The Philadelphia Flyers’ biggest need both prospect-wise and on their current roster seems pretty obvious. The center core here, on the surface, is weaker compared to most teams in the NHL. But does that really matter for someone like young phenom Matvei Michkov? And is that really the case? Let’s talk about it.
Top Wingers Who Have Done Heavy Lifting for Their Centers
There are some examples of top-end wingers who did their magic without a generational center by their side, which ties into the Flyers quite a bit. The two best in the sport according to NHL Network, Nikita Kucherov and Matthew Tkachuk, have been wildly successful without dominant centermen. Let’s take a look at their situations.
When Kucherov was very young in his career, he played a majority of his minutes with center Tyler Johnson. Making a trio with Ondrej Palat, these three were vital for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2014-15 campaign that eventually led to a Stanley Cup Final appearance. Playing nearly 700 even-strength minutes by each other’s side, the “Triplets Line” was inseparable.
While the players around Kucherov were sensational in their own right, they never took a step up after they started to play with him much less. Nearly a decade later, his former linemates have never matched their point totals from 2014-15—Kucherov has exploded, through.
At the end of the day, we can attribute most of the excellence of the Triplets Line to Kucherov. In fact, he was arguably the best player on that team, on the ice for a team-leading 80 even-strength goals in the regular season to just 41 against. Had he played as much ice time as captain Steven Stamkos, he would have been on pace for 84 points—nobody on the team had 73.
At the young age of 21, Kucherov was objectively the best forward on the best team in the Eastern Conference and the best offense in the NHL. He wasn’t doing this centered by a superstar like Stamkos, but a second-liner. Presently, Brayden Point has certainly been an upgrade over Johnson, but it’s still the Kucherov show—he has largely inflated the former’s numbers.
In a similar situation, we can look to Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers. Since he made the Sunshine State his new home in 2022-23, he has played 57 percent of his even-strength ice time with second-line center Sam Bennett instead of two-way superstar Aleksander Barkov. Seeing as the team went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 and won a championship in 2024, this plan worked.
In the ice time he shared with Bennett in these last two seasons, Tkachuk had elite on-ice numbers with a plus-28 rating at even strength. It’s clear which player benefitted the most from this, as, when the two were split, Tkachuk had a plus-29 rating with similar on-ice numbers while Bennett was subpar numbers-wise and had an even rating.
This is less comparable to Kucherov’s situation, as present-day Barkov is a tier or two above 2014-15 Stamkos, but Tkachuk has had an immense impact over the last couple of seasons. Able to turn any line into one of the best in the league, he doesn’t need much help to do that. With Tkachuk, linemates Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe form one of the most offensively potent trios in the league. When the superstar winger is out of the equation, there is severe regression.
The dynamic between players such as Jason Robertson with Roope Hintz, William Nylander with John Tavares, and Kirill Kaprizov with his centers over the years isn’t as prevalent but worth mentioning. It’s not rare for the best wingers in the league on the best teams to take charge and form an elite line regardless of who is around them. Fourth-line centers aren’t thrown in the mix for top results, but competent second-liners can be all it takes in some instances.
Does Michkov Even Need Much More Help?
I’ve brought up the Flyers’ necessity for top centers quite a bit recently. And, to be fair, they should try to go out and get those by any means possible—almost no cost is too much. At the same time, though, if Michkov becomes what his unmatched dominance in Russia suggests he will, he might be able to do without this kind of help.
The Flyers have a responsibility to build up their team further than where it’s at now. Eventually, they probably will—Michkov is 19 years old. But it’s important to recognize that the Flyers can contend even if they don’t land another superstar. The team’s choice to not pursue a “true” rebuild by not selling players like Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and others in the 2023 offseason is very telling as to how they view the teenage Russian.
The Flyers failed in the 2010s with Claude Giroux because they were never in a position to win. When he became the face of the franchise in 2011-12, they had no prospects, bad contracts, and poor defenses once Chris Pronger played his last game toward the end of the 2011 calendar year. There was just no time to build a decent roster for Giroux, as he was already in his mid-20s by the time things went from good to bad.
Today, the Flyers have good prospects and some relatively young roster contributors. Controlling puck possession at the rate of a contender last season, there’s a hope that the current team can compete for the playoffs. As Michkov improves and hopefully blossoms into a top player while the rest of the team progresses at their own pace, the idea here is that this borderline playoff team will become a Stanley Cup contender over time. Considering someone like Kucherov’s case, perhaps the latter isn’t as far away as it seems.
Since general manager (GM) Danny Briere was given that role in 2023, he and other big decision-makers haven’t backed off of the take that this process will take time. There’s some truth to that, but Michkov can seriously change their plans. Perhaps before they really start adding to the team and putting everything together, like making a splash for a top-line center, Michkov will have already taken them to new heights. Emerging quicker than expected is the ideal situation here.
Could Luchanko & Michkov Work as a Duo?
I was very critical of the Flyers’ Jett Luchanko pick at 13th overall (more so for their passiveness and not because of the player) this summer. But I think I was wrong to do that. While Zeev Buium has the potential to be a top-pairing defenseman, a player who they opted not to take in a trade-down with the Minnesota Wild, there’s upside with a Luchanko-Michkov duo.
In Kucherov’s case, he scored at one of the best per-60 rates in the sport at the age of 21 and with Johnson by his side. Again, that’s a good second-line center when he was in his prime, but it’s not on the level of someone like Stamkos. Kucherov was so good that he really didn’t need someone else to drive play for him and piggyback off of that—he was the weapon.
Upside-wise, I believe Luchanko, a center, could be similar to Johnson but perhaps even better. The former is gushing with potential, just waiting for a breakout in his age-18 campaign with the Guelph Storm. Whether he lives up to that 13th-overall hype in 2024-25 is yet to be determined, but he seems poised to do it. The all-around offensive talent here is exactly what Michkov needs—Luchanko is an elite skater and passer, has a good brain, and doesn’t shy away from shooting the puck. I think that’s what the team was excited about, too, when they “reached” for the young centerman in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Sometimes, it’s not about putting the best player with your star—it’s about getting the right player. I am always willing to tell things how I see them, even if it is negative or puts the Flyers’ competence into question. But this is something I truly believe in. Like Johnson before him, maybe Luchanko isn’t such a bad linemate for Michkov after all. Perhaps he’s the perfect linemate.
I’m jumping the gun here a little bit, but this is to point out that Michkov’s unfathomable upside can change the game for the Orange and Black. He gives them so much leniency that the front office’s job might already be close to finished.
The Flyers have claimed that Michkov is not their “savior” and that they’ll do everything to help him. I don’t doubt that, but I also think he’ll end up being the savior anyway. If he is, the streets of Philadelphia may just be painted orange one day.