The Philadelphia Flyers have been going through it to start the 2026-27 National Hockey League (NHL) season. They lost their first nine games, then went on a three-game winning streak. The Flyers' last three games all resulted in losses, including their game against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 28.
Sure, tensions were high, but head coach Rick Tocchet said some hurtful things surrounding an important player on the team, Matvei Michkov. Tocchet was asked about whether or not he believes there are too many guys playing with an attitude. In response, he stated:
""You should never have a mean attitude. I mean sometimes, you have to be careful what your agenda is. There's times when you should change, get your buddy on the ice when he's fresh instead of trying for one more last rush and then change on the way back. You can't do that sort of stuff. I'm going to have to start taking some ice time from that. Leadership is going to have to do a little bit of that too.""
This comment was a clear attack on Michkov after he stayed on the ice in overtime against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday. It was another loss for the Flyers, after they had just recorded their first loss of their last four games. To extend this to another loss, of course there was some frustration there. However, to put the blame on Michkov is a disservice to the forward.
Michkov currently has 11 points in 15 games. He has scored nine goals and recorded two assists. His 11 points makes him the second highest on the Flyers' leaderboard. His nine goals have him at 7th overall in the NHL as a whole for goals.
Despite the Flyers' rough start to the season, Michkov has done everything in his power to generate offense for the team. However, he is one person, and he can't do everything himself in a sport where you are supposed to play as a team.
Tocchet was wrong to single out Michkov from an incident that didn't even happen in that game; it happened a game prior, yet Tocchet is still stewing on the fact that Michkov didn't get off the ice against the Blue Jackets. He continues to do all he can for the Flyers to be successful, but the rest of the team needs to pick up their slack. Tocchet should have never said anything negative about Michkov, especially to the media, regarding this incident.
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