Matvei Michkov is one step closer to becoming an official member of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Days after reports surfaced that Michkov intended to leave the KHL to join the Flyers for the 2024-25 season, SKA St. Petersburg, his KHL club, officially announced the termination of Michkov’s contract Tuesday morning.
Michkov’s KHL rights still belong to SKA, meaning that if he were to one day return to the KHL, SKA would have exclusive rights to negotiate a new contract. SKA retaining his KHL rights does not affect his early arrival to the NHL in any way.
“Matvei Michkov is leaving SKA. The forward will join the Philadelphia Flyers. His KHL rights remain with our club,” SKA said in a post on X translated to English. “With SKA, Matvei won the 2022 Kharlamov Cup and became the first player born in 2004 to play for our senior team. Good luck in the NHL, Matvei!”
Michkov also released a statement explaining his decision to leave the KHL and join the Flyers, which you can read here.
With Michkov released from the KHL, he is now free to sign an entry-level contract with the Flyers. Once he puts pen to paper on his entry-level contract, he will officially be eligible to join the Flyers for on-ice activities.
Many prospects begin their professional career in the AHL before making the full-time leap to the NHL, but Michkov is essentially a lock to take on a significant role with the Flyers immediately.
The 19-year-old winger is one of the top hockey players in the world not currently in the NHL. During the 2023-24 campaign, he logged 19 goals and 41 points in 47 games while on loan with HK Sochi. He fell just two points shy of breaking the all-time scoring record for a KHL player under the age of 20, set by Kirill Kaprizov in 2017.
