John Tortorella and the Philadelphia Flyers Bench Rookie Phenom Matvei Michkov Despite Strong Start to Season

After a solid season ago that almost resulted in a Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance, the Philadelphia Flyers were hoping that star rookie Matvei Michkov could give them a spark this year and help them take that next step. Given his over reliance on skill, it became clear early on that he would take some getting used to John Tortorella, but early in the season he has been fantastic for the Flyers.

In 13 games played, Michkov sits second on the team with 4 goals and 10 points, trailing only Travis Konecny in that department, but now, the team have made a shocking decision on his playing time.

On Thursday, the team announced that Michkov would be coming out of the lineup, making way for 27-year old Anthony Richard to make his Flyers debut after tallying 4 goals and 9 points in 7 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season. In the off-season, both John Tortorella and Danny Briere mentioned that they wouldn't overloaded Michkov this season given how tough an 82 game campaign in the NHL is, but after showing how good he can be through 13 games, many expected those plans to change.

The fan reaction to the Flyers post was exactly as you would expect as well, with people shocked that one of their only offensive weapons is now coming out of the lineup.

Ultimately, at just 19-years of age, it may not hurt his development to sit and watch for a single game, but if it's any more than that, one has to question why John Tortorella would make this decision after Michkov has been so good to start the season.