Ivan Fedotov’s return to Russia is off to a sharp start.
The former Flyers goalie has opened the KHL season with Spartak Moskva, and through two games he’s already showing the kind of form that made him such a decorated presence back home. Fedotov signed a two-year deal with Spartak after a two-year run in North America, and he’s now back alongside former Flyers draft bust German Rubtsov.
The early results have been strong even if the record is only 1-1-0. In Spartak’s season opener against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, Fedotov turned aside 18 of 19 shots in a tight 1-0 defeat, posting a .947 save percentage in a game that stayed low-scoring throughout.
He backed that up with a 29-save performance in a 3-2 win over CSKA Moscow, a game that also featured former Flyers teammate Egor Zamula and top 2027 NHL Draft prospect Nazar Privalov. Christian Jaros, Max Comtois, and Ilya Kotlyarov scored for Spartak, while Zamula had an assist for CSKA.
After those first two starts, Fedotov has stopped 37 of 40 shots, giving him a 1.51 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
That’s a very different story from his NHL stretch with the Flyers, where he was inconsistent and never really found a groove. In Philadelphia, the 29-year-old went 6-14-5 with a 3.29 GAA and an .874 save percentage. He improved in his first full season with the Flyers in 2024-25 and even flashed dominance at times, but the rough outings never fully disappeared, and the struggles eventually led to a trade to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He spent the entire year in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, where he went 23-16-9 in 47 games with a 2.89 GAA, .887 save percentage, and two shutouts.
Back in Russia, though, Fedotov’s track record is a different kind of resume. The 6-foot-8 goalie was an Olympic Silver Medalist, KHL Goalie of the Year, KHL All-Star, and Gagarin Cup champion during four full seasons as a regular there, and that pedigree is showing again early in this KHL season.
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Flyers Are Being Linked To Another Big Swing On Defense
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The bigger question is not whether the fit would intrigue them, but how far they would be willing to go to make it work. Any pursuit of a player at that level would come with familiar complications for a team trying to build smartly, and the contract side of the equation would have to line up before Philadelphia seriously commits to a move. [Read more 🡒]