Photo Credit: Yuri Kuzmin/KHL
Photo Credit: Yuri Kuzmin/KHL
Picture this: It’s draft night. The Flyers are still sitting at seventh overall hoping that a big name slides down the board for one reason or another. Bedard goes first and Fantilli goes second, just like we knew they would. Carlsson goes third. Still no surprises. San Jose is willing to move down but not a lot of spots. Danny Briere picks up the phone, dials the Sharks, and offers the seventh pick, the Flyers’ pick in 2024, and another later pick for fourth overall.
What do the Sharks say? Would they walk away from Matvei Michkov, who they know won’t play in North America for the next two or three years? Do they walk away from Will Smith, a dynamic playmaking center who could anchor their top line for years? All for a chance to have two potential top-five picks a year from now?
The Flyers have first-round picks in the bank if they decide to trade Travis Konecny and/or Carter Hart. John Tortorella has said that he wants to see more of the young players. Emil Andrea, Tyson Foerster, Egor Zamula, and Elliott Desnoyers are all expected to see time with the team next year. It should surprise none if they all make the team out of camp. Giving the young players time at the NHL level is the best thing for this team right now. Noah Cates, Owen Tippett, and Morgan Frost all took big steps. Cam York went from being sent down to playing top pair minutes with Ivan Provorov. What’s next for those players? More opportunities. With Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson returning from injury, moving on from Konecny makes sense. He doesn’t fit the window and will need a new contract when the Flyers should be shedding salary. Moving him also helps the logjam at right wing.
From the Flyers perspective, there is no reason not to. The options at seven are not as good as the options at four. Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson, Michkov, and Smith will all be long gone once the Flyers are on the clock at seven. They may have to end up going with whichever American center is available after the Coyotes pick. Or maybe the Coyotes decide to take Zach Benson leaving either one of Oliver Moore or Ryan Leonard for Philadelphia. In that case, with both centers and Dvorsky still available, would the Flyers consider moving back? They could, if they value all three the same. Should they? No. Either move up or stay put. In a draft with this much talent at the top, come away with the best player available.
The Flyers have time to figure out exactly what they have in their young players. They also have time to move on from players like Konecny, Hart, Travis Sanheim, and Tony DeAngelo, if they decide to do so. Moving Konecny at the deadline to a team on the rise like Buffalo or Detroit, who already has tons of assets, and taking a bad contract back in return, gives Briere leverage to ask for a high pick back. That deal would still give the Flyers two first-round picks in 2024 (in addition to FLA’s from the Giroux trade), the Flyers get a better player in this draft that they don’t really need for a few years anyway, and all it costs is moving back roughly 15 spots in the next draft, assuming their original pick would fall around five and they acquire another one that falls around 20.
The best possible outcome for the Flyers this season is the team’s young core takes another step forward. Tippett, Farabee, Frost, Cates, and York all proved to be part of the immediate future. If Andrae, Foerster, Zamula, and Desnoyers can find the same level of success that Tippett, Frost, York, and Cates all had, that would be the biggest win for the Flyers in 2024. Coming away with a lottery win the year after Bedard would be great, but having young players on the NHL team show they can play would be a much more welcomed sight.
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As far as why they should move up for Michkov, the Flyers are not going anywhere next year. They still might not in 2025 unless they have some huge strides made by those young players. If Briere stays put at seventh and comes away with someone like Dvorsky, Benson, or Leonard, great. They will all be good players. If he can find a way to come away with Michkov, while still having at least one first-round pick in 2024, even if it is projected to be late in the round by the time this draft ends, it has to be considered a win. Michkov is the second best prospect in this draft. Offensively, he is a tick below Bedard, but has the game changing capability that the Flyers have sorely needed for years. He definitely is in a unique situation while playing in Russia. His contract with his Russian club will have to be taken into consideration. The geo-political conflict between Russia and Ukraine may also play a role. From a hockey standpoint, getting Michkov and only having to move back 15 or so spots next year is a great move and will show GMs around the league that Danny Briere is ready to roll.
I’m against drafting for Dvorsky. Flyer’s have already loss a year of potentially being on the team or at least Phantoms. Their most important draft pick “Cutter” was heavy on joining the Flyer’s and backed out with major claims that his family, agent and even friend’s supported that.
Russia prospect coming here doesn’t sound like a good gamble to take if I’m Flyer’s management.
This is ridiculous. the Flyers need more picks in this draft not less. Drafting Michkov would be a huge gamble and in my opinion a mistake. With there being a 50-50 chance that Michkov never gets to the NHL why in the world would they want to give up picks to take that gamble? Either stay at 7 or trade down a few spots and get more picks.
Keep the pick, take the best player possible and have 2 #1’s next season.