Arguably the NHL’s best prospect belongs to the Philadelphia Flyers. Matvei Michkov, who had the second-best scoring season for a 19-year-old player in the history of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), was drafted by the Orange and Black with the seventh-overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
The reason why he fell so far was largely due to his contractual situation in Russia. Through the end of the 2025-26 season, he belongs to the KHL. However, there is a non-zero chance that he could join the Flyers before then. Chairman of Michkov’s SKA St. Petersburg club, Alexander Medvedev, weighed in on the matter in a recent interview.
“I think we’ll talk about all the options, first of all, with him. And we’ll also talk to Philadelphia executives, with whom we have a very good relationship. There is understanding, and [we] will be patient. I think that the decision on Michkov will be made no later than the end of June,” said Medvedev.
A decision in the Flyers’ favor would be pretty exciting. It has been decades since the Flyers have had a player of Michkov’s caliber, even including former second-overall picks like James van Riemsdyk and Nolan Patrick. Getting the offensively dominant winger in the NHL two seasons early would make Philadelphia one of the most intriguing teams in hockey.
Entertaining the idea of Michkov being a Flyer in 2024-25, how would that affect the Flyers? Would it change the way they approach this offseason? Does it completely change the outlook of the rebuild? Let’s discuss.
Flyers Shouldn’t Change the Way They Operate
On the surface, it might seem like a good idea for the Flyers to try to be as competitive as possible for Michkov in his hypothetical NHL debut next season. However, completely changing the outlook of the rebuild would be a short-sighted idea.
Despite the Flyers just barely missing the playoffs in 2023-24, their status as a team should still be quite apparent to them. Philadelphia lacks the high-end talent and stability on both defense and in net to be a true contender, even with the prospects they have in consideration.
That isn’t to say the Flyers don’t have good pieces, though. Their defense took a massive step in the right direction in their most recent campaign, largely helped by 23-year-old Cam York. There are some good young players in the system, too. Emil Andrae, Oliver Bonk, Carter Sotheran, and Hunter McDonald could all have NHL jobs in the near future. 22-year-old Jamie Drysdale might have the most potential of anyone on the defense currently, and that says a lot when York was productive on the first pair.
In the net, Sam Ersson took the reins as the starter and showed promise. Meanwhile, American Hockey League (AHL) netminder Alexei Kolosov might end up being an elite starter in the future. 18-year-old Egor Zavragin isn’t someone to disregard, either. Goaltending seems to be the Flyers’ position with the most promise.
Even offensively, despite ranking 27th in the NHL in goals, the Flyers have players to work with. Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, and Tyson Foerster are all 25 years old or younger and played top-six minutes. Bobby Brink and Denver Barkey are two youngsters who could help move the needle, too.
The main issue with the Flyers is that they don’t have a main difference-maker aside from Michkov, and that came with inconsistency. They need more fuel on offense and defense specifically, and there is a lot of work to be done to obtain that. Whether the Russian phenom is in the NHL or not, the timeline shouldn’t change.
Despite the Flyers’ strides in 2023-24, increasing their point total by 12 versus the season before, they cannot be passive in the offseason. They have two logical approaches to their rebuild: sell some aging players (Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, etc.) on the roster to acquire draft picks and gun for a top pick in the 2025 NHL draft, or acquire high-end talent through trading and put an official end to the rebuild.
If the Flyers want to get elite talent through the draft, cutting ties with some veteran leaders is a must. If they can negotiate for a can’t-miss talent in a trade like Trevor Zegras or a slightly older player like Mitch Marner, then that might actually be a perfect substitute for a top draft pick.
Related: Flyers Need a Top-6 Center to Improve in 2024-25
Whatever the Flyers do in the offseason, it shouldn’t solely be because Michkov does or doesn’t come to the NHL. Building around him is paramount. A new sense of direction would be beneficial to making that happen.
Projecting the Flyers’ 2024-25 Lineup
If the Flyers choose not to make any major moves—at least on offense—during the offseason, then their lineup appears to be fairly strong on paper. Below is a potential Michkov offense visualized:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Owen Tippett | Morgan Frost | Travis Konecny |
| Tyson Foerster | Sean Couturier | Matvei Michkov |
| Joel Farabee | Scott Laughton | Bobby Brink |
| Noah Cates | Ryan Poehling | Garnet Hathaway |
Assuming there are some minor improvements for a few players in the top half of the offense, this could be a great team. Since they were only five points out of a playoff spot in 2023-24, it’s not unrealistic to say that this squad might take them over the hump.
Of course, the goal is to win a Stanley Cup and not just make the playoffs. Having a campaign where the Flyers make the postseason but don’t do anything worthwhile in them might actually be the worst possible outcome, as it wouldn’t place the team any closer to getting high-end talent. With that being said, though, Michkov coming to the Flyers would make hockey in Philadelphia just that much more interesting.
Seeing as Michkov dominated the KHL to the tune of the 14th-best points-per-game scoring rate in 2023-24 at 0.85, he is arguably too good for the league already. If it no longer benefits him to play in Russia’s strongest hockey league, it would seem logical for him to break off his contract early.
Considering someone with major influence in Michkov’s KHL organization such as Medvedev appears willing to part ways if it would best help his young athlete, Michkov could be in this discussion again around this time next season if he doesn’t join the Flyers in 2024-25. Whether it be next season or the one after, there is a legitimate possibility for him to join the Orange and Black early.