Flyers' Matvei Michkov gets 100% honest about his experience with ex-HC John Tortorella - "We had a few misunderstandings"

Philadelphia rookie Matvei Michkov discussed former Flyers coach John Tortorella's departure from the team. Tortorella was fired on March 27 after a 0-5-1 streak. Mitchkov was scratched from the lineup by Tortorella in November during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Michkov spoke about his former coach during a YouTube interview with Nikita Filatov and Andrey Arshavin. Michkov said that he was sad when Tortorella was fired.

"Talking about the past, I would say Tortorella was one of my best coaches," Michkov said on Tuesday, via The Hockey News. "That's why I was very upset when he was fired. I really didn't want him to get fired. I wanted to work with him a bit more, at least until end of the season."

Tortorella was fired with nine games remaining in the season, and the team won five of them. At the time of his firing, the Flyers were 28-36-9 and they finished the season with a 33-39-10 record.

Before Michkov joined the Flyers, Russian hockey players warned him about Tortorella.

"When I was on my way (coming to USA), Russian (players) told me that he dislikes Russians," Michkov said..

They told Michkov that Tortorella was a tough coach. However, according to Michkov's statement, he was respectful towards him.

"He always treated me with respect, and we found mutual understanding," Michkov said. "He tells you exactly what he thinks of you. If you're s**t, he'll tell you you're s**t. Some people don't like hard truth, but he's a person who says what he thinks."

Fans saw them argue on the bench a few times during games. Michkov was also scratched twice during the season, but said he didn’t mind being benched as it helped him calm down and think better.

Michkov added that they sometimes clashed because they are both emotional, but they always talked things out afterward.

"I wouldn't say that we had conflicts," Michkov said. "When we came back to the locker room, if he was wrong, he would say he was sorry and shouldn't have said some things. I would tell him that I was sorry too,... He said that he understood me,... I liked him very much."

Michkov finished the season with 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points. After Tortorella left the team, Michkov scored 12 points in nine games. He sent him a thank-you message after the firing, and Tortorella replied, saying the message meant a lot.

Flyers GM Daniel Briere's statement after John Tortorella's firing

John Tortorella coached 23 seasons in the NHL with several teams. He won a Stanley Cup in 2004 and two Coach of the Year awards. Tortorella also reached 1,620 games as an NHL coach.

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said it was time for a change.

"This is rock bottom for us today, and this is the turnaround," Briere said in his statement in March. "I felt it was time. You're going to ask me, is there one thing that happened? It's not one thing. It's an accumulation that has happened ... more often lately."

After John Tortorella's firing, the Flyers are rebuilding and learning as a group.