John Tortorella Sends a Clear Warning to Matvei Michkov as His Play Quickly Deteriorates
Today Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella once again shared his frustration for stud rookie Matvei Michkov after recent benching.
Matvei Michkov found himself benched against the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday afternoon playing just 9 minutes over the entire 60-minute affair.
After the game Flyers head coach John Tortorella spoke to the media and was asked whether Michkov's absence was due to injury or just a benching from the veteran head coach.
Tortorella confirmed that Michkov had been benched and revealed that he believes the young Russian star has had struggles with skating and overall effort for several games dating back to before the holiday break.
This quote from Tortorella not only confirms that Michkov was benched for the game but also provides a potentially ominous look into his future as well.
Could John Tortorella bench Matvei Michkov soon?
Tortorella's comments seem to indicate that Michkov could be looking at time in the press box in upcoming games if he cannot find his stride.
This is the latest in what seems to be a rocky relationship between Tortorella and his young star.
Earlier this season Tortorella and Michkov seemed to go back and forth regarding Michkov's love of "the Michigan" style goal.
With the season just approaching the half way point it will be fascinating to see how the relationship between Michkov and his head coach develops.
If Tortorella scratches Michkov for multiple games in a row there could end up being a bigger issue on hand for the Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere and the entire organization.
| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 28 | 345 ANSWERS John Tortorella Sends a Clear Warning to Matvei Michkov as His Play Quickly Deteriorates Do you think John Tortorella and Matvei Michkov will be able to co-exist long term? | ||
| Yes | 74 | 21.4 % |
| No | 271 | 78.6 % |
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| Artturi Lehkonen | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
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| Jaden Schwartz | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
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| Casey Mittelstadt | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
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| Wyatt Johnston | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kaapo Kakko | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tyler Bertuzzi | 2 | - | 2 | |
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| Complete stats | ||||
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Capitals | 46 | 31 | 10 | 5 | 67 | |
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| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||