John Tortorella 'Lost the Battle' With Matvei Michkov After He Broke One of His Most Controversial Rules
John Tortorella's handling of Matvei Michkov was always going to be interesting, and now he admits he's lost the battle against the rookie with the Michigan.
Matvei Michkov arrived in Philadelphia this off-season, and while there was so much excitement in the city around him, there were also worries about how he would be handled by the old-school coach behind the bench.
From the outset, John Tortorella has tried to instil his values onto Michkov, and while he's clearly improving on the defensive end, there's some things that you simply can't teach 19-year olds.
Apparently, one of those things you can't teach them is how to stop attempting the Michigan, a lacrosse style goal from behind the net, with Tortorella officially admitting that he's lost the battle against the rookie on this one.
What am I going to do, say don't do it? What I did say was I said was that you need to understand there are other plays to be made there too, because a number of the times he tried it, all's there were was turnovers. So yeah, I think I've lost the damn battle with that, I'm not going to try fight it.
I don't think it should be in our game, but it is what it is.
We've seen Michkov try the Michigan already, almost pulling it off in the team's latest game, and while only a handful of players have successfully done it, it's safe to say that the rookie is going to keep trying it.
Whether or not the old-school people like it, it's a major part of hockey culture for young players now, and with 27 points in 28 games, it's safe to say that Tortorella doesn't have a whole lot to complain about when it comes to Michkov.
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| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 13 | 189 ANSWERS John Tortorella 'Lost the Battle' With Matvei Michkov After He Broke One of His Most Controversial Rules Will Matvei Michkov win the Calder Trophy this season? | ||
| Yes | 101 | 53.4 % |
| No | 88 | 46.6 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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APRIL 18, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Matthew Boldy | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Joel Eriksson Ek | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Ryan Hartman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Logan Stankoven | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jamie Drysdale | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Porter Martone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Robertson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Travis Sanheim | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Denver Barkey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Christian Dvorak | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Faber | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Miro Heiskanen | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Quinn Hughes | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Wyatt Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 82 | 55 | 16 | 11 | 121 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Blues | 82 | 37 | 33 | 12 | 86 | |
| Predators | 82 | 38 | 34 | 10 | 86 | |
| Jets | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 93 | |
| Ducks | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 92 | |
| Kings | 82 | 35 | 27 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 82 | 39 | 35 | 8 | 86 | |
| Kraken | 82 | 34 | 37 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| Canucks | 82 | 25 | 49 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||