Imagine being a young player in North America for the first time, not speaking the same language as any of your teammates. That was Matvei Michkov's position during his first two NHL seasons, when the Philadelphia Flyers were mostly a veteran team. Without other young players around, it's hard to form connections, and you quickly become an outsider on the roster.
It certainly doesn't help when your coach is very veteran-friendly and an old-school type, who may not appreciate your high-end skill for what it is. The chips were stacked against Michkov from the beginning, and you shouldn't be too surprised it's ended up where it is now. It's also not overly surprising that the most emotion we've seen him show with a fellow teammate this season is Porter Martone, who might be a bit more open to the Russian's playing style and personality.
Elliotte Friedman confirmed on Thursday's episode of 32 Thoughts that the Michkov-teammate rift isn't just smoke and mirrors. The insider reported that the team even scheduled a supper that was meant to clear the air and get everyone on the same page. Instead, the following game was the Michkov-Nick Seeler blowup on the bench, which led to Kevin Weekes' report about the young forward's desire for a fresh start.
The Flyers clearly know that locker room chemistry is the problem, and it doesn't seem like a steak and a couple of glasses of wine were enough for everyone to make up and become friends just yet. If the veterans aren't willing to accept the forward now after everything he has done, such as getting in better shape and learning the English language, then it may not be a repairable relationship.
Flyers are trying to mend the relationship with Michkov
Friedman told an interesting story about how Daniel Briere played with a young Nathan MacKinnon when he may not have been every veteran's favorite teammate. With the stories that come out about the Colorado Avalanche's superstar, I'm not so sure he is still everyone's favorite teammate. Still, they accept his eccentricities because he makes them better.
Briere might hope the Flyers' veterans and coaching staff realize the 21-year-old Russian is leading the team in points and has six more goals than the next-closest scorer. If Philadelphia wants to turn this around, losing Michkov won't do it. In fact, they may as well trade every veteran who has a problem with him and build around their players and staff who can tolerate Michkov instead.
While that might be a tall task to manage, the Flyers shouldn't want those crusty veterans in their locker room, anyway, whether the Michkov relationship is repairable or not. If those are the guys to teach the next wave of players like Martone, then the team is already fighting a losing battle.
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