With a crowded goalie picture, the Flyers traded Ivan Fedotov to the Blue Jackets on Sunday for a 2026 sixth-round draft pick.
The Flyers have Samuel Ersson and Dan Vladar as their goaltending tandem, with 2021 third-rounder Aleksei Kolosov and 2023 second-rounder Carson Bjarnason projected to compete at AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
Fedotov, who turns 29 years old in November, was in the final year of a two-year, $6.5 million contract, so the Flyers cleared around $3.25 million in cap space.
The 6-foot-7 Russian struggled last season in his first full NHL campaign. He battled some early bumps and also went about a month without playing when he was relegated to No. 3 on the depth chart.
He finished the season 6-13-4 with a 3.15 goals-against average and an .880 save percentage. Ersson, Fedotov and Kolosov combined for an .872 save percentage, the worst mark in the NHL, which prompted general manager Danny Briere to add Vladar this offseason on a two-year deal.
“He has a chance to become our No. 1, depending on how he plays, how our other guys play,” Briere said in July. “And one thing at the end of the year, when I met with our group of goalies, I told them, ‘You have to be ready at training camp.’ I said, ‘This wasn’t good enough last season, we’re probably going to go out and bring in some reinforcements, and you’re going to be in a battle, all of you guys.’ So it was really clear right from the get-go.”
Fedotov had to take a long and remarkable journey to the Flyers after being selected in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. He arrived suddenly in March 2024 and ended up playing parts of two seasons for the club.