Flyers’ Owen Tippett Would Benefit From Matvei Michkov

Tippett finished the 2023-24 regular season with the fastest recorded top speed of any NHL player at 24.2 miles per hour. Giving Michkov that kind of player to feed off of would essentially serve as a “pick your poison” dilemma in 2-on-1 situations. Coupling immense creativity with deadly speed is a match made in heaven.

While Tippett did damage on the rush in his last campaign, he could be even better. He played a lot of minutes with players like Morgan Frost and Sean Couturier who aren’t at the level of Michkov in terms of their offensive game, even if they have years of experience in the NHL. Unlike almost every Flyer on the team, Michkov is always hunting for pucks and trying to create offense.

Having a left-handed (Michkov) and right-handed (Tippett) duo would also do a lot of good, setting up better one-time opportunities. Doing so can allow for a stronger and higher percentage shot, exemplified by the excellence of Alexander Ovechkin who is a right-handed shooter on the left side just like Tippett.

In terms of setting up breakaways, Michkov can create these for himself or help Tippett out with them. While the latter scored on a lot of breakaways, it was very rare for a breakout pass to hit him on the tape. When that did happen, it was both unstoppable and absolutely beautiful.

If the Flyers can increase their chances on the rush, they’ll score a lot more goals. That side of Philadelphia’s offense vanished from time to time, and it hurt them immensely. Tippett can reach the next level in his offensive game if he has a player like Michkov by his side — his identity is something the Flyers don’t have currently. An anemic offense could take a significant step in the right direction if he is acquired.

Tippett Can Unlock In-Zone Scoring

The Flyers were one of the worst in-zone scoring teams in the NHL despite having plenty of chances in that regard. The big reason for that is they had a massive discrepancy between high-danger and low-danger scoring opportunities. Finishing 25th in the former and 2nd in the latter, of course, they weren’t going to score that much. With their open looks limited, they resorted to just hoping pucks would go in the net instead of actually creating their luck.

Michkov is a sensational in-zone scorer, so the Flyers wouldn’t have to worry about that as much if he is in the NHL in 2024-25. Ending his age-19 campaign with the second-most goals (19) ever recorded by a KHL player his age, we know he can score — he did a lot of it inside the offensive zone.

Contrary to what some might believe due to his 5-foot-10 stature, Michkov has a high-end compete level. He fights for pucks, battles through contact, and does pretty much whatever is necessary to score. Combining all that with a dangerous shot and a world-class hockey IQ that can be used for playmaking purposes, it’s easy to be excited.

If Michkov were present, Tippett’s in-zone scoring could surge. Not only does Michkov demand attention, which would take eyes off of Tippett, but it would allow for the latter to receive more open looks while he is in the offensive zone. That’s something he had to force at times with the Orange and Black in 2023-24, and it led to an uninspiring 9.7 shooting percentage.

Tippett is a very good shooter regardless of what the numbers might say. The Flyers relied on him so heavily for offense at times that he was doing everything he could to try and score. With Michkov, that would be infinitely easier. Creating space wouldn’t be as much of a premium, which could cause a drastic increase in Philadelphia’s scoring.

Tippett had 28 goals in 78 games in 2023-24 with the worst team power play percentage the NHL has seen since 2020-21. If a skater is taken off of the ice in a penalty-killing situation, cross-ice passes would also see a jump. A player like Michkov, as raw as he might be entering the NHL, could legitimately make Tippett a 40-goal player as early as his age-20 campaign. The more space he has, the better.

Other Factors That Could Help the Flyers

The Flyers’ defense was one of the better units in the NHL even though they played such a rush-oriented game. Tippett and Michkov can’t be all offense all the time, but they can certainly cheat a little bit with that in mind. If they were on the same team, it would provide a spark to head coach John Tortorella’s offense.

While Frost isn’t Michkov, he helped Tippett play to his potential when they were linemates. Throwing him in between these two at center could take a playmaking burden off of Michkov, allowing him to try and score goals, too. In 2024-25, the youngster would be entering a pretty ideal situation even if the Flyers aren’t exactly stacked with weapons.

It’s not clear as to whether or not Michkov will actually end his stint in the KHL early, but it seems more and more likely by the day. If he does and he’s paired with Tippett, there could be an incredible mutual benefit.