
Another downside is the available free-agent class this offseason. It’s … not great.
A few late-20s wingers are atop the list with Sam Reinhart and Jake Guentzel both set to hit the open market on July 1st. Elias Lindholm is the best center available, which says a lot, and the former Flame may be finding a home in Vancouver with a strong playoff run. After that, it’s guys like Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Matt Duchene. Those players don’t exactly fit the Flyers’ timeline nor would Philadelphia necessarily be a desirable destination for veterans looking to compete every year.
That’s all to say that this year’s free-agent class is significantly lacking. But that’s almost what we come to expect for the summer frenzy. Very rarely does a free-agent signing make a huge impact on a team in today’s day and age with fewer and fewer players testing the waters during their prime years — it doesn’t help that the NHL’s contract structures with RFA years keep a player on their initial team through their mid-to-late 20s.
So if the Flyers were to add a key piece this offseason — or really at any time — it’s much more likely to come via trade. But Briere could certainly add a few more “win-now” pieces so to speak if Michkov is indeed coming over. It may also ramp up some of the trade conversations that the Flyers are having heading into this summer. Briere has made it known that while the Flyers aren’t shopping many players, they certainly are listening and willing to make a hockey trade that makes sense. Having Michkov on the roster would widen the breadth of possibilities this offseason.
One of the potential downsides — if there are any — of Michkov coming over early would be that his entry-level contract runs out sooner, meaning that he’ll be due for a larger payday while the Flyers are (hopefully) in their early dynasty years — yeah, I can’t really believe that I typed that out either. If all goes well, the Flyers should be able to be a perennial contender with Michkov in tow.
All in all, Michkov joining the Philadelphia Flyers earlier than expected would undoubtedly be a good thing. There was plenty of excitement around the team and inside The Farg throughout most of the season and that would only build with Michkov on the roster. There would still be several question marks — defensive depth, goaltending, special teams, etc. — but the biggest question mark of when (or if) Michkov would come over would be answered. Getting the team’s best prospect in the building and on the NHL roster would put the Flyers back on the map in this city and across the hockey world.
