Fedotov still went to America! Russian goalie makes his NHL debut

Ivan Fedotov made it to the NHL! The Philadelphia Flyers announced the full transfer of the Russian national team goalkeeper. It all happened the day after the contract with CSKA Moscow was terminated. An agreement that ideally should not have existed.

A comprehensive chronology of Fedotov’s amazing career over the past couple of years:

• April 2022 — Ivan Fedotov won the Gagarin Cup with CSKA;
• May — became the best goalkeeper of the season in the KHL and signed a rookie contract with Philadelphia;
• July— while preparing to move to North America and his debut season in the NHL, the goalkeeper was detained in St. Petersburg by the police on suspicion of evading the army, after which he was sent for military service;
• June 2023 — Philadelphia and the NHL extended Fedotov’s contract for the 2023/24 season;
• July — Upon completion of his military service, Fedotov signed a two-year agreement with CSKA, the KHL registered this agreement, the Russian Hockey Federation called the situation “ambiguous” and advocated strict adherence by the league to the rules of international transfers;
• August — The International Hockey Federation (IIHF) did not recognize Fedotov’s contract with CSKA, disqualified the goalkeeper for four months and imposed a ban on international transfers against the army team until August 10, 2024;
• September — the KHL approved CSKA's application for Fedotov's participation in league matches, the IIHF issued new sanctions against the club, the hockey player and the FHR as a defendant to the federation;

< li class="article__list-item">March 2024 — CSKA was eliminated from the Gagarin Cup at the first round stage for the first time in ten years, after which the club terminated the contract with Fedotov, but retained the sports rights to the goalkeeper;

• the same March—Philadelphia announced the transfer of Fedotov.

The Russian goalkeeper's contract with the Flyers remains valid. Ivan has a rookie agreement for the 2023/24 season. Upon completion, the goalkeeper will become an unrestricted free agent and a restricted free agent in the KHL. But it is obvious that the “pilots” will agree with the Russian on a new contract.

Fedotov's debut for Philadelphia will take place in the very near future. And this is interesting: the Russian goalkeeper, even after a year-long pause in his career and not the brightest KHL season, during which the public had questions about Ivan, turned out to be in great demand for the American club. The fact is that the “pilots” are experiencing a serious shortage of goalkeepers. Carter Hart has already left the club due to allegations of sexual assault brought against him, and Cal Peterson and Felix Sandstrom have not yet inspired confidence among the Philadelphia coaching staff, even as backups. As a result, John Tortorella had to count on Samuel Ersson.

And even with such a big problem in the goaltending line, the Flyers continue to fight for getting into the playoffs! The Pilots, eight matches before the end of the regular season, are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings and are third in the Metropolitan Division with 82 points.
The Tortorella gang has matches ahead of them with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, Buffalo Sabers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils. and the Washington Capitals. The calendar is not simple. And if Philadelphia, along with Fedotov, eventually enters the list of participants in the Stanley Cup, it will be powerful. And even more so for Ivan himself in his difficult career.