The writing was on the wall for the past two weeks but the jokes have been present since the off-season began, however the Philadelphia Flyers – and specifically John Tortorella – scratched Matvei Michkov for the first time in his young career for Thursday’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tortorella is in his third season behind the bench with the Flyers and over the years he has certainly ruffled the feathers of players and fans alike with his decision making. Certain players like Kevin Hayes and Tony DeAngelo felt the brunt of it right away and are no longer with the club, while players like Morgan Frost continue to struggle.
However, with today’s decision to bench Michkov, it drew the ire of the fanbase on social media. While the Flyers are supposedly in a rebuild and want to develop their players as best as possible, many saw this move as a boneheaded decision from a fiery head coach. However, it’s not out of the norm from Tortorella – or the NHL – especially in recent years.
Last year in particular, the Anaheim Ducks took their time with 3rd overall pick Leo Carlsson and essentially had a plan in place for how many games he would play, at least to start the season. His case had more to do with injuries but they wanted to slowly bring him up to NHL-speed without overwhelming him at the same time.
This year we’ve seen another member of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft visit the press box a couple of times in Will Smith, who was drafted 4th overall by San Jose. He has 2 goals and 3 points in 12 contests this season but it’s understood that most rookies, if not all, will have their bumps along the way. In doing so, head coaches aren’t afraid to let them sit, decompress, and watch for the sake of development.
Whether or not it works is another story altogether, but it’s a general practice in the modern game unless you’re exceeding expectations like Connor Bedard or Brock Faber did last year.
Tortorella kept his answers short and succinct but it’s all about the process – the same thing he’s been saying since he took over on day one and what he’s been saying since Michkov arrived.
Matvei Michkov gets his first scratch of his NHL career tonight.
"Just part of the process," Tortorella said a number of times. "We're trying to help him."
Michkov’s 5-on-5 play has been put under the microscope, but he’s actually ranked as one of the best even-strength players the Flyers have. It’s one of the biggest conundrums to start the season, but what was their bread and butter last year has become their biggest weakness this year as they’ve been outscored by a heavy margin while playing even-strength hockey.
While it is true that Michkov has performed way better with the man advantage than 5-on-5, it’s still an indictment of the team around him and his linemates. His -8 rating is not great, his 1 even-strength goal isn’t the best, and 3 total even-strength points is tough to see, but he’s certainly not the only one struggling.
Plus-minus, while not the best barometer, is still a useful statistic when analyzing this team and it’s very concerning and problematic this year. Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway are the only plus players, Noah Cates,Nicolas Deslauriers, and Emil Andrae are the only players with an even rating that have played more than 5 games, and you have two players with a -10 rating or worse in Egor Zamula (-12), and Frost (-12).
“According to NHL.com of the 22 rookies who have played at least 10 games this season, Michkov ranks tied for dead last in on-ice goals for percentage (28.5%) and last in on-ice shot percentage (4.7%). Meanwhile, he has the third highest average of offensive zone faceoff starts (60.3%) Put that all together and Michkov is starting more often than not in the offensive zone at 5-on-5, and yet he’s not generating shots, or goals and still is on the ice for more goals against. ”
So there is certainly merit behind the reasoning, but in essence it’s also Tortorella wanting to give Michkov a chance to understand the North American game, his system, and potentially just give him a breather and to reflect.
It’s not the end of the world that Michkov sat one game, and while it is disappointing considering how exciting he has been and the lack of talent they have up and down their lineup, better days are ahead. It’s all about just taking it one step at a time.
If it stretches beyond Thursday, then questions will certainly need to be answered, but if it was just a one-off experiment, I think it’s safe to exhale and take a collective sigh of relief.
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