Ivan Fedotov has joined the Philadelphia Flyers, and the 27-year-old goalie could be available to help with their push for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Selected by the Flyers in the seventh round (No. 188) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Fedotov was named the best goalie in the Kontinental Hockey league in 2021-22 after going 14-10-2 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and two shutouts in 26 games for CSKA. He then led the team to the Gagarin Cup championship, going 16-6 with a 1.85 GAA and .937 save percentage in 22 playoff games.
He had signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers on May 7, 2022, but on July 4 he was detained by Russian authorities for trying to evade compulsory military service, and subsequently assigned to serve at a base near the Russia-Finland border.
Fedotov’s NHL contract was tolled to the 2023-24 season but he instead signed a two-year contract with CSKA on July 8, 2023.
This season he was 21-22-1 with a 2.37 GAA and .914 save percentage in 44 regular-season games, and CSKA terminated his contract Thursday, after the team was eliminated from the KHL playoffs.
Fedotov and general manager Danny Brierre are schedule to meet the media at 10:45 a.m. today.
Samuel Ersson has been entrenched as the Flyers No. 1 goalie since Carter Hart left the Flyers on Jan. 23, but they have struggled to find a consistent backup. Since Jan. 27, Cal Petersen was 1-1-0 with a 4.21 GAA and .831 save percentage in three games (two starts) before being sent to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Feb. 29. Felix Sandstrom was recalled from the AHL that day and is 1-2-0 in five games (three starts) with a 3.87 GAA and .823 save percentage.
The Flyers (36-28-10) are third in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the fourth-place Washington Capitals. They next play the Chicago Blackhawks at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, NBCSCH).
