What Is Going On With Matvei Michkov And The Philadelphia Flyers?

What Is Going On With Matvei Michkov And The Philadelphia Flyers?

we’re going to start today talking uh a lot about what’s been one of the biggest stories in the prospect news and it’s not really a story yet because we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen and that’s what’s going on with Matt vay mitkov the Philadelphia Flyers and SCA St Petersburg the team in the KHL that owns his rights and to be completely Frank we don’t know exactly what’s going on but there’s obviously been a little bit more smoke there was a a report this weekend in uh sport Express which is one of the the top news outlets in Russia for sporting news um and Arthur kolan who is one of the reporters out there that covers hockey most closely uh reported essentially that there is talk of mattv Mitch’s contract with Scot St Petersburg which lasts until 2025 26 presently could be terminated um and in that result in the end would allow mitov to get out of the contract before it’s over and then would be able to uh join the Flyers essentially as a free agent because he would not have any contractual obligations well let’s talk about a lot of the different things that we know so far and and so we we at least have that one report what we know is that Mitch COV currently is under contract with Scott St Petersburg until 2025 26 that’s still two more seasons you know after the one that we’re just about to complete here that’s a long time to wait for a top prospect that was risk that the Flyers were willing to take as a rebuilding team knowing that he was such an integral piece of the team the other thing we know about mat mitkov is that for the last two seasons he’s actually been loaned out by Scott to to Sochi um and why did they do that well because they couldn’t get him the ice time with St Petersburg so they sent him to Sochi he has one of the best seasons ever by a player under 20 in the KHL only Carill capriso had more points than mitkov did this past season and as a u20 I should say and that is really intriguing obviously he’s he’s ready for more but the question is is Will St Petersburg give him the opportunity to play more and if they aren’t what does that where does that leave mitchco and where does that leave Scott St Petersburg they’re only going to be potentially able to get two seasons out of what has largely been considered the best Russian Prospect since Alex oetkin so it’s a very complicated situation here’s the other thing that that is in play that that we should talk about and and and discuss there is no transfer agreement between the NHL and the KHL that’s why if there is going to be some movement between the two sides there has to be no valid contract on one of the sides so you may recall a few years ago Ivan fatov was signed to a contract by the Philadelphia Flyers he was not under contract at that point by cska Moscow ccot Moscow and that basically allowed you know he figured he was going to go to North America well you probably also know that he was detained by Russian authorities told that he was skipping out on his military obligations was sent uh sent to military service for a year then went back signed a new contract with cska Moscow and then he ends up playing a season the double IHF steps in they say hey wait a second he has a valid NHL contract that was signed you and and they were basically saying no it isn’t the the the Russian team was saying no it’s not but it was and even though theihf has expelled Russia from International competition they’re still the international governing body of the sport that control things like transfers and things like that well they’ve issued a three-year transfer ban for CSK and Moscow for violating that they’ve also uh told Ivan fatov he is not able to play in any International competitions uh which includes the Olympics and as of right now Russia is not involved in double IHF events but we don’t know whether or not Russia will be included under that you know Russian Olympic athletes Banner at the Winter Olympics in a couple of years when NHL players are going to be allowed to play and if they are that obviously opens the door for a player like fatov while not if he’s banned and so that is apparently still happening so there’s that contentiousness that exists in the current status that we have right now between the NHL and the KHL it’s very complicated um but basically until Mitch’s contract is officially terminated and really not terminated but bought out and the details of how that happens in Russia of how a player is able to buy out his own contract is very murky it’s a very expensive proposition There Are Rules as to who can pay the buyout uh I believe it has to come from the player like like the Flyers can’t pay the buyout for him so that’s another situation that complicates and why this is not going to be a a quick process what I will say though is that there is enough smoke here to say that that is it is at least possible that Mitch’s contract situation will be resolved he will maybe have it terminated or if it’s not resolved this offseason maybe The Following season so he doesn’t have to wait that extra year the question that I think a lot of people have is why would SCA St Petersburg let go of this tremendous Prospect especially one that just had a tremendous season and that’s really where things are unclear um you know you kind of have to read through the lines and and there’s not really any official statements you’re kind of reading it through the media and you’re reading it through Russian media so you’re reading it through translators and you know there’s all sorts of complicating factors but what ultimately could happen is if that contract goes away Matt Fe mitkov signs with the Philadelphia Flyers he’s a able to play for them as soon as next season that really enhances the timeline of a team’s rebuild he should be relatively ready to get into the NHL at at his age maybe he’ll need some time in the AHL but that’s pretty doubtful and it’s probably he probably wouldn’t be coming over here if he thought that he was going to have to spend some time in the AHL even though I think that is a very valuable step for a lot of players especially players coming over from overseas and I think more Russian players should should take teams up on that opportunity to use that stepping stone for a smoother transition to the NHL but either way a prospect of of Mitch’s caliber is typically going to get the opportunity to make the team and and I think that if he’s going to sign with the Flyers the expectation is he’ll be on the NHL roster next year how quick would he be able to make an impact that really remains to be seen obviously he’s still very young but he’s also has this tremendous success he’s you know unprecedented almost in terms of you know the the players that he’s comparable to and his age bracket in the KHL a really remarkable uh opportunity for him to to come over to the NHL and maybe make it an immediate impact and this would obviously impact the Flyers plans I think you think you want to have this resolved before the draft you want to have this re resolved before free agent the Flyers have a lot of flexibility they can do a lot of different things and if they have Matt B mitkov in the mix that really changes the whole dynamic but the reason that you can’t count your chickens before they hatch is because with this Russian situation with the geopolitical climate being what it is with the fact that you’re talking about a very high-profile Russian player a player that has some cache in that country a player that is valued in that country and a player that you know you look at these teams they don’t want to lose their Stars too soon and we saw denila yurov who had a tremendous season in the KHL resign a one-year deal to stay in the KHL for an extra season we’re hoping that he’ll come over to North America to play for the Minnesota Wild in a couple of years to get a look at that player but Mitch cob you know there’s there’s all sorts of different pressures there’s political pressures there’s you know contract pressures there’s expectations and everything else

Questions and rumors are swirling around Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers and we’re all left wondering what’s to come?

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