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Imagine the panic if Matvei Michkov had been drafted by the Canadiens!

 Manuel Sperandio-Lemay
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Imagine the panic if Matvei Michkov had been drafted by the Canadiens!

Over the past few days, we’ve often heard the news that Matvei Michkov is often left out of the lineup. Whether it’s during preparatory games or since the start of the regular season, the Russian’s place in the line-up is not guaranteed.

So far, Michkov has not played in any of SKA’s two games since the start of the season.

Why isn’t he playing? It could be that his attitude is at stake. It could be that he is, rightly or wrongly, being punished for something. You might think that, like many youngsters, someone wants to break him.

You could also think that he’s not playing well enough to deserve his place – but I don’t really believe that one.

All this to say that we don’t know much. I hope Daniel Brière knows more than we do, because right now, he’s certainly not finding it funny – and neither are his colleagues in Philadelphia.

It may have been part of the risk of drafting him, but…

One wonders if, like last year, Mishkov will be loaned out elsewhere in the KHL. If so, it’s not a good sign, since normally, when you have Matvei Michkov, you want to keep him in your line-up. No?

Does his horrible attitude(which is not character in my eyes) work against him at this point?

But hey. Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that the Flyers have no control over what happens between now and 2026, and right now, as we can see, it’s off to a bad start.

And I caught myself thinking this morning: what if he’d been drafted by the Habs?

Clearly, the Habs have given some thought to drafting the Russian. Jeff Gorton seemed like a guy who wanted to examine the situation in depth, at least.

Because when you look at the reasons why Mishkov is in the news, it’s never really positive. We don’t talk about his great sequences on the ice because he’s not playing. If he were playing, we’d be talking more about his goals.

You don’t see teammates singing his praises because there’s nothing to praise.

I’ve always been one of those people who wanted to see the Habs stay away from him. I never really believed in his selection in Montreal, and let’s just say that the last few weeks have confirmed my original thought.

But the problem is, of course, that the matter will take years to settle. If Michkov scores – say – 42 goals in 2026-2027 in Philly and becomes a 50-goal scorer on a regular basis thereafter, the city will be screaming.

But that’s hypothetical. But why? Because you can’t predict the future.

What we can predict, however, is that if the CH had drafted Michkov, not only would we be wondering who would be playing on the right side of the blue line in the future, but there would be a lot of whining.

And we know that the CH fan is capable of weeping. He doesn’t do it much these days (not enough for Réjean Tremblay’s taste, anyway), but he’s capable of doing it.

Right now, the Canadiens are stuck with David Reinbacher. He’s a more conservative pick, drafted a bit on a need basis, but he has the potential to be the best defenseman of his vintage.

That’s no mean feat either.

He doesn’t have the pure talent of his Russian colleague, of course. That said, he’s a damn good field hockey player who represents less of a risk for the Habs, who don’t aspire to draft as high next year.

Right now, the Habs look good when you see Michkov go – or when you don ‘ t see him go, to be honest.

What you have to remember is that the CH chose to ignore Michkov at the draft because of his abysmal attitude. We didn’t want to see him waltzing into the CH locker room in three years’ time as a bad apple.

It’s true that if you look at the CH locker room, he doesn’t fit in.

Can you see him getting along with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, two guys who have a different attitude from him and who are trying to build a great culture in Montreal? Can you see him getting along with Jordan Harris, an activist at heart? With Sean Farrell, who’s quietly doing his own thing? Etc…

With Martin St-Louis? That’ s why he’s not in Montreal right now, and why he’s someone else’s problem.


In bursts

– It’s coming.

– He would often get injured in soccer, but…

– Oh boy.

– Ducks.

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