Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet made it clear that there is no bad blood between him and winger Matvei Michkov—and, frankly, he has no interest in aiding the media firestorm that always seems to follow the 21-year-old Russian.
A clip of Tocchet and Michkov having a discussion on the bench during the Flyers' Saturday afternoon matchup against the New York Rangers caused rampant speculation online that there is some sort of disconnect between player and coach, and that there simply must be drama happening behind the scenes, right?
Wrong.
"Happens all the time," Tocchet said of the exchange. "It's just a story because it's Mich. It wasn't even an argument. It was about when he should switch or not with [Denver] Barkey [on the power play]. He's getting it, when to switch on the power play, but that was all. He was just getting frustrated on when to switch him when he shouldn't switch."
Tocchet expressed frustration at how overblown the interaction was, but remained adamant that he was simply coaching one of his players during a game.
"I know there's a lot of media people that like to let him do what he wants, but there's a time to switch, and when to switch," he continued. "That's really what it comes down to."
The Flyers head coach went on to highlight how the team as a whole is having a good year, and implored people to stop zeroing in on Michkov when a number of other players have been having noteworthy seasons so far.
Matvei Michkov's Quiet Determination To Grow: How A Russian Star Is Thriving With The Flyers
As a young Russian phenom who dazzled on international stages and dominated the KHL as a teenager, Michkov carried sky-high expectations to Philadelphia.
"We're 17 and 10—we've got a good record," Tocchet said. "We're having a great year. You've got [Jamie] Drysdale playing really good five-on-five, [Cam] York is doing a really good job. We've got a lot of other players playing good in team games.
"I mean, this is the fifth question [about Michkov]... you're trying to make it into something it's not. He's got to learn to play the game, and he's trying. And he's a lot better defensively. He's a lot better at playing a team game, and that's how you win hockey games. It's not about catering to one person. I hate to tell you guys, but that's it."