The Real Appeal of Matvei Michkov For Flyers Fans

Matvei Michkov didn’t score any goals or win any Stanley Cups during his introductory press conference. He actually didn’t even speak in a language that the majority of Philadelphia Flyers fans would understand.

The 19-year-old Russian winger will need time to develop in the NHL. The players around him aren’t ready for championship contention, and they won’t be for several years.

What made fans so excited when he appeared at the Flyers Training Center in Vorhees during the dead of the NHL offseason then? It has less to do with hockey and much more to do with a franchise trying to rediscover itself after a brutally long stretch outside the spotlight.

The Flyers announced Danny Briere and Keith Jones as the pillars of the new hockey operations department in May 2023. Two former players with minimal front office experience inherited financial disarray, a lack of top-end talent, and a team that had missed the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

Although the public didn’t realize it, Philadelphia's top prospect Cutter Gauthier also had no interest in building the New Era of Orange.

The Flyers held the seventh-overall pick in a draft that included only four projected stars. Danny Briere, however, set his sights high with the first selection he’d make as an NHL general manager.

A combination of good fortune and bold confidence pushed Briere to take the risk the Flyers need to move on from the dormancy they’d entered for the previous decade.

Other NHL organizations passed on Matvei Michkov, who landed second or third on most draft boards, out of fear for his timeline leaving the KHL in Russia.

Danny Briere instead announced Philadelphia’s real intention to reemerge as a relevant NHL franchise willing to take risks that define their competitive spirit.

He’s feeling okay about his gamble now that a fiercely competitive 19-year-old has crossed the Atlantic two years earlier than the Flyers expected.

The Flyers drifted through a period of mediocrity under GM Ron Hextall from 2014-2018. They plummeted into outright futility after the Covid-19 pandemic in a disastrous end to the Chuck Fletcher regime.

The conversation shifted to subjective topics about how the franchise had lost its identity.

What’s their identity? Is the buzzword just a subjective reference to the Broad Street Bullies moniker associated with Stanley Cups half a century ago?

The Bullies put the franchise on the map with vicious brawls and intimidation tactics. However, they shaped the identity of the franchise differently.

Jeff Marek of SportsNet shared a story about Dave Schultz’s initial reactions to media criticism of a Flyers team painted as the NHL’s villains ruining the sport of hockey in the 1970s.

Schultz didn’t appreciate the harsh label, and he approached his head coach about the problem. Fred Shero spoke with his famed enforcer about the only way to avoid criticism.

The Flyers began to welcome hate from the rest of the NHL. Ed Snider welcomed the spotlight at every turn (for better or for worse).

The organization’s bias for action pushed them to make arguably the biggest blockbuster in NHL history to land Eric Lindros in 1992. It drove continuous aggressive spending in free agency, a chaotic revolving door of head coaches, and the identity of an organization who loved landing at the top of the headlines.

Whether you loved them or hated them, you still talked about the Flyers.

Things changed. The Flyers struggled to adjust to changes during the salary cap era after 2005. Their aggressive nature caught up to them. Snider passed away in 2016 with an incredible legacy behind him.

What’s possibly more surprising than the recent lack of success on the ice? The Flyers slipped into a position of irrelevance they never thought they’d be in.

The Flyers have reignited their fan base with Matvei Michkov Mania. The Russian winger has already drawn comparisons to Nikita Kucherov. Briere and Jones have lauded his skill.

Most importantly, they've boldly taken action with the attitude they want to maintain on their way back to Stanley Cup contention. The Flyers want to regain their prominence as an iconic NHL brand, and they remembered that they didn’t build that reputation in the first place with conventional thinking.

Danny Briere has made it clear he’s not willing to sit out and allow the rest of the NHL to steal the headlines while the Flyers gain their footing. A successful rebuild will require risks like the one that seems to be paying off sooner than anyone expected.

Things won’t roll smoothly at every turn for Michkov and the Flyers. They never will for rebuilding organizations or for 19-year-olds in the NHL. The Flyers also still face serious cap restrictions, goaltending question marks, and unproven depth throughout the roster.

However, bringing in Matvei Michkov breathed life into an organization and a fan base that desperately needed it.

The iconic brand of the Philadelphia Flyers has developed through a storied history since Ed Snider founded the franchise in 1967. There have been 19 players to earn the honor of wearing the "C" on their jerseys as the captains for the Flyers.

The days of the Broad Street Bullies during the 1970s put the Flyers on the map in Philadelphia. They’ve since transitioned into different eras that have inspired the consensus around the NHL as the seventh integral team to hockey tradition outside the Original Six.

Wearing the “C” as an NHL captain is part of the allure of the sport. Fans hear the rhetoric whenever a hockey player receives the honor.

The importance has lessened in the modern era of the NHL. Many captains wear the letter just as the star player and most recognizable name on the team. However, the heart and soul players still have a place in the game.

The Flyers prioritize their history and the spirit of their organization more than any other NHL franchise. The honor of the captaincy aligns with those ideas of following in the footsteps of Bobby Clarke, Eric Lindros, or Claude Giroux.

Back-to-back Stanley Cup in 1974-75 established the identity of the Flyers. They revolutionized the NHL with intimidation tactics that changed the game forever. The organization still considers the Broad Street Bullies the root of their DNA.

Their success as one of the top teams in the NHL continued during the 1980s when they made it back to three Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers proved they can never stay out of the spotlight when they sent shockwaves through the NHL by acquiring Lindros in 1992.

The era that followed kept them in the conversation as a contender through the 1990s and into the 2000s. The leadership of their legendary captains has led them to their greatest accomplishments.

The Flyers weren’t a hot ticket in town yet during their first season in the NHL. The expansion wave of 1967 doubled the size of the league, but the Original Six teams still remained the only true Stanley Cup contenders.

Lou Angotti and the Flyers played the little brother role to the St. Louis Blues, the early powerhouse of the expansion teams. He passed away in 2021.

The Broad Street Bullies began to take shape with bruiser Ed Van Impe wearing the "C." The biggest mark of his legacy came after he handed the captaincy to Bobby Clarke.

The big defenseman threw a monstrous check on Valeri Kharlamov when the Flyers defeated the Soviet Red Army team at the Spectrum in 1976. The hit led the Russians off the ice in a tantrum against the rough style of the beloved Bullies.

It’s hard to find any player in NHL history who embodies the identity of a franchise better than Bobby Clarke represents the Philadelphia Flyers. He helped usher in the era of the fiercest, most intimidating team that bullied their way to consecutive Stanley Cup in 1973-74 and 1974-75. 

Clarke still holds franchise records in goals, assists, games played, and plus/minus. He had two stints as the captain in Philadelphia.

The Flyers selected Mel Bridgman with the 1st-overall pick in the 1975 amateur draft. It’s the only time in franchise history they’ve picked in the top spot. Bridgman totaled 324 points over seven seasons in Philadelphia. His tenure with the "C" included a run to the 1980 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Islanders.

The Flyers dealt him to the Calgary Flames in 1981, and he played 14 total seasons in the NHL.

Bill Barber still holds the franchise record with 420 goals. He was part of the feared LCB Line (Reggie Leach, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber) during the 1970s, and he took over the captaincy toward the end of his 12-year career.

He entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, and his number 7 hangs in the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center.

Dave Poulin wasn’t the best player in franchise history, but he played an invaluable role for the Flyers teams at the top of the NHL during the 1980s. He received votes for the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward eight times, and he won the award for the 1986-87 season.

The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Final against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers in 1985 and 1987 during Poulin’s captaincy. He entered the franchise Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Sutter family remarkably sent six brothers to the NHL. Ron Sutter played 19 seasons in the league. Nine of them came with the Flyers. He played 555 games and recorded 360 points in orange and black.

Rick Tocchet earned the respect of the entire hockey world as a heart and soul player in the deep playoff runs of the 1980s. The Flyers awarded the captaincy to the “Rocket” for the 1991-92 season after their success in the 1980s had waned.

They dealt him away to the Pittsburgh Penguins before the end of the season, but he returned for a second stint in 2000. His impact on multiple eras of Flyers hockey landed him in the franchise Hall of Fame.

The Hartford Whalers sent Kevin Dineen to the Flyers in 1991. He became the captain for the 1992-93 season as a respected veteran during a forgettable era in Philadelphia.

Dineen played 19 seasons in the NHL and retired with 760 career points and 2,229 career penalty minutes. He has continued his life around the game as an NHL and AHL coach for over two decades.

The Eric Lindros era didn’t end the way that Ed Snider and Bobby Clarke hoped it would. However, the organization has buried a bad memory of stripping his captaincy in favor of honoring the good times.

The most talented hockey player ever to wear the Flyers jersey won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP in 1995 and led the Flyers to the 1997 Stanley Cup Final. His point per game average ranks among the best in NHL history.

The Flyers handed the "C" to Eric Desjardins in response to the Lindros saga. He had previously spent time as an alternate captain with Rod Brind'Amour.

The puck-moving defenseman was the rock of the Philadelphia blue line during the memorable era of contention in the 1990s and early 2000s. He ranks toward the top of the franchise record books in most statistical categories among defensemen.

It took a great hockey player to make the Flyers forget about trading Rod Brind’Amour, but Keith Primeau quickly made an impression in Philadelphia. He proved himself as the team leader in the early 2000s after Lindros left a void as the top-line center.

Primeau’s goal in Game 4 of the 2000 series against the Penguins still stands as one of the best memories in Flyers history. He scored a comparably memorable goal four years later in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

The Flyers unsurprisingly made a splash after the 2004-05 lockout. Derian Hatcher spent his best years with the Dallas Stars, but he occupied the captaincy as a stopgap during his time with the Flyers. He played his final three seasons in the NHL in Philadelphia.

Hatcher hung around long enough to play in the Eastern Conference Final in 2008.

The decision to trade Peter Forsberg as part of the Lindros deal is questionable with the benefit of hindsight. The crafty Swede did return to the organization in his 30s after his prime years. Forsberg struggled with injuries in Philadelphia, but he was stunningly skilled with the puck in the 100 games he played for the Flyers.

Paul Holmgren dealt Forsberg to the Predators to begin a series of moves that ultimately brought Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to Philadelphia.

The Flyers came back with a vengeance in 2007-08 after their worst season in franchise history. Holmgren flipped his roster upside down, and his retool included acquiring veteran Jason Smith to wear the "C" for a team that reached the Eastern Conference Final.

Smith wasn’t a star player. However, he served his purpose well enough in one season with the Flyers to earn a position in the organization after his retirement.

An organization that stripped the "C" off one of the most publicized players in NHL history experienced another controversy just over a decade later. Mike Richards was a hard-nosed hockey player who took over the captaincy at age 23.

The Flyers hoped they found the next Bobby Clarke, and Richards played with incredible intensity as a two-way forward and a penalty killer. The Sea Isle City regular flamed out quickly in Philadelphia, however, and Holmgren dealt him and Jeff Carter away on the same day in a summer stunner in 2011.

Chris Pronger was one of the most intimidating players in NHL history. The 6-foot-6 defenseman captured the hearts of Flyers fans as the general of the 2010 team that reached the Stanley Cup Final. He was the obvious choice as the captain after the Richards trade.

He only played 13 more games in the NHL. An unfortunate injury ended his career too soon, and the Flyers have not truly replaced him since. Look for Pronger’s name on any list of the best defensemen in NHL history.

The Flyers hoped for a new era of Stanley Cup glory with Claude Giroux as the centerpiece. After they named him the captain in 2013 following the latest NHL lockout, they fell off the face of the Earth. Giroux became one of the most consistent point scorers in the NHL for a decade as the captain, and the depth behind him never gave him a chance to lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup.

The Flyers traded Giroux in 2022 in the deal that brought Owen Tippett to Philadelphia.

The John Tortorella era began without a captain while the Flyers attempted to establish a new standard for performance on and off the ice. They named Sean Couturier their captain in 2024 during his 12th season in Philadelphia.

Couturier broke into the NHL at age 18 in 2011-12. He steadily ascended into the role of a top-line center. The peak of his career came in 2019-20 when he won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive (but really two-way) forward.