The New Jersey Devils had no chance to get Matvei Michkov. He went seventh overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, a draft where the Devils had no first-round pick. When he started falling in the draft, Devils fans were worried he was going to fall to a team within the division. He got passed the Columbus Blue Jackets at third overall, but he kept falling. Eventually, what many thought was the second best player in the draft fell all the way to seven to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Now, the Devils knew they had to face an incredibly skilled forward at least four times per season. Michkov was expected to spend extra time in the KHL, but he ended up signing his entry-level contract faster than anyone imagined.
Since he joined the Flyers, things haven’t gone well for the relationship. It was not great under John Tortorella, and then it somehow got worse under Rick Tocchet. The Flyers are dealing with a player who should be scoring close to 30 goals by now.
After 26 goals in his rookie season, Michkov has 20 goals this past season. After failing to record a point in the first four games of the Flyers’ series with their rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers made a bold move with the young forward.
Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch on Rick Tocchet's Game 5 lineup. The 21-year-old has yet to record a point for Philadelphia through four games vs. Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/Xr2VW1HiQS
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) April 27, 2026
The New Jersey Devils should take advantage of Matvei Michkov's benching
New Devils GM Sunny Mehta is going to be busy this offseason, and we expect him to be in on any analytically interesting player. Michkov has the skill and proposed impact to make strides in his career. He’s also just 21 years old, and his best years are ahead of him. He still has a year left on his entry-level contract, so he doesn’t need to get paid for another year.
On top of that, the Devils have a really good structure in place to help a guy like Michkov thrive. There are multiple Russian players, including another young guy in Arseny Gritsyuk and incoming prospects Anton Silayev and Mikhail Yegorov. They have a Russian-speaking coach in Sergei Brylin. They also have a young structure in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier that helps keep young players in the right mindset (most of the time).
Michkov has played very well against the Devils. In three games against the Devils this season, he has three goals and two assists. He’s doing much better against the Devils than he is against the Penguins, as he now has just two points in eight games against his main rival this season.
The Devils can find what makes Michkov so good against them and track them against the rest of the league.
The price for Michkov won’t be cheap, but maybe the Devils can trade a problem for a “problem.” Simon Nemec is due for a new contract this offseason, and the Devils likely don’t want to pay him his desired price. Could the Devils move Nemec for Michkov?
It would check off a lot of boxes. For now, the Devils have to pay close attention to the rest of the playoffs. We’ve seen players get benched in the playoffs before and come to the Devils and play well, like Tomas Tatar.
This one is clearly a much different situation, but Michkov could be the long-term fix in the top six the Devils have been looking for.
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