Danny Briere played the role of mediator as he stood outside the Flyers’ management suite at Xfinity Mobile Arena.<\/p>\n
While the topic of discussion revolved around Matvei Michkov, the young pillar to the Flyers’ rebuild, it felt like Briere was mediating between the fan base and head coach.<\/p>\n
Some outside scrutiny had recently grown<\/a> over Rick Tocchet’s handling of Michkov’s development this season. Going back to October, Tocchet has spoken honestly about Michkov needing to be in better physical shape.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the 21-year-old winger has seen his scoring and minutes dip from last season, when he had a dynamic rookie year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Briere wanted to calm things down Tuesday night.<\/p>\n “Him and Matvei, they have a good relationship,” the Flyers’ general manager said<\/a> before the team’s 4-2 win over the Capitals. “Sometimes they’re fiery, sometimes when you’re not winning, things are done and said, but they always come back to the table and they want the best for this team, and Rick wants the best for Matvei.”<\/p>\n Last season, Michkov led all NHL rookies with 26 goals and was tied for second in points with 63. This season, he’s on pace to finish with 19 goals and 43 points. He has 13 goals and 29 points in 54 games. He’s playing two fewer minutes per game (14:34) than he did last season (16:41).<\/p>\n “He admitted himself that he wasn’t in the best physical condition coming in,” Briere said. “It’s going to be tough to catch up. Now, he’s in better shape than he was when he arrived this season. Unfortunately, everybody is in better shape than they were in training camp.<\/p>\n “So it’s really tough for him to catch up with the amount of games that we have, the amount of travel that we have, it’s just tough for him to catch up in-season. He’s going to do that in the offseason; it was a good lesson for him and it’s just going to make him a better hockey player next year.”<\/p>\n In December, Michkov mentioned how he might train at the team’s facility in the offseason<\/a> instead of going home to Russia for the whole summer.<\/p>\n “We hope so, he said that,” Briere said. “Being around Matvei the last few years, I know how driven he is, so I have no worry about the future. I think this is just a little hiccup, what happened this year.”<\/p>\n Briere said all young players go through a learning process in the NHL. He referenced a number of Flyers who experienced some struggles and learned from them.<\/p>\n “I said it a couple of years ago, when Matvei arrived earlier than expected<\/a>, we knew there would be some bumps along the way,” Briere said. “And that’s kind of what is happening.”<\/p>\n