Ivan Fedotov, 27, debuted with the Philadelphia Flyers in the final stretch of last season. He made his only start on April 5th, 2024, and then the Flyers’ season finished on April 17th.
Philadelphia struggled to tread water with their goaltenders. Sam Ersson took on the de facto starting role after the indictment of Carter Hart linked to the Hockey Canada sexual assault investigations. If not Ersson, the other options were Felix Sandström and Cal Petersen. Sandström recently signed a two-way 1yr/$775k contract with the Buffalo Sabres. Petersen started for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs after Alexei Kolosov debuted on April 13th.
There is a wide discrepancy between Ersson and any contending goaltenders for ice time.
On April 23rd, the Flyers signed Fedotov to a 2yr/$6.55mil extension. In less than 20 days, Fedotov made his only NHL start and then agreed to an extension. Daniel Brière tied his string to Fedotov as the effective backup goaltender to Ersson. At one point, it felt like Fedotov would never play in North America, let alone the NHL, but now, Philadelphia is home.
Brière did not get ahead of himself. He recognized the goaltending situation, then played his hand. Ersson will start, and after Fedotov finishes his first full Flyers Training Camp, he will likely improve from his debut last season.
Currently, Fedotov is 0-1-1 with an 81.1%SV and a 4.95GAA. It will take a solid training camp and preseason for John Tortorella to have the confidence to feature Fedotov as often as he did Ersson. That small sample size of a stat line does not represent Fedotov, who in 2021-2022 was the best goaltender in the KHL, a Gagarin Cup champion, and an Olympic silver medalist. In training camp, Fedotov will be able to become more accustomed to the NHL rink, pace, and style with his general development.
In his lone NHL start, a loss to the Sabres in Buffalo, Fedotov saved 15/19 shots in a 4-2 loss. Then, in his final appearance of the season, Fedotov allowed four more goals in 27:18 against the Montréal Canadiens, his shortest appearance (non-start). The Canadiens destroyed the Flyers, 9-3, in a fine exhibit of Murphy’s Law at the Bell Centre.
Fedotov was at his best in relief of Ersson versus the New York Islanders at the Wells Fargo Center. In 38:09, Fedotov took the overtime loss, 4-3, versus the Islanders, saving 19/21 shots.
“I put him [Fedotov] in a hell of a spot, and he’s the only God damn player that played in the second period.” – John Tortorella; 4/1/2024
His performance versus New York earned Fedotov an NHL start, but he is a raw, unpolished product who still is in a ‘hell of a spot’ as a backup goaltender in Philadelphia.
“Not [the] best game for me. Great feelings [about] first start game in [the] NHL. I should be better. Better adapt and better to do all things. It was [a] really tough game for me, and not many shots.” – Ivan Fedotov; 4/5/2024
Ersson split the share of goaltending duties with Hart before shouldering the load with Sandström, Petersen, and Fedotov in tow. Overall, Ersson was overworked, and Tortorella wanted to protect Fedotov. If Fedotov adapts to the NHL game at the same rate he performed in the KHL, the Flyers will position themselves to succeed. A former goaltender in Philadelphia who transitioned from the KHL to Broad Street was Sergei Bobrovsky, and now he is a Stanley Cup champion (with the Florida Panthers). A discovery all the same in tandem with Ersson only costs $4.725mil (5.4% of the total cap) through 2025-2026.
If these two goaltenders find success as Matvei Michkov begins his NHL journey, it will help accelerate the Flyers’ rebuild.
