So, should we be worried about Matvei Michkov? And do we like the way Rick Tocchet is handling this?
I have to admit, my one reservation about Rick Tocchet coming in as head coach was what happened last season in Vancouver, when the locker room became divided and star Elias Pettersson’s game virtually disappeared.
The reality is, you never truly know what’s going on in the background. I know several players around the league, and sometimes I get little reports about things that happen in the locker room—but most of that stays in the room. It’s really hard to determine whether someone is or isn’t at fault in those situations.
Rick has tended to coach teams that weren’t especially superstar-laden—like in Phoenix and, at first, in Vancouver—and he’s gotten quite a bit out of them. He was also the kind of player who had to work for everything he earned, so you start to think about how that affects the way he relates to star players.
It’s also important to remember that he played with plenty of stars—Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh, for example—and he was part of some very good Flyers teams.
So I was a bit worried about how he’d handle a guy like Michkov. Torts and Michkov were a bit like oil and water, so that was my only concern with Rick coming in. Understand, I’m a big fan of Tocchet as a coach. I talk to GMs often, and a couple of times I’ve even pitched him to teams that were looking for a new coach.
It’s obvious that Matvei isn’t quite up to speed coming into this season. He’s told the Flyers that an ankle injury slowed his progress a bit over the summer. I know many of you are skeptical about that—and I don’t know for sure—but I imagine someone like Tocchet might be skeptical too. Still, you have to believe your players, especially when you’re building a new relationship.
When Rick was asked yesterday if he might consider benching Michkov, he said he was going to let him play through it—which, based on what we know of Tocchet’s personality, was a little surprising.
But here’s where I think Tocchet is doing exactly the right thing. Michkov is a very personally driven type of star player. Being on the first line means something to Russian players—it always has. I remember reading a book once on Russian hockey that said players on the top line were viewed the same way “aces” are in baseball.
Like most lifelong stars, Michkov has an ego—but that’s not a bad thing for a sniper. You want him to be a bit selfish. I believe Rick realizes that the way to get through to Michkov is to make him feel embarrassed—not to be up to speed, not to be physically ready for overtime or a power play. Sitting on the bench is far more impactful than sitting in the press box for Michkov at this stage.
That’s a really astute approach, in my opinion, and it shows experience. There are a lot of Russian players who can float in and out of games—some who get away with it because they’re so talented. And yes, I’m talking about Malkin, who’s a superstar but could have been the most dominant Russian to ever play if he gave it his all, all the time. My two cents...
Michkov isn’t like Malkin; he’s more like Kucherov or Kaprizov. He holds himself personally accountable. If he’s not on the top line, he feels it—and he’s going to work his tail off to get back there.
As a side note, I don’t think Zegras and Michkov complement each other on the ice—at least not yet. It’s early, but they’re very similar players who like to occupy the same spaces. You’ll often see them in the same spot, especially fighting over that down-low left-side one-timer on the power play.
I do like what I’ve seen from Dvorak and Michkov together, but I really want to see a line of Jet, Greb, and Mich. I know that’s two-thirds of the current fourth line, but honestly, that trio could easily be a second or third line if you slot Michkov in there.
What are your thoughts on how Tocchet has handled this—and on the line combinations overall?