Flyers Front Office 'Draws A Line' For Teammates On Michkov

Philadelphia Flyers players and coaches have been put on notice by the front office: Essentially, start getting along with mercurial talent Matvei Michkov, or else...

Insider Frank Seravalli reported on Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer that the Flyers' management team has drawn a line in the sand, and everyone better be on Michkov's side of the line. 

The background is that the now-infamous and very public Michkov clash with Nick Seeler on the bench was the third such incident this season. That, plus the Kevin Weekes rumor that Michkov might want a fresh start elsewhere, prompted an "all hands on deck" meeting, says Seravalli, with even CEO Dan Hilferty flying in from Toronto "on a moment's notice". 

(The front office) has made made it abundantly clear (to the rest of the organization) of what their plan is and who they are backing. And that is Matvei Michkov...

They needed to have a 'calm the waters' (talk with the rest of the team): Anyone who has an issue (with the young Russian), you know, Matvei Michkov is their guy. So everyone else needs to get in line and that's the line that (GM) Danny Briere and (President of Hockey perations) Keith Jones have drawn.

Flyers Management backs Michkov in any disputes with players

On the ice, management has been quite happy with what they've seen from Michkov this year, feeling he's taken big strides, says Seravalli. 

The 21-year-old does lead the team in goals, with 11, potting another one Saturday night in a 4-3 Flyers win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, the 16:07 of ice time might not have sat well with Michkov, who has made no bones about the fact that he wants more minutes. He has logged 16:08 average TOI per game. Although that's up from last season, it's still down from his rookie year two seasons ago. 

Despite the trade request rumor, the Flyers, and even Michkov's representatives, have denied that one has been made, and the player has said he's happy in Philadelphia. 

But as some other plugged-in insiders have noted, where there's smoke, there's fire, and this will continue to be a situation to watch all season.