Commentary: Flyers’ Michkov faces Calder Trophy competition

When a team finishes in last place in its division, the search to find a bright spot or two is usually pretty challenging.

And so it is with the 2024-25 Flyers, who found themselves in the Metropolitan Division basement, causing head coach John Tortorella to be fired and continuing a streak of five straight seasons out of postseason action.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign to emerge from this debacle was the play of rookie Matvei Michkov. He not only led all first-year NHL players in goals (26) but the entire Flyers roster as well.

One would think that would be enough to make him a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy, an award a Flyer has never won since the team’s inception in 1967.

But there’s a chance that might not be the case when the league announces its three finalists for the award on May 5.

You see, there at least four worthy candidates for the prize and each of them has impressive credentials.

In addition to Michkov, there’s Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson, San Jose forward Macklin Celebrini and Calgary goaltender Dustin Wolf.

Hutson, a defenseman, won the overall rookie scoring race with 66 points, including a record-tying 60 assists. He was a very respectable minus-2 on a team which finished at minus-20.

Celebrini and Michkov tied for runner-up in points with 63 each. Celebrini played for the woeful Sharks and got into only 70 games. If he had played in 80 or more (like Hutson and Michkov did), he most likely would have been sitting atop the points list.

As for Wolf, the 24-year-old netminder caught the attention of many pro hockey followers with his acrobatic work for the Flames. He kept his team in the playoff hunt right up to the last game of the season. His numbers: 29-16-8 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.

Hutson has been getting a lot of positive publicity and that usual affects the voting of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. So it’s probably going to come down to one of the remaining three – Michkov, Celebrini and Wolf – being left off the ballot.

By the way, the Calder Memorial Trophy has an interesting history.

The Calder is an annual award given “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.”

It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as the NHL’s rookie of the year award, this version of the trophy has been awarded since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season.

When the award was established, there were no requirements beyond that the winner be in his first year of competition in the NHL, and the winner was decided by Calder himself.

Bet you didn’t know Calder himself purchased a trophy each year for the winner from 1937 until his death in 1943.

The following year, a permanent trophy was cast.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the NHL with 10 Calders, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks with nine.

As mentioned, the Flyers have never taken home the prize.

Maybe this is the year that changes.

Entertaining hockey

With the Flyers on the golf course or the beach, Philadelphia fans will have to be content with watching some of their old favorites compete for other teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Of particular interest in this first round has to be the matchup between the Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.

And when tempers flare, the confrontations can be downright entertaining.

Take the first three games, in which former Flyer captain Claude Giroux, now with the Senators, has been getting into shouting matches with former Flyer alternate captain Scott Laughton of the Leafs.

Both these guys play the game with their hearts on their sleeve. And they dressed in the same locker room for the better part of a decade. When Giroux left via free agency a few years ago, Laughton was the only player to wear a letter (A) until Tortorella handed the captain’s “C” to Sean Couturier.

Any hostile words between Giroux and Laughton might look sincere during the heat of battle. But when the series ends, no doubt these two will go back to being the best of friends.It’s just the way it is in the noble sport of hockey.

Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com