Ivan Fedotov was arrested last July for evasion of military service, but with one year remaining on his Philadelphia Flyers contract, he still has a chance to return.
*An update to this story can be found here.
The Philadelphia Flyers first drafted 6’7″ goaltender Ivan Fedotov in the seventh round, 188th overall, in the 2015 NHL Draft. On May 7, 2022, the Flyers finally signed Ivan Fedotov to his first NHL contract – a one-year entry-level deal. And, a little less than two months later, the Russian authorities detained and arrested Fedotov for evasion of military service. Even so, Ivan Fedotov is still under contract because the Flyers tolled his contract to 2023-24, and his expiry status changed from 10.2(c) to UFA due to his being 27 years of age at expiry. Fedotov would subsequently be hospitalized for what was deemed to be stress-induced gastritis, likely related to his arrest and the military service context of the war in Ukraine. Ivan Fedotov had been planning to bail on his existing contract with CSKA Moscow to join up with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Ivan Fedotov afterwards was enlisted in the Russian navy, and after playing in Russia’s Armed Forces Ice Hockey Championships, he will have satisfied his one year of military service and will be released from his military obligations this month. The newest wrinkle in the Ivan Fedotov saga, though, is that Fedotov agreed to a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, even after all of that. The KHL, the league CSKA is in, is refusing to register Fedotov’s contract and will instead honor their gentleman’s agreement with the NHL, because Fedotov has already signed an NHL contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. The KHL is reportedly waiting to hear back from the NHL in regards to Ivan Fedotov’s contractual status.
If you dont understand what is going on here… its politics. KHL is in bad spot. Flyers have Ivan Fedotov under contract for 2023-24 season. If KHL poach him, what does that say for Flyers / NHL doing the same to Matvei Michkov next year. Its a lose lose for KHL. #FueledByPhilly https://t.co/9ZeQgX2uPx
— Brandon J. Sommermann (@B_Sommermann) July 3, 2023
In the end, this might not mean an awful lot for the Philadelphia Flyers. The team is clearly in a rebuilding phase, and Ivan Fedotov will turn 27 in November. In addition, Fedotov is only signed with the Flyers for a year, meaning he could just go back to CSKA Moscow at the end of this season with the Flyers, if that’s what he wants or if that’s what Russia wants. The Flyers’ relations with Russia and Russian prospects must be pretty good, considering they drafted both Yegor Zavragin and Matvei Michkov in the top-100 of this year’s NHL draft.
It would be great to see Ivan Fedotov join the Philadelphia Flyers on a more permanent basis, but the big picture is still unclear at best.
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