It’s been made clear since Matvei Michkov first came to North America. The Flyers did not see him as their savior. They simply hoped he could be another piece of the puzzle in terms of what they were trying to develop.
The skill that Michkov possesses is evident. He has incredible vision on the ice and isn’t afraid to use his creativity in the offensive zone to make plays happen. There is no concern about what he can do in that area of the ice.
But learning the defensive side was always a key to helping Michkov learn and develop at the NHL level. There was an excitement within the organization for Michkov to learn under John Tortorella. They believed he was the perfect coach for the Russian forward.
Tortorella has a very specific way of coaching and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you can do on the ice. If you make a mistake or are not playing up to the standards of the head coach, you won’t see the ice.
We’ve seen that numerous times throughout Tortorella’s tenure. He’s sent his message to the likes of former Flyers Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee. Cam York was recently benched for his play. Sean Couturier was scratched not long after being named captain. It doesn’t matter to him what your status on the team is.
It was made abundantly clear by Tortorella that he was going to coach Michkov the way he saw fit. And it wasn’t going to be something that would happen quickly. It was going to be a long process throughout the season as the two worked together to develop his defensive game.
There have been some bumps along the way. Michkov has been benched during games from a few minutes to multiple periods. He’s been sat as a healthy scratch as well. And regardless of what the media or the fans think, Tortorella doesn’t have interest in hearing it. He’s going to keep coaching the way he wants.
"It's not always the play on the ice that l'm trying to teach. So use that as context before you start all of your bull****. There are so many things that go on, and with me trying to develop that player, and I'm going to continue to do it the way I think it should be done.”
What led to his post game rant was another decision to bench Michkov in a stretch where the Flyers are fighting for offense. He did not see the ice for the final 8:50 of the first period in the team’s most recent loss to the Devils.
Michkov was slow getting back down the ice, drifting away from the eventual goal scorer in Cody Glass and hovering at the top of the zone. He was far from the only one at fault as Owen Tippett overcommitted to one side and Nick Seeler was stuck in no man’s land.
But Michkov was the only one punished for it. Travis Konecny took his spot with Owen Tippett and Sean Couturier while Michkov sat on the bench. He would return for the final two periods, finishing with 13:50 of ice time after four shifts and 2:20 total in the first period.
"Just let me tell you guys something, OK? There are a number of things that come into play, not one specific play, OK? And you're at a disadvantage because l'm not going to give you information.”
And that’s the problem. Not the benching of Michkov itself, though that is one according to who you talk to. It’s the unwillingness to explain exactly what is going into the decision. And then getting mad or upset when the questions continue to get asked.
Don’t want to divulge what’s going on behind closed doors? That’s fine. But don’t get upset when the questions continue to get asked. You cannot admit to purposefully withholding the information and agreeing that we are at a disadvantage for not knowing what’s going on.
Without having that useful information, there is nothing to go off of as a reasoning for the this specific benching or any other that have happened. The media can only look at what’s in front of them and speculate from there. Which ends up leading to other issues.
Here’s the thing, John Tortorella does not have to play his hand. But he can’t get upset when we try to call his bluff.