Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
Early into their off-season the Philadelphia Flyers and General Manager Daniel Briere have already made a significant transaction in preparation for the 2024-25 season.
The Flyers signed goaltender Ivan Fedotov to a two year, $6.5 million dollar contract extension. Fedotov’s new deal will hold an average annual value of $3.25 million dollars.
The remainder of Fedotov’s KHL contract was terminated by CSKA Moscow back on March 28th. From that point Fedotov made his way to Philadelphia and appeared in three games before the end of the regular season.
The Fourth Period’s Anthony DiMarco reported that Fedotov and the Flyers agreed to a rough outline of a contract before Fedotov even arrived in North America.
Essentially, signing Fedotov to this deal was the cost of doing business to get the netminder to leave the KHL, where he would have made similar money next season.
With Philadelphia committing two years to Fedotov it’s evident they plan on going with a goaltending tandem of Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov heading into the 2024-25 season. As a result, the Flyers have allocated a total of $4.7 million dollars to their goalies until 2026.
Although Fedotov is unproven at the NHL level he has been a top goaltender in the KHL for several seasons. Over his KHL career the netminder recorded 61 wins and a .921 save percentage during the regular season. While adding 18 wins and a .930 save percentage in 31 playoff games.
If he can make the necessary adjustments to the NHL level he should at the very least serve as a suitable back-up to Samuel Ersson during this contract. Most importantly, Fedotov will need to adapt to how quickly plays are typically made around the net and behind the net in the NHL as compared to the KHL.
When considering Fedotov’s, 6 foot 7 stature and past successes in high pressure situations; such as playing in the Olympics for Russia and in the playoffs during the Gagarin Cup for CSKA Moscow. There is the potential the netminder has an even larger impact for the Flyers than originally anticipated.
For Philadelphia if Fedotov can start at the minimum 30 games next season and provide league average goaltending that would be an ideal scenario. This would benefit Ersson and ensure he has a reliable backup moving forward.
The organization cannot overplay Samuel Ersson as they did last season. They need to avoid the netminder potentially experiencing a dip in play due to fatigue. Which is another reason why Fedotov’s play in 2024-25 will be an important factor for the Flyers.
Ultimately, time will tell if Fedotov becomes an option in net the Flyers can rely upon to effectively balance the goaltending workload.
