The Philadelphia Flyers have reportedly signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two-year contract worth $3.25 million per season.
The Russian netninder, who has dealt with a myriad of issues over the last couple of years, finally made his way over to North America last month and looks entrenched as one of the two goaltenders heading into the 2024-25 season.
After signing his entry-level contract with the Flyers in the hopes of making the jump from the KHL to the NHL in the summer of 2022, Fedotov was arrested on the suspicion of evading his military service and was then sent to the Arctic for a year. After serving his time, there was a lot of questions surrounding his playing rights and whether or not the Flyers could ensnare him for the 2023-24 season.
According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, Fedotov spent a majority of his military time on an aircraft carrier in the Murmansk region and once his year of service came to a close, he was suggested to rejoin CSKA Moscow – ironically dubbed as the Red Army’s team.
The KHL kept him around as he signed a 2-year contract, CSKA Moscow paraded the notion that he was their starter no matter what from the very beginning, and even after getting the IIHF involved – and winning the case – the Flyers seemingly lost the battle. However, in a wild turn of events, Fedotov had his contract terminated by CSKA Moscow and immediately made his move to North America official.
Details have not been disclosed as to why his contract was terminated in the first place, but both Fedotov and Flyers GM Daniel Brière are happy that the hulking netminder is able to put the past to bed and can start his career anew.
“That’s what gives us confidence that he can come in and help us,” Brière said. “He’s been through a lot in his career. He’s been though a lot in his personal life. He keeps fighting. He keeps getting better, he keeps working at his craft. It’s a big part of the reason why we feel comfortable, and we’re excited to have him aboard.
“It’s been a long road. I give him a lot of props to keep pushing and finally have the chance to come, and hopefully it’s a new chapter for him and he gets to start his NHL career, and it goes off on the right foot.”
He entered his first game in relief of Samuel Ersson against the New York Islanders in an eventual overtime defeat before making his first NHL start against Buffalo. He wound up making one more relief appearance but got shelled just as bad as Ersson against Montreal. He allowed 10 goals on 53 shots for a .811 SV% and a 4.75 GAA, however with a full summer of acclimating to his new surroundings and getting a full training camp under his belt, look for Fedotov to play at or near his KHL stats:
2019-20 with Traktor Chelyabinsk: 10-16-2/.931 SV%/2.10 GAA/3 SO
2020-21 with Traktor Chelyabinsk: 14-7-3/.925 SV%/2.21 GAA/1 SO
2021-22 with CSKA Moscow: 14-10-2/.919 SV%/2.00 GAA/2 SO
Olympic Games in 2022: 4-2-0/.943 SV%/1.63 GAA/2 SO
2023-24 with CSKA Moscow: 22-21-1/.914 SV%/2.37 GAA/4 SO
All indications are that Fedotov will play a large role moving forward for the Flyers. Ersson is signed through the next two seasons at a $1.45 million cap hit, Cal Petersen has one year remaining on his contract but will most likely remain in the AHL if he is neither bought out or moved this summer, and Felix Sandström is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
