Danny Briere says Flyers won't trade Matvei Michkov

It started Tuesday afternoon while NHL GMs were in meetings. Kevin Weekes put out the report, and hockey Twitter lost its mind for the rest of the night.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

Per Kevin Weekes, Matvei Michkov would like a fresh start elsewhere

Weekes said Michkov would like a fresh start elsewhere, and reporting that followed said internal turmoil was one of the reasons. That timing isn't random. On Monday night, during Philly's 3-1 win over Vancouver, Michkov and defenseman Nick Seeler got into it on the bench, and other players had to step in. And this all comes a season after head coach Rick Tocchet publicly ripped Michkov's conditioning and work ethic before the trade deadline, then apologized for it.

The Flyers apparently weren't ready for it. The word out of Philly Tuesday night was that the team hadn't heard anything from Michkov's camp, with one source calling it news to them. So the internet did what it always does with a vague report and filled in the rest, mostly with jokes. The best one went straight at the bench fight.

JFresh

@JFreshHockey

Or maybe he'd just vaguely like one. Possibly. I guess trading Nick Seeler might be a plausible alternative.

You can see why everyone jumped on it. Michkov went 7th overall in 2023, made the All-Rookie Team in 2024-25 with 26 goals and 63 points, and has 10 goals and 14 points in 20 games this year, which leads the Flyers. He's the face of the rebuild. He's also in the last year of his entry-level deal, and extension talks haven't started. A 21-year-old sniper with leverage this summer, on a team that's 5-10-5 and 31st in the league in scoring? That isn't a trade request yet, but it's exactly how one starts.

By Wednesday morning the Flyers were pushing back hard. Kevin Kurz had a team source who flatly denied the request, in capital letters.

Kevin Kurz

@KKurzNHL

Matvei Michkov has NOT requested a trade, per a team source. t.co/sQcrlqu5CD

That's a careful way to put it, though. Nobody said Michkov is happy. They said there's no formal request, and TSN's Chris Johnston pointed out that things could still get there but aren't there right now. Emily Kaplan said the reaction inside the building was real surprise, not spin.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

"[The Flyers] were genuinely shocked" Emily Kaplan on the reports of a Matvei Michkov trade request & what's next for the #LetsGoFlyers. Plus, Mike Rupp joins to talk #NJDevils loss to Winnipeg in Hellebuyck's return game. More on Morning Cuppa Hockey ☕️

Then Briere settled the official stance. "This is all news to me," the GM said, and on moving Michkov: "No, that's not the plan at all. We've never discussed that." He added that he's been really happy with how Michkov has played, and he called the Seeler blowup 2 competitive guys who want to win. That's the right public answer. The real test is the contract talks that haven't started yet. If those drag into the summer and the losing keeps up, nobody will be shocked by the next report out of Philly.