The Philadelphia Flyers are weeks away from the start of the regular season. First things first, the team has to begin training camp, which will then lead into the preseason. With the team exceeding expectations this past season, the fanbase has high hopes entering the upcoming campaign.
One player who is going to be closely monitored in training camp is winger Matvei Michkov. After all, some fans were panicking that Michkov had yet to return from Russia as expected. More so, Michkov underperformed in his second season with the team. Michkov knows he needs to play better in his third year, hence why he got a head start to his offseason training program.
When training camp does begin, it seems like the Flyers have some big plans for him.
Flyers plan on lining up Matvei Michkov with Trevor Zegras in training camp
In a Flyers fan mailbag, The Athletic's Kevin Kurz revealed that Rick Tocchet and his coaching staff is "intrigued" about lining up Michkov with center Trevor Zegras in training camp.
"The coaching staff is intrigued by putting Michkov and Trevor Zegras together, and I expect that to be early in camp. That could just be on the power play, meaning one of them will have to move off of the right flank, but expect to see that in an early practice or a preseason game," writes Kurz. "I doubt that means Michkov will suddenly be playing 18 minutes per night. His defense and decision-making is still going to be a work in progress. But, if he’s prepared to do more offensively, he’s going to earn more shifts. Any suggestion otherwise is silly."
This would be quite the way for Michkov to get going before the season starts. After all, Zegras was one of the Flyers' top scorers this past season. If the two show chemistry, it could ensure the Flyers have two-thirds of a top line locked in.
The two did line up last season, albeit in a limited role. The most the two have been on the same line combination was for 30 total minutes of ice time. But if things go well this summer, the shared ice time should increase drastically.
This is a true make-or-break season for Michkov, as the team still has high hope that he can turn into the legitimate top six scoring forward like the one they saw back as a rookie.
Matvei Michkov has prime opportunity to earn contract extension with Flyers
Michkov is in the final year of his three-year entry level contract, meaning this is, feasibly, his last shot to prove he can be a pivotal part of the Flyers' plans for the future.
This offseason, general manager Danny Briere made it a priority to retain three of their top players in Zegras, goalie Dan Vladar, and defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Briere issued a challenge of sorts to Michkov to show what he's worth during this upcoming season before engaging in contract talks. It made sense, as they want to see if this sophomore season was an anomaly.
This past season saw Michkov have his conditioning questioned by Tocchet, to a 22-point post-Olympic break surge that helped the Flyers make it back to the playoffs, to being healthy scratched during said postseason. The upside is there, scoring-wise, but they need more consistency from him.
If this upcoming season doesn't go to plan, that doesn't mean that Michkov immediately hits free agency. He is a restricted free agent, so the Flyers could opt to trade him to a team that believes they can get more out of him. In that case, the Flyers can add to their stockpile of draft assets, or potentially bring in another player.
The pressure is on for Michkov, and it appears the Flyers coaching staff trusts him enough to really take that next leap forward in his career.
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