John Tortorella Matvei Michkov

John Tortorella vs Matvei Michkov: 2 Massive Personalities on the Philadelphia Flyers

When it was announced that Michkov would be descending upon North America like a vengeful hockey angel, just about everyone in the hockey world had one distinct thought. The sentiment was best articulated by prospect writer and analyst, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic.

Matvei Michkov has the talent to walk directly into the NHL, become his team’s offensive leader from the very first day, and waltz to the award that recognizes the league’s most outstanding rookie.

There’s very little debate about that from people who have seen him play. He’s a unique talent. He’s a special player. They don’t make them any more special than PHI39.

But it’s hard to totally ignore or outright dismiss the elephant in the room:

John Tortorella. At times, it almost seems as if Torts has waged war against skill in hockey. He has a reputation as a man who sees a finesse play being made on the ice, and then breaks down into tears in the very next moment.

A coach who’s notorious for hating the skill and ingenuity of the youngest generation of hockey players has to mentor a kid who is known to be the most ingenuous offensive player of this generation? You couldn’t script it any better. This is made for Hollywood.

But here’s the thing with large personalities. The surface of the man often gets conflated for the entirety of the man because there’s so much brightness that it hurts the eyes to look any deeper.

But invariably, if you look underneath the pomp and circumstance, you often find that there’s more than first meets the eye.

I’m talking about BOTH Michkov and Tortorella here. Understand: these are two unmistakably massive personalities. For that reason alone, I would expect there to be some level of conflict and consternation between the two.

But I don’t think anyone cares if they yell at each other in the locker room during game 45 of the regular season. They care if Torts is a threat to Michkov’s development. They care if Michkov is a megalomaniac beyond all coaching.

First, let’s start with Michkov.

If you think Matvei Michkov is nothing but an open-ice puck wizard who doesn’t realize that he’s playing a contact sport? You’re dead wrong. If you think Matvei Michkov is playing for Instagram views instead of the Stanley Cup, then you don’t know much about Matvei Michkov.

On one level, Michkov actively shuns unnecessary flash. Does he do the Michigan on a fairly regular basis? Sure he does. But it isn’t because he loves appearing on Instagram stories. It’s because an inordinate amount of his time in the offensive zone is spent behind the net, and without the Michigan, then he only has the wraparound to rely on. He needs another scoring weapon while he’s back there, which in turn leads to playmaking opportunities.

Look at the lack of hesitation here. He isn’t stopping behind the net and smiling for the cameras as he realizes that nobody is in position to check him, only to dramatically lift the puck onto his blade.

He picks up the puck behind the net on the cycle and scans once to see that he has space coming around. On that one scan, he executes the move flawlessly. When the goalie saves it, he’s already fighting to secure the rebound. He isn’t looking to the crowd for adulation.

He’s looking for the puck because, on the ice, he’s a robot designed to create goals at any cost.

His muscle memory gives him away. Even when he bobbles the puck, he can make the read that he has space coming around the side of the net and lift the puck onto his blade because it’s the most viable scoring technique.

He knows that he’s a unique threat behind the net for this reason among others. So he leverages that threat to create more scoring opportunities for his teammates. Faking a Michigan attempt in order to create a “meat and potatoes” slot pass from the Gretzky office?

This isn’t showmanship. It’s robotic efficiency.

And if the “flashy” move isn’t there? He can abort the move altogether and send a more traditional pass up high. What coach would hate that? A player who can take the skill play when it’s there, but also abort it before making the attempt if he reads that the defense has taken the opportunity from him?

Michkov doesn’t make spectacular plays just because he can. He isn’t looking for approval, and he isn’t trying to appear on a highlight reel. He’s ruthlessly pursuing offense every second he’s on the ice. He will do WHATEVER it takes to score a goal, be it bland or flashy.

He’ll blend the banal with the ostentatious seamlessly into the same sequence because, unlike every other hockey player on earth, it’s all the same to him.

He’ll throw up a Michigan attempt to create a rebound. He’ll tuck the puck in between a defender’s skates in order to secure possession off of that very rebound, and then he’ll send a pass to his defenseman and win a battle at the net to get a Grade A chance off a rebound from a point shot he created.

Michkov’s shooting percentage on Michigan attempts is abysmal compared to the average player because his volume far surpasses the average player. Even other hockey geniuses don’t think like Michkov.

For most players, the Michigan is a little taboo thing that you only do if you receive the absolute perfect opportunity. And even then, you think twice. For example, let’s use Connor Bedard. A player who, in his right, is a generational talent because of instincts that are unique to him.

He has the mechanical ability to execute the Michigan goal, and he did it here! He did it because there wasn’t a single member of the opposing team in his zip code. They completely abandoned one side of the net, and it would have been irresponsible if he DIDN’T go for that goal.

That’s when some players will go for the Michigan. Because even in the youngest generation, it’s ingrained in players that it’s a spectacular move to be seldom used.

It isn’t a hockey play. That’s what they say. Michkov says: bullshit.

For Michkov? It’s a hockey play. It’s no different from a shot on goal. Bedard’s shooting prowess and unique shiftiness (visible in that entry) are what make him special.

What makes Michkov special is that nothing is off limits. Nothing is taboo, and there’s no wasted movements. He’ll do anything to create offense, and he’ll do it without undue pomp or circumstance.

He’s the pictured definition of efficiency, and he’s singularly driven to be the best hockey player in the world.

That’s who Matvei Michkov is underneath all of the Michigan attempts and fancy dangles. If you look beyond the surface, you see a uniquely efficient offensive talent who will spare no expense to put goals on the board for his team.

He’s the kid who was pissed off at SKA for benching him because it mucked up his plans to lead the KHL in scoring. He’s the kid who said that the rebuild is over when he arrives. That’s when Philly starts winning.

Most hockey players will say they don’t look at the stat sheet because it’s all about the team. Michkov says he looks a lot at how many points he’s scoring, because the team is gonna win a lot if he’s doing his job as the offensive engine.

That’s who Michkov is. But what about John Tortorella?

Torts is, indeed, the guy who talks incessantly about defense and being hard to play against, and all the rest of it. Torts would, in fact, send Morgan Frost to be the third-line center for the Kunlun Red Star if it was even remotely up to him.

But there’s another side of Torts. There’s the guy who, frankly, has no idea how offense is generated in the NHL but he knows it’s really important.

First, there’s the reason why he has Frosty lined up for a KHL contract.

Frost often makes his skill a matter of hypotheticals. Here’s what he could do instead of what he’s actually doing when he’s on the ice. We all need more.

Tortorella isn’t wrong in suggesting that Frost needs to be more. And if he isn’t going to be more, well, Ryan Poehling is younger and maybe a bit cheaper.

Tortorella has searched exhaustively for a Flyer who will actually make some damn plays offensively.

That was a constant refrain from Torts during the 22-23 season. “We don’t make enough plays.”

He said it again and again, and he had no idea how to change it. He wants to change it. “Safe is death” isn’t something he just forgot about.

He’s all for making plays knowing full well the risk is a 2 on 1 going the other way. That’s why they have a goalie, he says!

But wanting your team to make plays at the risk of making mistakes. You still need someone who has the vision, the skill, and the will to make it happen.

That’s what Michkov represents. A player who actually understands that “safe is death,” and is totally willing to make mistakes in order to create goals.

And John Tortorella… for his part… seems to know that.

The team is being built for the “the Mad Russian,” and he’s a total madman for the best possible reason: he doesn’t give a damn that he’s 19 and coming into the best league in the world from an entirely different culture. He’ll play the same way regardless, and it takes a lunatic to behave that way.

But a lunatic is exactly what John Tortorella has been longing for.

Philadelphia Flyers 2024-25 Schedule: Away Game Travel Packages via Phans of Philly

Join The Chase

Read More

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Back To Top

Discover more from The Liberty Line

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading