What makes a losing streak worse for a fanbase and team? Drama surrounding certain figures on the team. That's what the Philadelphia Flyers are currently dealing with.
Before Tuesday night's game against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers picked up a crucial 4-2 victory, as the team had lost 11 of their last 13 games beforehand. But during this skid, there has been drama surrounding young star Matvei Michkov, who has notably not made the significant jump the team was hoping for after a promising rookie season. Head coach Rick Tocchet had cut Michkov's playing time, and recent reports indicated that Michkov showed up to training camp out of shape. The heat was not turning down and the talk was only getting louder.
Before Tuesday night's game, Flyers General Manager Danny Briere spoke with reporters to bring an end to the drama for good. When discussing Michkov's status with the team, Briere said bluntly that he isn't going anywhere and that he will be with the team for the foreseeable future.
Flyers GM Danny Brière talked to the media about the "noise" surrounding the team right now in particular Michkov & Tocchet. 👀 pic.twitter.com/EcJAeQPfdj
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 4, 2026
"One thing I can tell you, first of all, is Matvei Michkov is not going anywhere," Briere said. "Let's make that clear. Matvei is going to be here for a long time, he's going to be a good player here for the Flyers and what he's going through right now is all part of the learning process. So that's out of the way, he's not going anywhere. He'll be here, he'll be a good player."
Flyers fans can breathe sigh of relief after Danny Briere’s Matvei Michkov stance
Briere continued, saying that Michkov and the likes of Denver Barkey and Nikita Gerbenkin arrived in training camp learning how to be better pros, and that there is a curve for them to learn when they actually play in the games and practice. Briere says that Tocchet is trying to teach them how to take that next step to become better pros, stressing that both of them and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones have all been through this and it's part of a process.
Briere also reveals that Tocchet has told him that he wants Matvei to succeed, and touched on how fans shouldn't really look too far into his playing time.
"He wants to develop him to be the best player he can be," said Briere. "Along the way there's tough lessons that comes with that. It's like raising a child. There's tough lessons that he's learning. It doesn't matter if he's playing 12, 14, 16 or even if he was playing 52 minutes a night. He's learning along the way. It's part of the process, and it's going to make him a better player along the way. And Rick Tocchet wants that. He wants to be here for the long haul to lead this team.
That just about settles that. The Flyers have no desire to cut bait with Michkov, as they view him as a franchise cornerstone for the foreseeable future. This matches with what the Flyers have said before the start of the season. Their goal isn't "playoffs or bust." They want to see the team improve overall, and some of their young stars develop.
Even though Michkov is nowhere near at the production level he was at his rookie year, they are expressing patience with him and he's here for the long haul.