A Canadiens fan account floated a mock trade today that lands Matvei Michkov in Montreal for Kirby Dach and picks.
It's a fan's proposal, not a report. But Michkov's name has been everywhere this week, and Elliotte Friedman's comments on Michkov's situation only fed the conversation around the Flyers' young winger.
Michkov is 21, the seventh overall pick in 2023, and he has 10 goals in 21 games this season, five of them on the power play. He's also a -11 on a team that has lost 10 of its 21 in regulation.
Philadelphia sits at 5-10-6 and lost 3-2 in overtime at Edmonton last night. Michkov had an assist and played 20:44 in that one.
Montreal is in a different mood. The Canadiens are 11-3-4, 7-0-3 over their last 10, and they visit Boston tonight. That's a team with room to daydream about a scorer.
The account's version has Philadelphia receiving Alexander Zharovsky, Dach, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2028 second-rounder, with only Michkov going the other way.
Dach and the picks are the pieces that matter here. Zharovsky, a 19-year-old right winger taken 34th overall in 2025, has yet to play an NHL game.
Would the Flyers actually say yes?
No. Not to this version.
Dach has 6 points in 16 games, and he's on a $3.6 million deal that expires after this season, when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. That's a useful center for Montreal, but it isn't a return that moves a team that has to rebuild its offense around a young scorer.
Michkov has 56 goals in 182 career games. His entry-level contract also runs out after this season, with restricted free agency waiting, so whoever gets him gets a negotiation too.
The picks do the heavy lifting in this offer, and Philadelphia can ask for more than a first and a second. Seven teams were circling him in our look at the suitors for Michkov, and none of them need to overpay against Montreal's bid.
Still, Montreal would be the right kind of buyer: a contender in the standings with prospects and picks to spend.
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The Flyers get back on the ice Saturday in Columbus, and Michkov will be in the lineup watching the same chatter follow him around.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Who says no to this mock trade for Michkov?
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