Flyers head coach John Tortorella reveals why he is scratching his star forward

The Philadelphia Flyers have struggled as a team thus far in 2024/25, with a 4-8-1 record record posted through their first 13 games, and now they've made a shock decision. Despite posting 10 points through the first 13 games of his NHL career, Matvei Michkov has officially been scratched by the Flyers for their next game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, as officially announced on social media this morning.

Unsurprisingly, this was met with plenty of fan backlash, but one person that didn't see it that way was David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, who believes allowing Michkov to see the game from a different angle for one game would be a good thing.

That certainly makes sense given how this will allow him another perspective to continue on his journey, and now Head Coach John Tortorella has chimed in with his explanation for the move.

When asked several times about the reason behind it, Tortorella echoed that it was simply part of the process, and while fans won't like it, if the move is just for a game or two, it certainly wouldn't hurt. Last year, the Blackhawks didn't do this with Bedard, but his game improved after injury as he was able to see the game from a new perspective and learn, and with very few rookies playing 82 games in a season, it could be very effective.

Ultimately though, given the hatred that Tortorella often gets for his handling of young players, the backlash on social media will continue until Michkov is back in the lineup, and when he gets back in there, we may see a major improvement in his play.