The Philadelphia Flyers got an encouraging update on the player their rebuild leans on hardest. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported that Matvei Michkov had a trainer he is comfortable with — and whom the Flyers know — spend roughly three weeks with him in Russia last month, and that the winger plans to return to the Philadelphia area in early August to continue his offseason program before training camp.
The details matter because of how last summer went. Michkov’s conditioning became the defining storyline of his second NHL season — head coach Rick Tocchet said publicly in February that his young winger did not arrive at camp “in shape,” an unusually blunt assessment from a coach who had spent the year trying to build him up. The talent has never been the question. The preparation was, and it followed Michkov through a season that fell short of what Philadelphia expected from its most skilled forward.
This summer looks different, at least so far. Bringing a Flyers-approved trainer to Russia rather than training alone, and building in a full month of North American ramp-up time before camp, addresses the two specific complaints from a year ago: the quality of his offseason work and how late he arrived to it. None of it guarantees a better season. It does mean that if Michkov struggles again, conditioning will be a harder explanation to reach for.
The stakes are contractual as well as competitive. Michkov is entering the final season of his entry-level deal, and every dollar of his next contract will be priced off what he shows in 2026-27. The Flyers have already committed major money to Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale this month; Michkov’s number, whenever it comes, will be bigger than either if the season goes the way both sides hope.
For fantasy managers, this is the cheapest Michkov may ever be. A down year has pushed his redraft price into the middle rounds, and a proper summer plus a contract-year push is the classic bounce-back setup. Dynasty managers holding him should not sell at the current discount, and buyers have a narrow window before August camp reports start moving the price.
