Michkov’s upcoming arrival is a sigh of relief for the Flyers

Credit: KHL

News arrived on Sunday that Russian superstar prospect Matvei Michkov, who was under contract with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL, will join the Philadelphia Flyers next season.

It was initially thought that Michkov would stay in Russia until at least 2026-27, but rumors that he would terminate his contract with SKA picked up steam after the end of the regular season.

Today on Daily Faceoff Live, Frank Seravalli breaks down what the signing means to the Flyers brass, and the city and what a sigh of relief it was for everyone.

Tyler Yaremchuk: It sounds like Matvei Michkov is going to be a Philadelphia Flyer next weekend, how big of a sigh of relief is that?

Frank Seravalli: Humoungus. This is a player they worked hard to get at the draft, yeah a lot of things have to work for him to fall to you but they played their cards right. They really had their eyes set on Michkov last year and said he is there at No. 7, “We are taking him.” The reason why he ended up there, is A) because of the Russian factor and B) because he had a contract that ran through til 2026-27 and teams didn’t want to wait that long, you look at how long it took the Minnesota Wild to get Kirill Kaprizov, but you see how much of a game breaker he has been.

Frank Seravalli: The Flyers are very close to getting their hands on him, he has been granted his leave from SKA. They are hoping if he can get his VISA straightened out he can be on American soil around July 4, which certainly has more to do. The point being they weren’t sure when they were going to get their hands on him, weird things happen in Russia. Ivan Fedotov, their goalie is a great example of how difficult it can be at times. Does this raise questions about how he fits into their timeline of wanting to be competitive and having all those pieces come together, of course, all those things come into question. But what isn’t coming into question anymore, is you are now getting this guy who you have coveted for years now and can now mould the team around him.