Off-season Watch: Michkov to soon join Flyers

With the 2023-24 season set to wrap up Monday night after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the off-season is rapidly approaching. The NHL Draft begins on June 28 and Free Agent Frenzy follows just a few days later on July 1. TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat.

Michkov ready to join Flyers

Matvei Michkov is headed to the NHL.

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun confirms SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League will give Michkov his release on Monday. 

LeBrun reports a source told him the release is based on compassionate grounds as Michkov's father passed away last year. Agents J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey secured their rights to represent Michkov a few weeks ago and have been working on his release with agent Paul Theofanous. 

LeBrun adds that once it's resolved, Michkov will join the Flyers in one to two weeks depending on his immigration visa process.

The 19-year-old fell to the Flyers at No. 7 in last summer's draft and is set to arrive in the City of Brotherly Love with plenty of anticipation considering his skill set. 

Michkov was ranked at No. 16 on TSN Hockey's Top 50 Under-24 players released in November and was also No. 5 on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button's Top 50 NHL-affiliated prospects list from this past February.

The Perm, Russia, native played the majority of the 2023-24 KHL season on loan at Sochi HC, scoring 19 goals and adding 22 assists for 41 points in 47 games. He had nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in a total of 30 games the season before.

McGroarty Jets headed for split?

The Winnipeg Jets are likely to trade former first-round pick Rutger McGroarty, a league source told The Athletic’s Murat Ates this weekend.

According to Ates, the University of Michigan star’s relationship with the Jets has deteriorated since the end of the NCAA season and he no longer believes his future is with the Jets.

Ates reports the Jets wanted to sign McGroarty to a professional contract this past April but were unwilling to promise the 20-year-old winger a path to playing time at the NHL level either that spring or the following fall in training camp. This meant that McGroarty could have been sent to the AHL instead of returning to Michigan to try and lead his team to a national title.

The school announced in April he would return for his senior season.

“This isn’t a situation where the player wants out of Winnipeg because of his views on the city. Instead, there appears to be a disconnect between how Winnipeg’s player development viewed and communicated its plan with McGroarty and McGroarty’s view of his own future,” Ates wrote.

McGroarty was the No. 14 overall pick in 2022 and had 16 goals and 36 assists for 52 points in 36 NCAA games last season, his second at Michigan. The Wolverines went 23-15-3 on the season and were eliminated in the semifinals of the Frozen Four.

McGroarty registered 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points in 39 games the season before.