Matvei Michkov, Simon Edvinsson and the Young NHL Players Who Need a Trade

Can you consciously uncouple as a hockey team and prospect or young player? Because there are a lot of them who need to.

If it isn't breakup season for these four young NHL players and their organizations, it should be.

Sitting down to research this piece proved fascinating; quite a few of our targets from recent years, or obvious targets that we haven't addressed, have been traded before the 2026-27 season started. Simon Nemec moved from the New Jersey Devils to the Calgary Flames, Mason McTavish got shipped off from the Anaheim Ducks to the St. Louis Blues, and the Ducks also sent Olen Zellweger to the Buffalo Sabres.

Because this is the NHL, however, and teams would so often rather swap young players out with shiny new toys than invest in their development, we've still got plenty to look at.

Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers 

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We've all heard the cliché "second verse, same as the first"; the situation we're seeing with Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers is more like "one millionth verse, same as the first".

Stop me if you've heard this before: a dynamic young forward, often from Russia or Sweden, or somewhere else overseas, who is drafted for his flashy offensive talent, and then once he actually gets to the NHL, he's labeled cocky and lazy, and called out for not wanting to play defense or be a team player.

It's happened so many times you could set your watch by it.

Not every situation fits the mold exactly, but there are enough repeated elements that the stereotype is known for a reason. Michkov is just another in a long line. The problem is that the Flyers are rebuilding, and they need him — not some hypothetical version of him that is always defensively responsible or constantly passing to teammates instead of shooting, but the full, unleashed version, in top form, as a key part of their attempts to claw out of this pit they've fallen into.

Did we mention he's leading the Flyers in goals?

Michkov's ice time fluctuates; there are alleged off-ice issues between him and teammates; he was a healthy scratch during the playoffs last year; and he's coming up on restricted free agency. The Flyers are going to have to make a decision sooner rather than later on whether to embrace Michkov as he is, or utilize him to acquire more pieces for their rebuild while his trade value is high, before things sour to the point of desperation (see: any number of trades we've seen recently).

Simon Edvinsson, Detroit Red Wings

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Unlike Michkov, Simon Edvinsson has requested a trade. The highly skilled, highly valued Detroit Red Wings defenseman and restricted free agent has not played a game for the team this season, choosing to sit out instead of signing a new contract. 

To paraphrase The Suite Life of Zack and Cody: How do you lose a talented young defenseman? You forget to cherish him.

Or, in this case, you don't build a competitive team around him, and your contract offers aren't enticing enough to make up for that. And because he's a restricted free agent without arbitration eligibility, the only tool left at his disposal, per the NHL and NHLPA's collective bargaining agreement, is to sit out until he gets at least part of what he wants. 

RFAs of Edvinsson's class really have no mechanisms of control in the situation he is in other than refusing to play, and it's something that gets a lot of mixed reactions. The word selfish gets thrown around a lot; guys get labeled as "not team players", only in it for the money, et cetera. That can sour a relationship between player and fanbase as much as it can player and front office, or player and team. Eventually, you reach a point of no return, and a trade really is the best solution for everyone involved.

Obviously, this is a nightmare for the Red Wings front office, which is already trying to facilitate a Larkin trade, and—sorry, Red Wings fans—we've got another player from that team on this list too.

Here's the trick: Edvinsson has to sign before Dec. 1 if he wants to play this season, with anyone. Not just the Red Wings. Tick-tock, Shawn Horcoff and co.

Nate Danielson, Detroit Red Wings

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Sorry Red Wings fans, but we've hit another iceberg.

Nate Danielson has two points in 13 NHL games this season and three points in one AHL game this season. It's a discrepancy that's common in young players, and it's one that can stem from a multitude of causes; it doesn't mean that he isn't capable of being effective at the NHL level. In Danielson's case, he's averaging around 10-11 minutes per night playing on the fourth line, on a team that frankly is not good. That's going to make it difficult for almost anyone to gain traction on a long-term basis.

Danielson's style is agile, with effective handling and good skating. His playmaking could use improvement, for certain, but that's not something he is going to get playing only 10 or 11 minutes per night. Prior to his professional career, he was often called out for succeeding at rush offense; he continues to be attentive to detail and effective in the subtle, small areas of the game. 

While junior players often have to switch up parts of their playing style to be effective at the professional level, there's a pretty big difference between realizing that the areas in which you were a successful distributor or offense-creator are not going to work the same way they did in juniors and being shoved down to an inconsistent fourth-line role.

Development is a process, and Danielson's is not one that the Red Wings have invested in. It may not be a bad idea to explore swapping him out for someone else as a way to kickstart the trade dominoes falling and give everyone a fresh beginning.

Kevin Korchinski, Chicago Blackhawks

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The writing is on the wall with this one. The Chicago Blackhawks don't trust defenseman Kevin Korchinski, but they're also not playing him in any way that gives him the opportunity to change that or earn that trust back. What is a guy supposed to do here?

Korchinski is, believe it or not, still only 22 years old. He's played 5 games this season. Since his first NHL season, his opportunities have dwindled in both games played and time on ice, and now he can't even be sent down to the Rockford IceHogs to get playing time there because he would have to go on waivers, and the Blackhawks don't want to lose him and get nothing in return. 

But they're also not trading him.

Have you noticed yet that they don't even seem to have a plan for what to do with this kid?

It's the age-old story of a young, dynamic defenseman who is not instantly a world-beater, so he must be a bust, so we're going to let everyone else pass him and not invest any time or effort into his development. Sink or swim on your own, buddy. He's very clearly sitting on the outside here, and it's time for the Blackhawks to cut their losses and let Korchinski out of limbo.

This is a team that, frankly, sucks right now—they've won a total of five of their nineteen games. Other defensemen have been allowed to make mistakes that Korchinski would be torched for because they play a lower-risk style of game; his ceiling is high, and he helps drive scoring chances, so more is expected of him, and so he gets punished more. He's far from the first young defenseman for this to happen to.

Obviously, he's not a perfect player, but in order to fix any warts in his game, he has to actually see the ice. Cut him loose and move on for the good of everyone.