Danny Brière won’t admit it, but the Flyers have a Matvei Mickov fire on their hands. How big it gets is up to them.

Things really couldn’t get much worse for a Flyers squad that entered the season with genuine expectations, languidly limped out of the gates with a franchise-record nine-game winless start, and scraped out just five wins in their first 20 games to threaten another franchise feat in futility.

Then Tuesday brought a 5-alarm fire in the form of an ESPN report suggesting prospective franchise cornerstone and pending restricted free agent Matvei Michkov might prefer a fresh start and a trade elsewhere due to “internal turmoil.”

For an organization and regime that less than three years ago fumbled away one top prospect turned star in Cutter Gauthier, losing another in Michkov before he reaches his potential would not only be indefensible but would represent a death blow that might set the organization back a decade. That’s before considering the irreparable damage such a defection would do to the once-proud Flyers’ reputation around the league and its already fractured relationship with a skeptical fan base.

So it was no surprise Wednesday when GM Danny Brière, coach Rick Tocchet, and the Flyers’ leadership group within the locker room trotted out one by one in Edmonton for damage control, pulling out their biggest water hoses in an attempt to defend the crest, douse the Michkov flames, and discredit Kevin Weekes’ report.

» READ MORE: Flyers GM Danny Brière calls ESPN report ‘not correct,’ reiterates Matvei Michkov is ‘part of the solution’

First came Tocchet with an “It’s not true,” before referring to Weekes, an 11-year NHL netminder and credible newsbreaker at a major network, as a “blogger.” Next were the players’ “no comment” responses to the trade reports and the minimizing of the heated exchange on the bench between Michkov and Nick Seeler two nights earlier in Vancouver. Finally, Brière called the report “disappointing” and “not correct” via Zoom, attempting to exonerate Michkov and his agent, Paul Theofanous, of any blame in the process.

So it’s all sunshine and rainbows, nothing to see here, right? Well … not quite.

To start, Weekes doesn’t just make things up, not to mention he is a former client of Theofanous’. While Brière and others have said Theofanous vehemently denied being the leak, there are several reasons he, Michkov, or someone from the Russian winger’s wider network might have to put this information out there. Those motives could include, but are not limited to: (1) Warning Brière to make improvements with how Michkov is being treated in terms of ice time, in the media, or by teammates in the locker room; (2) Trying to kickstart extension talks that reportedly haven’t started in earnest; (3) Signaling to teams around the league he’s unhappy and open to a change either via a trade or an offer sheet come July 1; (4) Making Brière strongly consider coaching/roster changes.

Michkov, when talking to the media on Wednesday, also didn’t emphatically shut down the report as many hoped, although it is fair to wonder if that was in part due to language challenges.

“I’m no read all news. I no talk in interview,” the Russian winger said without a translator. “I need concentration just on tonight’s game, and that’s all.” Michkov, who turns 22 next month, was later asked by The Inquirer if he was happy in Philadelphia and responded, “Yeah, of course,” although the manner in which he delivered that answer won’t exactly quell the vast majority of fans’ concerns.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on Thursday’s 32 Thoughts podcast that “everyone knows” Weekes heard this from reputable sources. And while the Flyers don’t want to trade Michkov and there has been no formal trade request — which Weekes never reported in the first place — there has been plenty of smoke and visible examples of tension between Michkov and Tocchet and Michkov and his teammates over the past few weeks and, on a larger scale, two seasons. In addition to repeated public comments from Tocchet about his conditioning last season, as well as the recent Seeler and Travis Konecny bench spats, Michkov, or someone using his Instagram account, recently liked posts highlighting the winger’s lack of ice time. What’s the saying? Where there’s smoke, there’s fire …

Friedman suggested that Monday’s blowup on the bench might have been in part frustration from Seeler that recent attempts to smooth things out between Michkov and other players via a team dinner had not led to the desired compromises. He also noted Michkov, to his credit, did everything the Flyers asked of him this summer in terms of showing up in good shape and working on his English, which has built him some more equity and trust with the team’s brass.

» READ MORE: Can Flyers’ brass led by Danny Brière and Keith Jones salvage the Matvei Michkov crisis?

So where exactly does that leave things? First, the Flyers starting to win a bit more would probably calm the waters a bit — things get escalated and frustrations tend to boil over when times are bad. At the same time, Brière and Tocchet need to be proactive in making Michkov, who leads the team with 15 points and is tied for 17th in the NHL in goals (10), feel comfortable and valued by the organization.

Based on Wednesday’s box score, that process already looks to have started. Michkov, who entered the night averaging the sixth-most ice time among forwards (15:54), played 20 minutes and 40 seconds against Edmonton, which led all Flyers forwards by 40 seconds and marked just the second time he has crossed the 20-minute plateau in 102 games under Tocchet. Don’t be surprised to see that trend continue, whether that was an explicit directive from Brière to Tocchet or merely implied. With Nikita Grebenkin injured, one might also wonder if the Flyers would consider bringing in another Russian player to either serve as a mentor or a friend for the seemingly isolated winger. The Flyers could also elect to move players out if they felt that was necessary.

The Flyers still have the “hammer” in this situation so to speak, as Michkov is a restricted free agent and the organization has the final say about either trading him or matching a potential offer sheet should it come if Michkov remains unsigned on July 1. This scenario has to be in the minds of the Flyers’ brass, as Leo Carlsson and his camp ultimately decided to pause negotiations with Anaheim during the season in anticipation of an offer sheet or two arriving at their doorstep. The Flyers were one of those teams to present one, which Carlsson signed but the Ducks matched, and don’t underestimate other teams seeking retribution for what the Flyers’ move did to their respective cap situations.

But if the purported tension and frustrations aren’t relieved, Michkov could also make this uncomfortable for the Flyers, as more and more players — Dylan Larkin, Simon Edvinsson, Connor Hellebuyck, Nikita Kucherov, etc. — are starting to do in this new age of NHL player empowerment and a skyrocketing salary cap. He could formally demand a trade or threaten not to play if they re-sign him, which would tie the Flyers’ hands further and force them into the doomsday scenario of having to deal him from a position of vulnerability or to call his bluff. Any of these tactics would also have ramifications in the locker room and could pit Michkov against the rest of the team and further back Brière and Co. into a corner.

» READ MORE: ‘It’s not true’: Rick Tocchet, Flyers players downplay the Matvei Michkov trade drama

The good news is that we haven’t reached DEFCON 1 yet, as no formal request has been submitted. That said, this report was no accident and was clearly meant to serve as a warning shot to the Flyers that if things don’t improve, a trade request could be a future possibility. Brière said what he had to publicly on Wednesday while trying to defuse the situation. His words and actions behind closed doors regarding Michkov will carry much more weight.

“There’s no doubt that we believe in him. He’s part of the solution for the future,” Brière said. “ … Matvei is a big piece of that, and we hope it stays that way for the long term.”

Just how long that remains the case could hinge on how the Flyers handle these next few months.