On May 14, 2025, the Philadelphia Flyers paid Rick Tocchet handsomely to be their new head coach. Making over $25 million, he was expected to help a rebuilding team take the next step, preparing them for future contention better than anyone else on the market could.
With a 16–9–3 record, the early returns are solid on paper. Through the one-third mark of their 2025–26 campaign, the Flyers are on track to end a franchise-long postseason drought: five seasons, going back to 2020–21. Tocchet has done his job.
But there is a much bigger storyline. He and 21-year-old forward Matvei Michkov haven’t exactly been two peas in a pod. The coach has repeatedly emphasized playing “the right way,” prioritizing dump-ins to limit rush chances against. His north-south, risk-averse style has gotten the Flyers in the win column, but also Michkov into some trouble.
Michkov’s Performance and Usage This Season
Despite encouraging offensive impacts analytically, Michkov has only 16 points in 28 games—a full-season pace of 47, down from 63 points in 80 games as a rookie. Furthermore, he is averaging just 14:45 of ice time each night, a regression of nearly two minutes compared to last season under a hard-nosed John Tortorella for most of it.
Michkov has been forced to improve his defense. But the results have been mixed, according to Natural Stat Trick. At 5-on-5, he ranks in the 20th and 65th percentiles, respectively, for actual and expected goals against per 60 minutes among forwards with 200 minutes of ice time.
Regardless of his continued defensive efforts and the offense showing on the box score of late—his seven points across the team’s last nine games rank second—the usage hasn’t changed. Michkov is a distant eighth among forwards in average ice time during that nine-game stretch, despite being one of five forwards with an actual and expected goal share above 50% at 5-on-5 (meaning, he is outscoring and outplaying opponents).
Justifying this lack of usage was an early-season report that Michkov came to camp “out of shape.” While the overall numbers are good, he’s also below-average defensively—something Tocchet has called out.
But in his pregame presser for a Dec. 9 contest vs. the San Jose Sharks, he may have dissed his potential franchise forward, and on his 21st birthday, no less. You be the judge.
Did Tocchet Diss Michkov?
Tocchet was asked about Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, who has been soaring with the Sharks this season. Seeing as the two could be united at the 2026 Winter Olympics for Canada in February, the following quote simply comes off as respect for a talented player.
“Plays a 200-foot game. […] It’s not just an offensive guy; you watch him, and he’s conscientious, he’s trying to play without the puck. […] Came into camp in great shape. He’s elevated himself.”
Considering the context, this could be a diss at Michkov—these are all things that Tocchet has called him out for doing wrong. The “out of shape” debacle was a big one. Not playing 200 feet has been repeatedly referenced.
Now, Celebrini is an unbelievable hockey player. But “in great shape,” something Tocchet made sure to mention multiple times, doesn’t stand out as one of his defining traits. Plus, his defensive metrics are actually worse than Michkov’s.
Allowing 3.14 expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, that ranks in the 8th percentile among forwards with 200 minutes of ice time. Fantastic goaltending from rookie Yaroslav Askarov has helped turn that into a solid goals-against rate (just 2.21 per 60), but even if that and the effort are there, the numbers don’t quite suggest Celebrini is a world-class two-way guy yet.
Then, there’s the idea that Michkov is “out of shape” and Celebrini is “in great shape.” The latter has undeniable hustle, but according to NHL Edge, neither has recorded a skating burst above 22 miles per hour. Meanwhile, they’ve skated about the same miles per 60 miles, ranking in the 86th (Michkov) and 93rd (Celebrini) percentiles among forwards.
Skating speed and distance aren’t the only indicators of how good of shape a player is in. But both players are skating a lot, winning board battles, and creating chances—the math suggests they’re both doing well in that department.
For further context, captain Sean Couturier more or less called out Michkov’s two-way game back in November. “He’s a great goalscorer and has a lot of skill, I think you just gotta find a way to contribute to helping the team win in other ways. […] If he sticks to playing more of the right way, I think it’s gonna be better for the team overall.”
