Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet appears to be quietly dissing Matvey Michkov – Hockey Writer – Philadelphia Flyers

On May 14, 2025, the Philadelphia Flyers paid Rick Tocchet a handsome salary to serve as their new head coach. He’s making over $25 million and is expected to help the rebuilding team take the next step and prepare them for future competition better than anyone else on the market.

RELATED: Flyers name Rick Tocchet as 25th head coach in franchise history

With a 16-9-3 record, the early returns are solid on paper. One-third of the 2025-26 season has passed, and the Flyers are expected to end the team’s long playoff drought: starting from the 2020-21 season, it has been five consecutive seasons. Tocchet has done his job.

But there’s a larger storyline. He and 21-year-old forward Matvey Michkov are not two peas in a pod. The coach repeatedly emphasized playing “the right way,” prioritizing rushing to limit rushing opportunities. His north-south, risk-averse style put the Flyers in the winning column, but also got Michikoff into some trouble.

Michkov’s performance and usage this season

While Michikoff’s offensive impact was encouraging from an analytical perspective, Michikoff only scored 16 points in 28 games – 47 points for the entire season, down from the 63 points he scored in 80 games as a rookie. Additionally, he’s averaging just 14:45 a night, nearly two minutes less than he did most of last season under the hard-nosed John Tortorella.

Michkov was forced to improve his defense. But according to Natural Stat Trick, the results are mixed. In 5-on-5 play, he ranks 20th^th and 65^th Percentiles of actual goals and expected goals per 60 minutes for a forward who played 200 minutes.

While he continues to work defensively and has been impressive on offense of late — he ranks second with seven points in the team’s last nine games — the usage rate hasn’t changed. In those nine games, Michkov ranked eighth among forwards in average ice time, despite being one of five forwards with over 50% of his actual and expected goals share at five-on-five (meaning, he scored more than and defeat the opponent).

A report early in the season justified this lack of usage, stating that Michkov arrived at training camp “in poor shape.” While his overall numbers are good, he’s also below-average defensively – something Tocchet pointed out.

But in his pregame press conference against the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 9, he may have belittled his potential franchise forwards before he played on the 21st^Yingshi Birthdays are indispensable. You be the judge.

Does Tocchet despise Michkov?

Tocchet was asked about Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, who has been outstanding for the Sharks this season. With the two likely to join forces at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Canada in February, the following quote is simply out of respect for the talented athletes.

“Play the 200-foot game. […] This is not just an offensive guy; You look at him, he’s serious about it and he’s trying to play without the puck. […] Enter camp in good shape. He has improved himself. “

Given the context, this could be a slight against Michkov – these are the things Tocchet accuses him of doing Wrong. The disaster of “Metamorphosis” is a cataclysm. Not hitting 200 feet has been mentioned many times.

Now, Celebrini is an incredible hockey player. But the “excellent form” Tocchet mentioned many times is not one of his signature traits. Additionally, his defensive metrics are actually worse than Michkov.

Expected goals per 60 minutes at 5 on 5: 3.14, ranking 8th^th Percentile of forwards who have played 200 minutes. Rookie Jaroslav Askarov’s stellar goaltending has helped turn his goals-for-goals rate into a solid one (just 2.21 per 60 games), but even with that performance and effort, the numbers don’t quite point to Celebrini being a world-class player on both sides of the ball.

Then there was the suggestion that Michkov was “out of shape” while Celebrini was “in great shape”. The latter’s skating speed is undeniable, but neither skates faster than 22 mph, according to NHL Edge. Meanwhile, they logged roughly the same number of miles per 60 miles, ranking 86th^th (Michkov) and 93^RD (Celebrini) Percentile among forwards.

Skating speed and distance aren’t the only indicators of a player’s condition. But both players skate regularly, win plate battles and create chances — and the math says they Both Well done in that department.

For further context, captain Sean Couturier more or less mentioned Michkov’s two-way game in November. “He’s a great shooter with great skills and I think you have to find a way to help the team win in other ways. […] If he keeps playing the right way, I think it will be better for the team as a whole. “

Comments about being “out of shape” and “not a 200-foot player” followed Michikoff all season long, and they came from within the team. So, what do you think? Was Tocchet quietly dissing the 21-year-old on his birthday, or was this a huge influence? Welcome to leave your thoughts in the comment area!