A Matvei Michkov trade rumour linking him to the Edmonton Oilers surfaced Thursday afternoon. The reported price is stunning.
Bleed Oil Blue posted a clip of Justin Cohn relaying word from a source inside the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Neither club has confirmed anything.
The framework being floated sends Isaac Howard, a 2028 first-round pick and a third-round pick to Philadelphia. Edmonton gets the Russian winger.
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That's it. No second first-rounder, no blue-chip prospect, no roster player of real weight beyond the forward headed east.
Howard has 2 assists and no goals with Edmonton so far this season. His cap hit sits at $972,500.
Michkov's start hasn't been pretty. Both of his goals came in his last 5 games, and he went minus-7 over 8 games on a club that can't find the net.
The Flyers are 0-5-3 under Rick Tocchet with a -21 goal differential. Winless doesn't begin to describe how ugly the first three weeks have looked.
Daniel Briere would be selling a 21-year-old at rock bottom
Philadelphia averages 1.3 goals per game. Nobody up front is driving play, and the kid is getting buried in that sinkhole with everybody else.
Selling Michkov now would be like dumping your house in February because the driveway won't stay plowed. Spring has a way of changing the math.
This would be a bad trade for Philadelphia. Daniel Briere has no business flipping a young scorer for a depth forward and a pick that projects late.
And why would that first-rounder land late? Because Edmonton is 5-0-1, perfect on the road at 4-0-0, and hasn't dropped a game in regulation.
From the Oilers' side, the appeal is obvious. Stan Bowman's club is getting 7 goals from Vasily Podkolzin, but the wing depth is getting tested.
Zach Hyman is expected to be out until at least Oct 17. Colton Dach is on IR until at least Oct 24, and Jason Dickinson is day-to-day.
A skilled young winger on a $950,000 cap hit, slotted next to Connor McDavid and his 17 points? Mike Babcock would find him a top-six spot in a heartbeat.
The Flyers can't afford to thin out their forward group either. Travis Konecny is out with a lower-body injury until at least Oct 17.
The schedule adds a twist. These clubs meet twice in five days next month, Nov. 11 in Edmonton and Nov. 15 in Philadelphia.
Picture Michkov lining up across from Tocchet's bench that first night at Rogers Place. Until Briere or Bowman says something on the record, the noise only gets louder.
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Should the Flyers trade Matvei Michkov to the Oilers for Isaac Howard and picks?
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