Elliotte Friedman reveals how Danny Briere may be thinking about Matvei Michkov's future

Elliotte Friedman just offered his read on how Danny Briere views Matvei Michkov, and it points toward patience from the Flyers GM.

The Flyers sit 28th in the NHL at 5-10-6, and the Michkov saga has dominated the conversation in Philadelphia all week. Friedman's take adds a new piece: what may be going on inside the GM's head.

Friedman's thesis is that Briere sees the talent and would rather hold onto Michkov too long than jettison him too early. It's an opinion from an insider, not a confirmed decision, and it should be treated that way.

Still, it fits with the one thing we do have from inside the organization. Kevin Kurz reported that a team source said Michkov has not formally requested a trade and that the Flyers have no plans to move him.

The same source said there have been no substantive talks this week, according to Kurz. Michkov is a pending restricted free agent, which matters here: the Flyers hold the rights, and that gives Briere time to be patient.

Not everyone sees it as quiet. Chris Johnston said on his show Wednesday that this isn't a full-blown put-him-at-the-top-of-the-trade-board moment, but it feels like the step before that step.

Is Briere's patience justified by what Michkov is doing?

The numbers back up the GM's reluctance. Michkov has 10 goals and 15 points in 21 games this season, and five of those goals have come on the power play.

The minus-11 rating is the ugly part, but on a team with a -22 goal differential, it says as much about the group around him. Selling a 21-year-old who was the seventh overall pick in 2023 while his value is at a low would be a hard sell for any GM.

We think Briere is right to dig in. A team that has scored 47 goals all season cannot afford to hand away one of its few scorers for a return that would be built on a bad month.

Pierre LeBrun has also written about Michkov in his Rumblings, so the topic is not going away among the league's insiders.

The Flyers visit the Blue Jackets on Saturday, with Michkov back on the ice for a team that lost 3-2 in overtime in Edmonton on Wednesday. Whatever the noise says, the games keep coming, and so does the question of how long Briere's patience lasts.

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.