In a Saturday, Dec. 20 clash with the New York Rangers, the season-long tension between Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers‘ coaching staff briefly boiled over.
He had an animated exchange with head coach Rick Tocchet and assistant coach Jaroslav Svejkovsky. For context, Michkov had just drawn an interference penalty from the Rangers’ Will Cuylle.
It’s impossible to know what was said on the bench, but it’s notable that the offensively minded forward wasn’t on the ice to start the power play. Michkov’s struggles to get ice time have been a big story of the Flyers’ 2025–26 season.
It’s gotten to the point where he was slotted on the third line entering the game, despite the injury bug striking the team. Ahead of Michkov on the left-wing depth chart were two forwards who have spent the majority of this campaign in the American Hockey League (AHL):
Carl Grundström (first line) and Denver Barkey (second line). When Grundström was demoted to the fourth line during the first period, it was Nikita Grebenkin, who played 57 AHL games last season, who took over on the top line—not Michkov.
Perhaps the frustration goes deeper than usage (it could be something about the hit he took), but the fact is that the 21-year-old isn’t getting it. Hopefully, the disagreement was simply due to the heat of the moment and not anything with long-term implications.