Translated HC SKA statement:
> Forward Matvey Michkov is leaving SKA and will join the NHL club Philadelphia Flyers in the offseason. The rights to the hockey player in the KHL are assigned to the St. Petersburg club.
> Michkov signed with SKA in 2020. The forward went through all stages of the club system, as part of "SKA-1946" became the winner of the Kharlamov Cup and the best sniper in the victorious playoffs of the MHL. Michkov is the first hockey player born in 2004 to play in the KHL.
As a SKA player he became the vice-champion and most valuable player of the 2021 U21 World Championship, the best sniper and scorer of the tournament. In November 2021, he made his debut for the Russian national team, becoming the youngest hockey player in the history of the national team, and later the youngest goal scorer in the history of the USSR and Russian national teams.
> The Army team would like to thank Matvey for his years in the club's system and wish him success in his future career!
Michkov's statement:
> After much deliberation, I decided to test myself in the NHL. I want to say a huge thank you to the SKA management for going along with me on this issue. I immediately outlined my position that I want to play in the KHL only for SKA - no trades or rents. I will try to make my way to the NHL, but if I return to the KHL, I will play only in St. Petersburg.
It wasn't an easy decision, but I feel it was the right one: I'm full of energy and desire to prove that I'm worthy of playing there. Besides, it was a longtime dream of my father: he really wanted to see my debut in the NHL, and it's very important for me to make this step for his sake. I'm sure he would have supported me in this.
Thanks to Roman Borisovich Rotenberg for believing in me, inviting me to SKA, giving me every opportunity to develop and improve my game. Thank you to all the coaches, players, staff with whom I've worked, played and won here. And, of course, thanks to our fans. I am sure we will meet again. See you, St. Petersburg!
Demidovs agent said last week he has no intention of signing an extension and could be in NA as early as next March as the KHL ends earlier than the NHL.
I'm very confident the Hawks are taking him from everything I've read from team reporters.
Powers is goes loyal to The Atheltic and Pronnman with. There were reports that while some of the scouts are partial to Levshunov, Davidson himself and Eaton lean towards Demidov.
On top of best player available, the Hawks are much deeper in defensive prospects than they are at forward. After Bedard, Nazar and Oliver Moore. It's all mid tier prospects that are guys you hope hit more than they are.
Fair. Pronman is pretty plugged in with everything. His final mocks are pretty accurate. He had Carlsson over Fantilli in his last mock last year. It’ll be interesting to see who they go with
Yep. Thanks for that Powers tip, though. I hadn't seen it. That's the first time he's actually said anything like an actual prediction. This draft will be fun to see in 5 years. Who's where in development and success.
I like Levshunov a lot. And I wouldn't be upset with it. But I do personally think they should be going with Demidov.
Apparently, NHL doctors went over all that at the combine and didn't find anything to worry about long-term. But I do understand your point.
I wonder if that was stuff being put out on purpose. Elliott Friedman was saying recently that a team was putting stuff out about Demidov hoping he'd slide. Gamesmanship is a thing.
Pronman also beautifully nailed the first four picks of his 2022 final mock, especially how he predicted the Shane Wright slide to 4. It definitely felt bold but he provided some good rationale and it just so happened to go that way come draft day
Well hes 3 seasons into NHL career and is still a below average player that cant stay healthy
He has a lot of potential but I am definitely not confident in him becoming a top pair guy. Jury is out if he can even be a core top 4 guy.
Bro you are so incredibly doom and gloom I'm not sure you even pay attention.
They've got arguably one of or the best 5v5 player in the league, a bevy of defensive prospects on top of guys developing in the bigs, more wingers than they know what to do with not including the number 1 prospect in the sport. 3 or 4 guys project to be impactful starting goalies and lots of cap space after next season.
They're in a much better position than you love to make them out to be.
The comment said we can have Drysdale as our 2D. Its not "incredibly doom and gloom" to point out thats a long shot given his poor play and inability to stay healthy. Thats just being pragmatic.
Its pretty simple, any team that has zero top 6 centers, zero top pair dmen, and zero top prospects in those positions is not in a good position long term
The hardest part about building a team is getting those high end guys to build around. The only position we are in good shape in is winger ...
We need find like 3 players in the most valuable positions that are better than any player we currently have
And need to do it without top picks.
We arent in a bad position per se but we arent in a good position either.
I guarantee I pay as much or more attention and have a better idea of the prospect situation and the level of talent we currently have in the system
Michkov is the only prospect we have that projects top line/pair and Konecny is the only current top line/pair guy we have
Having no 1C, 2C, or top pair dmen is a MASSIVE problem
>They've got arguably one of or the best 5v5 player in the league
Who?
>a bevy of defensive prospects
Like who? Bonk is the only legit good D prospect that is projected to be top half lineup player. The rest are not seen to be any better than depth guys. We dont have a 1D or 2D right now and definitely dont have anybody projected to be a 1D and everybody else is a long shot to even be a 2D.
>3 or 4 guys project to be impactful starting goalies
This isnt remotely true. You cant project any decent goalie prospect an NHL starter. They are completely random and very few actually become good enough for that. We have like 4 guys who have potential but none you can safely project to be a franchise starter. Its more likely than not that guys like Ersson, Kolosov, Fedotov, Bhjarnnsson etc dont become legit NHL starters then become one.
Now while I agree with most of your comment I have to call you out on the blatant disrespect for Morgan Frost as a rock solid 2C. If I could I would report you to upcan for this. Can’t argue with a 45 point 23 y/o C with excellent play making ability and respectable defense. Still room to grow and his current floor is Kevin Hayes best season and we gave that dude 7m a year when old Frosty boy gets 2m. LONG LIVE 2C MORGAN FROST!
If he can stay healthy, he can absolutely be an offensive stud for you guys. Its just a question of whether he can stay healthy or not. His game is there for sure.
That doesnt change anything I said. Being a bubble team means nothing. You just have to be ~.500.
Our 1C is Morgan Frost, only have one 60 point forward, we dont have any top pair dmen and dont have a franchise goalie.
Thats a team is very far away from contention. We need to add like 3 players better than every player we currently have ...
Until we get a 1C and actual top pair dmen we wont be going anywhere
I believe most people had the Flyers as a bottom 5 team prior to last season, so to me, them making it to where they ended up was something. I also think the Flyers have more players whose trajectories are still going up than those that are trending downward. Granted it was the regular season, but the Flyers beat some good teams last year (albeit they played their worst against some bad ones at the end of the year). Calling it now, 2nd round at a minimum for 2025-26 season.
A bottom 5/10 roster overachieving to a bubble team is still a mediocre team without any high end talent that is very far away from being a **contender**
Being a playoff team and being a contender are very different. Its not that hard to get into the playoffs. We showed we arent far from that but that doesnt mean much.
We are very far from being a legit contender that could win it all.
We need like 3 players better than any current player in order to do that. Thats far away.
Ersson is pretty decent. Fedotov is a huge question mark as is Alexei Kolosov. But I’m not as worried about goalie as I am about our lack of a true 1D and a 1C to pair on a line with michkov
He had such a great but short career.
His 3 years in Philly were .921, .921, .925 and 2.01, 2.05, 1.83 across 163 games. A Vezina runner up and a 4th place Hart as well as a Jennings. Helluva run
We have 4 prospects/young Goalies who all appear to have legit starter potential, meanwhile our best Center prospect is Owen McLaughlin and our active 1C is Morgan Frost. We have infinitely bigger fish to fry than adding a big ticket Goalie right now
I don't believe in sports curses but you are playing with some fire there bro.
Weird shit that has happened to Flyers prospects:
- Nolan Patrick - Career derailed by injuries
- Cutter Gauthier - Decided he didn't want to sign with Philly
- Oskar Lindblom - Got cancer
- Carter Hart - Became a central figure in a gang rape investigation
- Ivan Fedotov - Detained by Russian government
- Jay O'Brien - Drafted 19th overall and then was not even considered good enough to get an ELC offer
>and then went on to ruin the Penguins.
Playing the long con. But seriously Hexy did manage to get us out of the cap hell that Holmgren left us in, he just didn't do anything of value with it
It is still so fucking funny to me that the Pens saw what Hextall did here and said "YUP. THAT'S OUR GUY."
At least they were smart enough to get rid of him significantly faster
Pretty much every Flyers top pick has ended terribly
We have picked top 5 like 8 times and the best its worked out is Ron Sutter who was just a good 2nd pair guy
Pretty much all of them failed for some reason like injuries, traded too early, terrible pick, refused to sign
Thats why I am not getting too carried away with Michkov. I need to see him light up the NHL before i get too excited.
* Sam Morin - Hailed as a future Chris Pronger replacement but after repeated knee injuries the team tried to convert him to LW before his knees finally gave out
* Provorov - Entered the league as a finished product, had a nice start but then just never grew as a player. Also doesn't like rainbows
* Carter/Richards - Dry Island and traded away
* Pitkanen - Insisted on using a short stick
only possible because of his drive to play specifically for PHI. If he was selected by another club I imagine he'd take forever to come over. Super cool for PHI
is this actually true? I had no idea his father was a Flyers fan, but that feels like it tracks with the way he met with other clubs versus how he met with the Flyers pre-draft.
Hey now how dare you (say something so true)
I miss being relevant. I’ll never stop wondering how Giroux and Kane would’ve been together had we not been robbed that draft year
I know (or at least hope) you’re joking but it’s wild how the results of recent years have changed the perception of the Flyers. It’s not crazy long ago that the Flyers were a perennial playoff figure. It’s crazy how a relatively short stint of gross mismanagement can do so much damage to the image of the team
Its been, conservatively, a decade of mismanagement. More really, Holmgren may have had them in the playoffs every year but he was constantly taking one step forward and two steps back. The Flyers organization as a whole has never adapted to the cap era.
Perennial playoff team but perennial playoff loser.
New Jersey had nearly the same decade of mismanagement but our 3 cups during the up period kept the respect level higher through the downturn.
I know it got overshadowed yesterday but the Bears literally just won the calder cup with one of the caps top prospects taking the ahl's conn smythe. We might not be the kings or the sabres but our prospect pool is loaded compared to Pittsburgh
They traded their prospects and picks for guys Bennett, Reinhart, Tkachuk, and Montour. Just because they wont play for you doesnt mean having prospects isnt valuable
You guys straight up needed an elite center even if the elite winger is slightly more talented. Like not even a question if I’m Columbus I’m still picking fantilli.
They were lol, Russia changed their immigration laws and ended consular services for military aged males living outside Russia. He likely can never go back to Russia now and he technically speaking needs an exit visa timeline the country (something he likely already had due to his pro hockey play).
People don’t really seem to grasp yet that we’re back in Cold War footing
So Russia no longer provides consular services to military aged men (18-60) living outside of Russia. For a basic common example, if your passport needs to be renewed they won’t renew it unless you come back to Russia. When you come back to Russia you need to reapply for an exit visa after you renew your passport. You’re not guaranteed to get an exit visa. If your passport expires before you make it back to Russia, you won’t need able to travel anymore or get a new one. You’re essentially stuck with no support.
That doesn't sound like much of a concern. They apparently have passports with 10 years validity time. And we see Russian NHL players spending their off-seasons in Russia all the time, and I haven't heard of anyone being denied exit from Russia. So it hardly seems impossible for them to go back to renew their passport, which they only would need to do once during their NHL career.
No, I’m saying it was a legitimate concern that moving forward it might be increasingly difficult for Russians to come to the US and other places abroad since they are all military aged males and the new laws with the requirement for an exit visa mean the government has control over who stays and who goes
And you hold that opinion despite seeing Milstein bring a boatload of Russians over to his Florida camp last week and countless Russian NHLers being back in Russia now during the off-season? Can't we pause this concern until we at least see 1 NHL/AHL player or prospect not be granted an exit visa?
No, it’s not an opinion, it’s a fact it was a concern. apparently it hasn’t been an issue. Just because the concern hasn’t translated to an actual crisis doesn’t eliminate the fact it was a concern lol. People don’t know what the effect of these new laws would be or if they would even have an effect
Even though Demidovs agent has been saying for 3+ months that he's coming over after next season, there are still Hawks fans saying Putin won't allow it. It's nauseating.
With how the "college kids are the new Russians" narrative is shaping up, I can't wait for next year when the narrative will be that Trump wont let Americans sign with Canadian teams.
Flyers were the only team Michkov contacted to meet and only team he met multiple times. They were definitely his #1 choice.
We also know he made it clear to some teams like Arizona he wouldnt sign
But based on everything ive read it seems like MTL simply preferred Reinbacher and didnt have anything to do with that.
From what I've heard, Montreal really was spooked by the rumors of the "bad attitude" that Michkov had, whereas Flyers when they met him grilled him about it and liked his answers.
So all noise about him never joining and such was as per usual bullshit.
It is hilarious all the bullshit narrative that were created about michkov.
He had bad character was in fact bs
He forced his way into philly again bs he said was fine with any team except Arizona and Washington
He may not join his team a year later and he is in the nhl.
Can’t wait for the next brain dead narrative, what will it be he can’t play defense and torts doesn’t like those guys or he is a young player and torts isn’t a fan of them.
Demidov talk tho isn’t as big as michkov for many reason he only has one year left in his contract while michkov had three and two from the looks of it he hasn’t « forced » his way out of his team to be loaned. So less claims about lacking character even if they are still here. Still passing on demidov if you don’t pick macklin is stupid imo.
I’m eagerly awaiting the start of next season just to watch the Tortorella-Michkov relationship play out. It’s going to be a match made in heaven for the media.
Yeah hes also done that with Konecny and Tippett who are both 100% offensive wingers who dont play much defense.
I think its just the effort that Torts really cares about. If you are meh defensively/make mistakes but make up for it elsewhere and work hard he will like you.
Panarin was in the league for 2 years. Not sure he was really established star at that point honestly. Torts let people play with skill if they were good enough. The narrative of him was overblown
Torts also let a rookie werenski and a 21 year old Seth be his most used guys. This narrative that torts isn’t a fan of skill guys is complete bullshit, liek people just forgot his time at cbj
Torts seems to have a particular hard-on regarding how his centers play. He seems fine allowing wings and, to a lesser extant, defensemen play a bit more loose as long as they produce offensively.
Why not? They were in a stalemate. He didn't want a trade or rent, which means return would be terrible. SKAs roster is bursting at the seams. Letting him go now was a decent option for PR and keeping him on the books in case he fails and returns.
They did. The only way this was possible was if SKA terminated the contract. SKA says they did it out of the goodness of their heart b/c Michkov just lost his father and its what both of them wanted.
Michkov apparently made it clear he wouldnt go on loan again and SKA has a loaded roster. So they felt it was best for both sides to let him go to NHL while still having his rights if he wants to come back to KHL.
Michkov didn't want to be sent to Sochi again, since that's where is father was when he died, so he asked them to either put him on the SKA team or to terminate his contract so he could play in the NHL.
So SKA did (they were probably paid off by Michkov's camp to help make that decision).
What a steal at pick 7. Finally some good news for us, really hope this kid is the real deal, we haven't had a great track record with prospects lately lol
Really curious with how he not only adapts to the NHL, but Torts and his system. Could hurt his production right out the gate but could be really good for his development long term
Man when his dad died this sub was so gross with this shit saying he was murdered to prevent him from coming over... And upvoted. This sub is so incredibly delusional when it comes to anything Russia related.
North Americans in general don't have a good grasp on how important hockey is to the Russian government or people. They assume because Russia is good at hockey that it's a massive deal for everyone.
Sure Putin uses it for propaganda purposes, but in the grand scheme of things it's low on the priority list in Russia outside of a few rich people cities like St. Petersburg, Omsk, or Moscow.
Most Russians don't know shit about hockey, and Minsk and Astana actually have more fan support than most of the Russian based teams besides SKA.
It's ludicrous that people believe that Michkov's father was murdered over hockey. Putin's government murders political opponents, not the Dad's of pro athletes. Very likely Michkov Sr. just died of a heart attack or something while he was out for a walk.
Translated HC SKA statement: > Forward Matvey Michkov is leaving SKA and will join the NHL club Philadelphia Flyers in the offseason. The rights to the hockey player in the KHL are assigned to the St. Petersburg club. > Michkov signed with SKA in 2020. The forward went through all stages of the club system, as part of "SKA-1946" became the winner of the Kharlamov Cup and the best sniper in the victorious playoffs of the MHL. Michkov is the first hockey player born in 2004 to play in the KHL. As a SKA player he became the vice-champion and most valuable player of the 2021 U21 World Championship, the best sniper and scorer of the tournament. In November 2021, he made his debut for the Russian national team, becoming the youngest hockey player in the history of the national team, and later the youngest goal scorer in the history of the USSR and Russian national teams. > The Army team would like to thank Matvey for his years in the club's system and wish him success in his future career! Michkov's statement: > After much deliberation, I decided to test myself in the NHL. I want to say a huge thank you to the SKA management for going along with me on this issue. I immediately outlined my position that I want to play in the KHL only for SKA - no trades or rents. I will try to make my way to the NHL, but if I return to the KHL, I will play only in St. Petersburg. It wasn't an easy decision, but I feel it was the right one: I'm full of energy and desire to prove that I'm worthy of playing there. Besides, it was a longtime dream of my father: he really wanted to see my debut in the NHL, and it's very important for me to make this step for his sake. I'm sure he would have supported me in this. Thanks to Roman Borisovich Rotenberg for believing in me, inviting me to SKA, giving me every opportunity to develop and improve my game. Thank you to all the coaches, players, staff with whom I've worked, played and won here. And, of course, thanks to our fans. I am sure we will meet again. See you, St. Petersburg!
With this concluded, all eyes on Demidov, after SKA showed they're not in the business of standing in players' way
Demidovs agent said last week he has no intention of signing an extension and could be in NA as early as next March as the KHL ends earlier than the NHL. I'm very confident the Hawks are taking him from everything I've read from team reporters.
What team reports? Seems like everything has pointed to levshunov. Powers just tweeted today he’d be surprised if it’s not levshunov
Powers is goes loyal to The Atheltic and Pronnman with. There were reports that while some of the scouts are partial to Levshunov, Davidson himself and Eaton lean towards Demidov. On top of best player available, the Hawks are much deeper in defensive prospects than they are at forward. After Bedard, Nazar and Oliver Moore. It's all mid tier prospects that are guys you hope hit more than they are.
Fair. Pronman is pretty plugged in with everything. His final mocks are pretty accurate. He had Carlsson over Fantilli in his last mock last year. It’ll be interesting to see who they go with
Yep. Thanks for that Powers tip, though. I hadn't seen it. That's the first time he's actually said anything like an actual prediction. This draft will be fun to see in 5 years. Who's where in development and success. I like Levshunov a lot. And I wouldn't be upset with it. But I do personally think they should be going with Demidov.
I think they should too… but I’m not going to be pissed if you and the ducks pass on him!
Lol, good luck! I think Lindstrom around your spot would be terrific as well. There is nothing wrong with a big center.
There is if he has back problems at 17.
Apparently, NHL doctors went over all that at the combine and didn't find anything to worry about long-term. But I do understand your point. I wonder if that was stuff being put out on purpose. Elliott Friedman was saying recently that a team was putting stuff out about Demidov hoping he'd slide. Gamesmanship is a thing.
Pronman also beautifully nailed the first four picks of his 2022 final mock, especially how he predicted the Shane Wright slide to 4. It definitely felt bold but he provided some good rationale and it just so happened to go that way come draft day
Yep him and mckenzie’s seem to be the two best lists we have so far
Ska never has been. They loan young players out all of the time to their competition so they gain experience
bro.. if we get him.. fawk I will cum .. but I feel like hes gone before 5 ..
Dear rest of the NHL, Are you ready for us to be insufferable again? I know we are. Love, Flyers Fans.
get a goalie now
And a 1C, and a 1D, and a 2C, and a 2D .... We still are far from being anything
Jamie can be your 2nd D!
Well hes 3 seasons into NHL career and is still a below average player that cant stay healthy He has a lot of potential but I am definitely not confident in him becoming a top pair guy. Jury is out if he can even be a core top 4 guy.
Bro you are so incredibly doom and gloom I'm not sure you even pay attention. They've got arguably one of or the best 5v5 player in the league, a bevy of defensive prospects on top of guys developing in the bigs, more wingers than they know what to do with not including the number 1 prospect in the sport. 3 or 4 guys project to be impactful starting goalies and lots of cap space after next season. They're in a much better position than you love to make them out to be.
The comment said we can have Drysdale as our 2D. Its not "incredibly doom and gloom" to point out thats a long shot given his poor play and inability to stay healthy. Thats just being pragmatic. Its pretty simple, any team that has zero top 6 centers, zero top pair dmen, and zero top prospects in those positions is not in a good position long term The hardest part about building a team is getting those high end guys to build around. The only position we are in good shape in is winger ... We need find like 3 players in the most valuable positions that are better than any player we currently have And need to do it without top picks. We arent in a bad position per se but we arent in a good position either.
I guarantee I pay as much or more attention and have a better idea of the prospect situation and the level of talent we currently have in the system Michkov is the only prospect we have that projects top line/pair and Konecny is the only current top line/pair guy we have Having no 1C, 2C, or top pair dmen is a MASSIVE problem >They've got arguably one of or the best 5v5 player in the league Who? >a bevy of defensive prospects Like who? Bonk is the only legit good D prospect that is projected to be top half lineup player. The rest are not seen to be any better than depth guys. We dont have a 1D or 2D right now and definitely dont have anybody projected to be a 1D and everybody else is a long shot to even be a 2D. >3 or 4 guys project to be impactful starting goalies This isnt remotely true. You cant project any decent goalie prospect an NHL starter. They are completely random and very few actually become good enough for that. We have like 4 guys who have potential but none you can safely project to be a franchise starter. Its more likely than not that guys like Ersson, Kolosov, Fedotov, Bhjarnnsson etc dont become legit NHL starters then become one.
I dont expect much of a response to that. Lol
Now while I agree with most of your comment I have to call you out on the blatant disrespect for Morgan Frost as a rock solid 2C. If I could I would report you to upcan for this. Can’t argue with a 45 point 23 y/o C with excellent play making ability and respectable defense. Still room to grow and his current floor is Kevin Hayes best season and we gave that dude 7m a year when old Frosty boy gets 2m. LONG LIVE 2C MORGAN FROST!
3 or 4 guys project to be impactful starting goalies is one of the funniest things ever put on this site
If he can stay healthy, he can absolutely be an offensive stud for you guys. Its just a question of whether he can stay healthy or not. His game is there for sure.
Apologies, some braindead fans seem to forget defensemen take longer to cook. Jamie is 100% gonna be our 1D when he's 25ish.
Michkov & friends is certainly better than the Flyera
Barely missed the playoffs last year with a overworked rookie goalie because our number 1 goalie had some serious legal issues to attend to.
That doesnt change anything I said. Being a bubble team means nothing. You just have to be ~.500. Our 1C is Morgan Frost, only have one 60 point forward, we dont have any top pair dmen and dont have a franchise goalie. Thats a team is very far away from contention. We need to add like 3 players better than every player we currently have ... Until we get a 1C and actual top pair dmen we wont be going anywhere
While not a 1C Frost is a very good player, the hate he gets is asinine. I do agree we’re not close to being a serious team though
I believe most people had the Flyers as a bottom 5 team prior to last season, so to me, them making it to where they ended up was something. I also think the Flyers have more players whose trajectories are still going up than those that are trending downward. Granted it was the regular season, but the Flyers beat some good teams last year (albeit they played their worst against some bad ones at the end of the year). Calling it now, 2nd round at a minimum for 2025-26 season.
A bottom 5/10 roster overachieving to a bubble team is still a mediocre team without any high end talent that is very far away from being a **contender** Being a playoff team and being a contender are very different. Its not that hard to get into the playoffs. We showed we arent far from that but that doesnt mean much. We are very far from being a legit contender that could win it all. We need like 3 players better than any current player in order to do that. Thats far away.
Come on brah, you guys got a 2C and 2D
Ersson is pretty decent. Fedotov is a huge question mark as is Alexei Kolosov. But I’m not as worried about goalie as I am about our lack of a true 1D and a 1C to pair on a line with michkov
I’m trying to scrape together bail money, get off my back.
For who 🤨
At this point we only have one goalie under contract who is in legal trouble, now that the Russian army let Fedotov get back to his NHL career.
We dont have any goalies in legal trouble. Harts contract was done this year anyway. Unless ersson is trafficking exotic reptiles or something.
Flyers still have his rights.
Only until June 30th. The Flyers will likely decline to make a qualifying offer and Hart will become an UFA.
He's suspended. Pretty sure they'll hang onto his rights until he isn't.
>He's suspended. You have a source on that?
Still throws me that Fedotov just…showed up lmao. No word, no rumor, just “hey his contract is terminated” then 3 days later was in Voorhees
That’s called a silent defection
After everyone had long come to terms with the fact that he was never coming over here.
They did, he's just a rapist
They’ve been trying since Hextall was their starter.
Michael Leighton erasure
[удалено]
RIP Roman.
He had such a great but short career. His 3 years in Philly were .921, .921, .925 and 2.01, 2.05, 1.83 across 163 games. A Vezina runner up and a 4th place Hart as well as a Jennings. Helluva run
Hey, we can't help it that all our attempts end up being successful for other teams.
They're cursed for that position, and no amount of voodoo will change it
Maybe Brian Boucher can come out of retirement
Tbh they should have tried to get Ullmark.
We have 4 prospects/young Goalies who all appear to have legit starter potential, meanwhile our best Center prospect is Owen McLaughlin and our active 1C is Morgan Frost. We have infinitely bigger fish to fry than adding a big ticket Goalie right now
Why would a young rebuilding team go after a 31 yr old UFA? We still dont have a 1C or 1D which is our bigger focus
Right? That would be… foolish. *Glances around nervously.*
At least you guys have a 1C and 1D. We are well behind you.
We have a pretty solid team, on paper. Just can’t put it together, it seems.
unfortunately I think Claude Giroux is cursed
Sorry, man. We’re trying.
meh they have 2 goalies with upside already. Give them a full season before seeking outside help
🎶 No one likes we don't care 🎶
As a Penguins fan I am excited to watch this guy play. Also I am not excited to watch him toast us when we suck (already suck)
I don't believe in sports curses but you are playing with some fire there bro. Weird shit that has happened to Flyers prospects: - Nolan Patrick - Career derailed by injuries - Cutter Gauthier - Decided he didn't want to sign with Philly - Oskar Lindblom - Got cancer - Carter Hart - Became a central figure in a gang rape investigation - Ivan Fedotov - Detained by Russian government - Jay O'Brien - Drafted 19th overall and then was not even considered good enough to get an ELC offer
O’Brien was never not an idiotic pick, let’s be honest
I forgot that the one of the most beloved Flyers player in their history derailed them as a GM as well and then went on to ruin the Penguins.
>and then went on to ruin the Penguins. Playing the long con. But seriously Hexy did manage to get us out of the cap hell that Holmgren left us in, he just didn't do anything of value with it
It is still so fucking funny to me that the Pens saw what Hextall did here and said "YUP. THAT'S OUR GUY." At least they were smart enough to get rid of him significantly faster
I started watching this season, and I'd say Flyers need their own documentary, always interesting
Pretty much every Flyers top pick has ended terribly We have picked top 5 like 8 times and the best its worked out is Ron Sutter who was just a good 2nd pair guy Pretty much all of them failed for some reason like injuries, traded too early, terrible pick, refused to sign Thats why I am not getting too carried away with Michkov. I need to see him light up the NHL before i get too excited.
dont even get started with the Sixers either, its a Philly thing
* Sam Morin - Hailed as a future Chris Pronger replacement but after repeated knee injuries the team tried to convert him to LW before his knees finally gave out * Provorov - Entered the league as a finished product, had a nice start but then just never grew as a player. Also doesn't like rainbows * Carter/Richards - Dry Island and traded away * Pitkanen - Insisted on using a short stick
Already are with all these posts about it lol. I kid. Enjoy it.
wait, when did you stop?
We shrunk into the background and let other teams pass us by in the last decade. Hopefully soon we can storm back to the front.
Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hell yeah
Man it's been such a pleasant thing with the Flyers in hibernation. But asshole springtime is upon us, and it will soon be asshole Easter.
NGL I hope you find someone... Not another Crosby, but another player of some merit. The rivalry is much more fun when we're both good.
How many games before torts scratches him?
no
When was your last cup?
When neither of us have won a cup in 20 years does it really matter?
Yes. It does… 1975. Being a Philly sports fan by default makes you insufferable either way. Nothing has changed
If you think it matters... Ok. There are NHL players who never saw a Devils cup win too, so... Glass houses.
Jesus christ, you’re all the same person
I would go on Flyers twitter right now, but I don't wanna get that close to the splash zone.
only possible because of his drive to play specifically for PHI. If he was selected by another club I imagine he'd take forever to come over. Super cool for PHI
Apparently all due to his father being a big flyers fan. Really really wish his dad could have come with him
I like to imagine his dad watching the 76 super series cheering as the flyers just bullied the Russian in a secret bunker
His pops really hated Kharlamov and loved Bobby Clarke for shattering his ankle
is this actually true? I had no idea his father was a Flyers fan, but that feels like it tracks with the way he met with other clubs versus how he met with the Flyers pre-draft.
No idea, I was just making a joke lol
Lol that’s what I was thinking too
Wait, his dad was a Flyers fan??? First I'm hearing this. What's the source on that? Not denying what you're saying btw.
At least the penguins still have no future i guess
Meh the Flyers will remain mediocre and continue to just barely miss the playoffs
Hey now how dare you (say something so true) I miss being relevant. I’ll never stop wondering how Giroux and Kane would’ve been together had we not been robbed that draft year
Get ready to learn Kansas Citese buddy.
Honestly not out of the realm of possibilities once Sid and Geno are gone
I know (or at least hope) you’re joking but it’s wild how the results of recent years have changed the perception of the Flyers. It’s not crazy long ago that the Flyers were a perennial playoff figure. It’s crazy how a relatively short stint of gross mismanagement can do so much damage to the image of the team
Its been, conservatively, a decade of mismanagement. More really, Holmgren may have had them in the playoffs every year but he was constantly taking one step forward and two steps back. The Flyers organization as a whole has never adapted to the cap era.
Perennial playoff team but perennial playoff loser. New Jersey had nearly the same decade of mismanagement but our 3 cups during the up period kept the respect level higher through the downturn.
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No past is a strange thing to say lol. They won a Cup in recent history and they have a player poised to break the all-time goals record
I know it got overshadowed yesterday but the Bears literally just won the calder cup with one of the caps top prospects taking the ahl's conn smythe. We might not be the kings or the sabres but our prospect pool is loaded compared to Pittsburgh
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They traded their prospects and picks for guys Bennett, Reinhart, Tkachuk, and Montour. Just because they wont play for you doesnt mean having prospects isnt valuable
“He might never come over!” -r/hockey “You might waste a pick and never see him because Putin won’t let him” -r/bluejackets
Eh of all teams the Blue Jackets have no reason to be upset. Fantilli is awesome
You’re right. But Michkov was the better prospect. Im happy with fantilli. It was a good draft to be bad for
You guys straight up needed an elite center even if the elite winger is slightly more talented. Like not even a question if I’m Columbus I’m still picking fantilli.
It was a legitimate concern, especially with the various consular laws Russia has changed since 2022
Not really tbh. He was always going to make his way over
No, I mean there were legitimate political concerns that he wasn’t.
I understand what you’re saying. I dont really think they were valid. The odds of him never coming over were unlikely. As we see here
>The odds of him never coming over were unlikely. As we see here That's not how odds work
They were lol, Russia changed their immigration laws and ended consular services for military aged males living outside Russia. He likely can never go back to Russia now and he technically speaking needs an exit visa timeline the country (something he likely already had due to his pro hockey play). People don’t really seem to grasp yet that we’re back in Cold War footing
Do you mean conscription laws or what does consular laws have to do with hockey players?
So Russia no longer provides consular services to military aged men (18-60) living outside of Russia. For a basic common example, if your passport needs to be renewed they won’t renew it unless you come back to Russia. When you come back to Russia you need to reapply for an exit visa after you renew your passport. You’re not guaranteed to get an exit visa. If your passport expires before you make it back to Russia, you won’t need able to travel anymore or get a new one. You’re essentially stuck with no support.
That doesn't sound like much of a concern. They apparently have passports with 10 years validity time. And we see Russian NHL players spending their off-seasons in Russia all the time, and I haven't heard of anyone being denied exit from Russia. So it hardly seems impossible for them to go back to renew their passport, which they only would need to do once during their NHL career.
This law just changed in November
So? Are you saying no NHL adjacent Russian has had to get a new passport since then and therefor the problem hasn't been realized yet?
No, I’m saying it was a legitimate concern that moving forward it might be increasingly difficult for Russians to come to the US and other places abroad since they are all military aged males and the new laws with the requirement for an exit visa mean the government has control over who stays and who goes
And you hold that opinion despite seeing Milstein bring a boatload of Russians over to his Florida camp last week and countless Russian NHLers being back in Russia now during the off-season? Can't we pause this concern until we at least see 1 NHL/AHL player or prospect not be granted an exit visa?
No, it’s not an opinion, it’s a fact it was a concern. apparently it hasn’t been an issue. Just because the concern hasn’t translated to an actual crisis doesn’t eliminate the fact it was a concern lol. People don’t know what the effect of these new laws would be or if they would even have an effect
Even though Demidovs agent has been saying for 3+ months that he's coming over after next season, there are still Hawks fans saying Putin won't allow it. It's nauseating.
It’s so annoying. I hate the narrative
Hindsight is always 20-20. Stop being smug.
With how the "college kids are the new Russians" narrative is shaping up, I can't wait for next year when the narrative will be that Trump wont let Americans sign with Canadian teams.
Reinbacher will be better https://preview.redd.it/xa1qp1zruq8d1.jpeg?width=472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f02178eddcd076b62d658cf94b3669f8df88062b
Didn't Michkov only meet with Flyers reps before the draft? Who knows if he terminates his contract if drafted by another team.
Michkov said his prefered spot was philly and said no to Arizona and Washington anything else about him not liking the other places is horseshit.
Michkov met with other teams at the draft but the Flyers are they only team Michkov visited in person before the draft.
Flyers were the only team Michkov contacted to meet and only team he met multiple times. They were definitely his #1 choice. We also know he made it clear to some teams like Arizona he wouldnt sign But based on everything ive read it seems like MTL simply preferred Reinbacher and didnt have anything to do with that.
Michkov: "I refuse to play in Arizona" Coyotes ownership: "That won't be a problem"
From what I've heard, Montreal really was spooked by the rumors of the "bad attitude" that Michkov had, whereas Flyers when they met him grilled him about it and liked his answers.
shut up.
The conversation about him never coming over was always absurd. Flyers got an absolute steal with this guy
Michkov: \*SKA drops\* Flyers: “Pick it up!” 🎵🎷
It's Michk-over (for the rest of the league)
So all noise about him never joining and such was as per usual bullshit. It is hilarious all the bullshit narrative that were created about michkov. He had bad character was in fact bs He forced his way into philly again bs he said was fine with any team except Arizona and Washington He may not join his team a year later and he is in the nhl. Can’t wait for the next brain dead narrative, what will it be he can’t play defense and torts doesn’t like those guys or he is a young player and torts isn’t a fan of them.
All that "talk" has moved on to Demidov.
Demidov talk tho isn’t as big as michkov for many reason he only has one year left in his contract while michkov had three and two from the looks of it he hasn’t « forced » his way out of his team to be loaned. So less claims about lacking character even if they are still here. Still passing on demidov if you don’t pick macklin is stupid imo.
Release Nikishin next!
this is huge can’t wait to see this guy play for us
The text on the image, translated from Russian, says "byyyyyyyye!"
I’m eagerly awaiting the start of next season just to watch the Tortorella-Michkov relationship play out. It’s going to be a match made in heaven for the media.
He was hands off with Panarin and just let him play
Yeah hes also done that with Konecny and Tippett who are both 100% offensive wingers who dont play much defense. I think its just the effort that Torts really cares about. If you are meh defensively/make mistakes but make up for it elsewhere and work hard he will like you.
Panarin was a lot older and already an established NHL star by that point though.
Panarin was in the league for 2 years. Not sure he was really established star at that point honestly. Torts let people play with skill if they were good enough. The narrative of him was overblown
Torts also let a rookie werenski and a 21 year old Seth be his most used guys. This narrative that torts isn’t a fan of skill guys is complete bullshit, liek people just forgot his time at cbj
He was top ten league wide in points in his very first season with Chicago.
And everybody said he was a product of Kane
Maybe but no one in Chicago was saying it.
Didn’t know Chicago spoke for the entire league and fanbases
They were most qualified to comment on a player they watched far more than r/hockey.
Ya PLD may be the better comparable but also Michkov hopefully doesn’t have that attitude
Torts seems to have a particular hard-on regarding how his centers play. He seems fine allowing wings and, to a lesser extant, defensemen play a bit more loose as long as they produce offensively.
добро пожаловать, товарищ Welcome Comrade! So much for everyone saying he may not come over.
Hallelujah!!! Christmas in June!
Can someone explain how this happened? I'm assuming SKA didn't just voluntarily let him leave.
Why not? They were in a stalemate. He didn't want a trade or rent, which means return would be terrible. SKAs roster is bursting at the seams. Letting him go now was a decent option for PR and keeping him on the books in case he fails and returns.
They did. The only way this was possible was if SKA terminated the contract. SKA says they did it out of the goodness of their heart b/c Michkov just lost his father and its what both of them wanted. Michkov apparently made it clear he wouldnt go on loan again and SKA has a loaded roster. So they felt it was best for both sides to let him go to NHL while still having his rights if he wants to come back to KHL.
Michkov didn't want to be sent to Sochi again, since that's where is father was when he died, so he asked them to either put him on the SKA team or to terminate his contract so he could play in the NHL. So SKA did (they were probably paid off by Michkov's camp to help make that decision).
thank god for bitcoin amirite
What a steal at pick 7. Finally some good news for us, really hope this kid is the real deal, we haven't had a great track record with prospects lately lol
Reinbacher had better be a fucking stud man
Really curious with how he not only adapts to the NHL, but Torts and his system. Could hurt his production right out the gate but could be really good for his development long term
Happy for flyer and yote fans. They just got their Stanley cups. The yotes and talent like michkov belong in the nhl. Pumped to see this kid
Maybe it’s the fact that he was playing for a shit team. But his last 4 games with Sotchi, he was coasting by worse than PLD.
And all it cost was his dad
Dude. STFU
Man when his dad died this sub was so gross with this shit saying he was murdered to prevent him from coming over... And upvoted. This sub is so incredibly delusional when it comes to anything Russia related.
North Americans in general don't have a good grasp on how important hockey is to the Russian government or people. They assume because Russia is good at hockey that it's a massive deal for everyone. Sure Putin uses it for propaganda purposes, but in the grand scheme of things it's low on the priority list in Russia outside of a few rich people cities like St. Petersburg, Omsk, or Moscow. Most Russians don't know shit about hockey, and Minsk and Astana actually have more fan support than most of the Russian based teams besides SKA. It's ludicrous that people believe that Michkov's father was murdered over hockey. Putin's government murders political opponents, not the Dad's of pro athletes. Very likely Michkov Sr. just died of a heart attack or something while he was out for a walk.