Flyers Re-Sign G Ivan Fedotov to 2-Year Deal

A few weeks before the end of the regular season, the Flyers made the unexpected move of bringing goaltender Ivan Fedotov over to North America and adding him to the roster. When Fedotov was introduced, GM Danny Briere said at the time that an extension for Fedotov would not be an issue.

On Tuesday, the Flyers made that extension official, announcing a two-year deal for Fedotov with a $3.25 million cap hit. According to Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period, the deal was agreed upon prior to Fedotov coming to North America.

Fedotov played in three games after arriving with the Flyers, including one start on April 5 against Buffalo, making 15 saves on 19 shots in a loss. He also had a relief appearance on April 1 against the Islanders for his NHL debut, making 19 saves on 21 shots in an overtime loss. He also finished out the game on April 9 against Montreal, making nine saves on 13 shots.

Fedotov, 27, has his journey to the NHL well-documented. His original one-year deal with the Flyers was tolled twice after he missed the entire 2022-23 season completing military service in Russia, then was slated to play for CSKA Moscow for the 2023-24 season. That contract was terminated in March, paving the way for Fedotov to join the Flyers. With CSKA Moscow this season, Fedotov had a 21-22-1 record with a 2.37 GAA and .914 save percentage.

It was already anticipated that Fedotov would, at least, be sharing the net in some capacity, however, the cap hit to get Fedotov to ultimately come to North America, as was reported by DiMarco, indicates that there could be a competition for the amount of time each netminder sees the net in a starting role.

Fedotov’s two-year deal lines up with a two-year extension that was signed by Sam Ersson last offseason. Ersson’s deal carries a $1.45 million cap hit, bringing the total of the two goalies to a combined $4.7 million.Fedotov was one of four unrestricted free agents on the roster, a list that includes Marc Staal, Erik Johnson, and Denis Gurianov. It’s likely none of those remaining three will be returning. The Flyers also have three restricted free agents who spent some form of time in the NHL this season: Egor Zamula, Bobby Brink, and Adam Ginning.