Matvei Michkov Made a Subtle but Controversial Gesture After His Game Against the Canadiens

In his first game since the firing of John Tortorella, Michkov wrapped up his night's work with two goals and one assist (3 points) in nearly 21 minutes of ice time.

He was truly excellent, got plenty of ice time, and probably made some Canadiens executives regret passing on him with the 5th overall pick in the 2023 draft.

That said, some of the red flags that have followed Michkov for a few years now resurfaced.

Indeed, he made a gesture that's been stirring up a lot of talk on social media, mainly among his critics, and it happened right at the end of the game.

As Marc Denis (RDS) described well, yes Michkov scored two goals, but he easily could've completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal.

However, he missed the net:

As you can slightly see in the video above, and as Marc Denis mentioned last night on television, Michkov was so frustrated about missing his hat trick and the empty-net goal that he immediately left the ice and headed straight to the locker room.

After missing the goal, he went directly to the exit door without acknowledging anyone and was headed to the locker room.

That's when teammates and staff members went to him and said: "hey, come back to salute the crowd and shake your teammates' hands!".. Which he eventually did!

It's causing a lot of buzz, with some saying the gesture says a lot about how important his personal stats are to him, while others see it as a lack of consideration for the fans.

Personally, I see it as a young player reacting emotionally, disappointed to miss his hat trick and just eager to return to his locker room, but I also understand the importance of staying on the ice to acknowledge and thank the fans after a great win like the one the Flyers got last night.

And you, did you notice that little sequence involving Michkov at the end of the game? Is it a red flag in your opinion?