Matvei Michkov officially leaves the KHL to join the Flyers and honor his late father

Someone may need to pinch Danny Brière so he knows he’s not dreaming.

A smidge under a year ago, 363 days to be exact, the Flyers general manager stood at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and said, “We took a big swing, but we hope that this turns out to be a home run.”

It was really a grand slam.

On Tuesday, SKA St. Petersburg officially announced that Matvei Michkov will be leaving the Kontinental Hockey League team and heading to the NHL.

“After much thought, I decided to try my hand at the NHL,” a statement from Michkov on X reads, according to Google Translate. “I would like to say a huge thank you to the SKA management for being cooperative in this matter. I immediately outlined my position that I want to play in the KHL only for SKA, no exchanges or loans. I will make my way to the NHL, but if I return to the KHL, I will only play in St. Petersburg.”

» READ MORE: Sielski: Matvei Michkov has been hyped as the Flyers’ savior. Please, everyone, be patient.

Michkov’s statement continued on citing how important this step was to his father, Andrey, who died unexpectedly last April at 51.

“The decision was not easy, but I feel it was the right one. I am full of strength and desire to prove that I am worthy of playing there. In addition, this was a longtime dream of my father. He really wanted to see my debut in the NHL, and for me it is extremely important to take this step, also for his sake. I’m sure he would support me in this.”

“Thanks to Roman Borisovich Rotenberg for believing in me, inviting me to SKA and giving me every opportunity to develop and improve my game. Thanks to all the coaches, players, staff with whom I worked, played and won here. And, of course, thanks to our fans. I’m sure we’ll meet again. See you, St. Petersburg!”

» READ MORE: Matvei Michkov’s early arrival to the Flyers will impact their offseason plans. Here’s how.

Drafted seventh overall last June, Michkov still had two more years left on his contract with SKA. In an interview with Match TV in April, KHL team chairman Alexander Medvedev cited June 30 as a date for a decision. A month later Rotenburg, who is the team’s coach, said in an interview with Match TV that the team was reportedly not open to mutually terminating the contract — what happened with goalie Ivan Fedotov and CSKA Moscow — and instead was seeking monetary compensation to end the contract. There has not been any word on how the termination came into effect.

Regardless of why or how the Flyers are getting a top prospect, the game-changer this club needs. He just had a historic season for a 19-year-old in the KHL while on loan to Sochi, notching 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 47 regular-season games — despite dealing with a bout of pneumonia at one point.

“The Philadelphia Flyers were informed earlier today of Matvei Michkov’s release from his KHL contract with SKA Hockey Club,” Brière said in a statement. “We are certainly excited to learn of this news and look forward to reconnecting with Matvei’s representatives in the coming days. Additionally, we are appreciative of SKA Saint Petersburg for allowing Matvei Michkov to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL.”

According to reports, Michkov will now be represented by CAA Hockey. He is eligible to sign a three-year entry-level contract with the Flyers — but there are rules on how much he can make. According to CapFriendly, the 2023 draftee’s deal maximum is an annual average value of $4.45 million; a total salary or cap hit of $950,000 (the cap hit), which includes a signing bonus of $95,000, and a maximum performance bonus of $3.5 million.