Tuesday\u2019s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast<\/a>, Elliotte Friedman spent a whole lot of time going over this potential PR crisis for the Flyers and really called on it to be addressed by the team and for general manager Danny Briere to come out and nip it in the bud. Of course, starting with a weird analogy.<\/p>\n\u201cIn the DC Universe, Kyle, there is something called the Bat Signal. You know what I\u2019m calling for today? The Briere signal,\u201d Friedman said. \u201cSo, we\u2019re going to flash the Briere signal, because I think he is the guy who is best able to put an end to this. And I know he talked the other day, but this calls for extra measures. If I was running the Philadelphia Flyers, what I would do \u2014 because Briere is the calmest, he\u2019s not going to let emotions get control of him \u2014 I would just say that he\u2019s calling a press conference and clearing the air.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt says, \u2018We\u2019re putting this all out here. This is what happened.\u2019 You know, there\u2019s talk about Michkov not showing up in shape, and now there\u2019s also talk about how Rick Tocchet discussed that the possibility of Michkov being late for treatment. If I was Briere, I go out and say, \u201cOkay, these were the issues. It\u2019s over. Today is day one of a new day. \u2026 And we\u2019re closing the book on the past and we\u2019re moving on.’\u201d<\/p>\n
That would be a very bold thing to do. Sometimes we get in our own little bubble and what seems massive, is really just whatever hockey thing is being discussed online and it never really escapes. But, with the gray area of what is now strictly online and what actually affects the real world of the NHL, this feels like something that should at least be addressed.<\/p>\n
Maybe it is addressed in a subtle and not obvious way of Tocchet suddenly giving Michkov the minutes that fans have been clamoring for. And after a few weeks straight of the 21-year-old getting to play over 16 minutes a night, most of this is water under the bridge. Or, something more drastic, like what Friedman suggested involving Briere, needs to be done.<\/p>\n
And it is put very clearly by Friedman later, Michkov means too much for the future of the Flyers for something like this to cause a potential rift between the team and the player.<\/p>\n
\u201cMatvei Michkov is too important to the Flyers. And, I understand, look if he\u2019s showing up out of shape or he is late for treatment, those are issues the Flyers have to deal with and Michkov has to be better at. But, in this new day and age, it\u2019s a two-way street. They have to say to Michkov, \u2018Okay, this is hat we were upset about. We demand you do better, but we\u2019re giving you a new slate to prove to us anything we didn\u2019t like last summer, anything we didn\u2019t like right now, to this point, we\u2019re giving you a clean slate. We\u2019re putting you out there but if you go back to what we didn\u2019t like, it\u2019s on you. But we\u2019re ending it right now.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s too important, and you have to finish this season on an upswing. I can imagine the Flyers as an organization weren\u2019t happy with some of the commentary on the weekend. I think generally you like to keep that stuff in-house. That\u2019s why I think Briere is the best option to come out and say, \u201cOkay, sometimes a relationship has to hit rock bottom before it can get better. \u2026 So this is rock bottom.\u2019<\/p>\n
Did Michkov lose a potential barrier to Tocchet?<\/p>\n
Something else Friedman touched on as a hypothesis as to why this is really blowing up now is a recent trade that the Flyers made. Back in December, the Flyers decided that defenseman Egor Zamula was no longer in their plans. They waived him, he didn\u2019t want to stay in the AHL so they ended up trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He didn\u2019t report over there and then his contract got terminated so he could go and sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets as a free agent.<\/p>\n
But, as Friedman points out, the fellow Russian was someone who Michkov could have relied on off the ice for some team dynamics and potentially with his head coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, some of the things I wonder about, Zamula is not there anymore. And he was kind of like the Michkov sounding board. And I do wonder if that\u2019s a factor too. But you have to make this work \u2014 it\u2019s too important,\u201d Friedman said.<\/p>\n
It is very interesting. Michkov lost both Zamula and goaltender Ivan Fedotov recently and that trio was seen together often enough throughout last season. There is Nikita Grebenkin (and sometimes Aleksei Kolosov) on the team as some other Russian representation but that doesn\u2019t instantly guarantee anything. Especially since Grebenkin himself is just a rookie and has even less experience in the NHL than Michkov. While Zamula did not have much value on the ice, it is interesting to wonder if what he did for the rookie off of it meant even more than we could have imagined.<\/p>\n
The Flyers have just two games before they head on the lengthy break for the Olympics. Just two games to play this week until they return on Feb. 25. Maybe this break is coming at the most perfect time and this issue can sort itself out, or no games being played will cause this to fester and infect the entire fan base even more drastically and it could get even worse than it currently is.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s never a dull moment with the Flyers.<\/p>\n
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