In a surprising development coming out of the Kontinental Hockey League, CSKA Moscow has terminated the contract of Philadelphia Flyers’ goalie prospect Ivan Fedotov. The reasoning became clear shortly thereafter, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirmed that Fedotov will finish his season with the Flyers.
The news comes as a bit of a shock, as it was only seven months ago that the KHL, NHL, and IIHF held a lengthy battle over the contractual rights to Fedotov for the 2023-24 season. As it would turn out, under pressure from his native country, Fedotov would spend the majority of his year in the KHL.
After the announcement became public from CSKA Moscow, it was unclear if Fedotov would be coming over to Philadelphia, as the General Manager of the team, Daniel Briere, declined to comment at today’s media availability regarding Fedotov’s status. Nevertheless, as a precursor to Friedman’s confirmation, Sports Express in Russia did initially report that Fedotov would be leaving for the NHL.
With only one year remaining on his current contract, Fedotov will become an unrestricted free agent this summer if Philadelphia does not sign him to an extension before July 1st. In the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NHLPA, a player is eligible to hit the unrestricted free agent market once they hit 27 years of age, or have accrued seven years of experience at the NHL level.
Although there will be a bit of an adjustment coming over to North American hockey, Fedotov should be able to play himself into the starting role with the Flyers relatively quickly. In 44 games for CSKA Moscow this season, Fedotov produced a 21-22-1 record in 44 games but did carry an impressive .914 save percentage and 2.37 goals against average.
Since Carter Hart left the team in late January, Philadelphia has been operating with Samuel Ersson as their starting option, with Calvin Petersen and Felix Sandstrom seeing time in the backup role. Proving to be a volatile option, Ersson has produced a 9-8-4 record in 21 games with a .880 SV% after taking over the top job.
Still trying to lock down a playoff spot with nine games remaining, the Flyers could get quite the jolt with Fedotov between the pipes. However, even if the team is unable to secure a playoff spot, they could view it as an important trial run to see if they would like to continue their relationship with the netminder.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Pro Hockey Rumors…