Rumors are saying that yet another National Hockey League player has requested a trade this season, and that the name of that player is the Philadelphia Flyer's Matvei Michkov. While he isn't quite the superstar that fellow Russian Nikita Kucherov is, Michkov is skilled enough that his departure would leave a pretty big hole in a struggling Flyers roster. The good news is, there are sure to be plenty of buyers.
According to the Flyers organization, they have no intention of trading their young right winger, and furthermore, there hasn't even been a formal trade request. It's a storyline that benefits the home club of a disgruntled player, but it's also a tale we've heard many a time. It could be true, with a quote taken out of context, or a moment of frustration interpreted as something more, but this season it surely has seemed that wherever there's smoke, there's fire when it comes to trade talk.
Elite Scorer
Michkov had an extremely impressive rookie season, scoring 26 goals and adding another 37 assists for a 63 point campaign. His sophomore season was almost as good, with a 20-31-51 stat line. This year, in spite of his team's 4-10-5 record, Michkov is on pace for a 40-goal season. That's the production of a third year player that every organization in the league should want.
Michkov admittedly has tended toward minus hockey thus far in his career. The rookie season saw him finish at -18, and this year he's already at -11. But as an absolute demon on the power play, Michkov's plus/minus isn't the right statistic to monitor. Michkov is tied for 9th in the league with five power play goals. He's scoring at an incredible rate, with a shooting percentage of 34.5%. That's a whopping 21% above league average.
Advanced statistics tell a positive story as well. Michkov's -18 rookie season saw him post a 54.8 Corsi, and he's been remarkably steady in that respect. His career number is 55.4, and he's barely slipped in the first twenty games of 2026-27.
Affordability
Here's why Philly might trade him:
Michkov is making an incredibly affordable $950,000 in the third year of his entry level deal. He's a restricted free agent this summer and is surely in for a massive rise in pay. With the insane numbers we saw last summer, Michkov's agent is going to be asking for $15million+, and a term that either takes him straight to free agency, or a short one with another raise at the end. Today's NHL doesn't really have bridge contracts for elite scorers.
If the Flyers are as bad as it seems, and are looking at either a retooling or a full rebuild, they might not want to pay the high cost it will take to sign Michkov. Even if they do, and they think they could negotiate a reasonable number, the concept of RFA offer sheets is surely another weight on Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere's mind.
It's all a tough balance because the simple truth is that any trade where Michkov is leaving Philadelphia is probably one the Flyers are losing. From Stan Bowman's point of view, his skill and price tag should make him a highly desireable target.
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