A goalkeeper who served in the Russian army hit the jackpot in America! Fedotov received millions – for him this is a huge contract

Career Ivan Fedotova continues to develop rapidly. The Russian goalkeeper was sent to the army two years ago, after which he managed to return to big hockey – he spent a season in CSKA and left for Philadelphia. Having played only three incomplete matches in the NHL, the goalkeeper earned a new contract with the American club. He would never have received that kind of money in Russia, even taking into account the bonuses at the army club that are colossal for our league.

On Tuesday, April 23, the Flyers announced a new contract with the Russian goalie. The new agreement is for 2 years and a total amount of $6.55 million. The average salary per season is $3.25 million, the hockey player will receive most of this amount ($2.5 million) in the form of a signing bonus. The contract, of course, is one-sided, that is, a player can be sent to the farm club only through a waiver draft with retention of wages.

The first reaction to Fedotov’s contract: “What a lot they gave to the Russian goalkeeper!” And indeed, agent JP Barry, one of the most authoritative in the NHL, should be given his due – he worked brilliantly and got the best conditions for his client. But it seems that Philadelphia did not need much persuasion. The club received the Russian goalkeeper very warmly. At the end of March, Ivan terminated his contract with CSKA and went overseas. A few weeks before the end of the regular season, Fedotov signed a contract until the end of the season. It was a rookie deal with a $92,500 signing bonus, but what’s more important is that the player essentially burned the final year of his rookie contract.

Philadelphia took this step and signed a new contract, since the club has big problems with goalkeepers. Carter Hart, considered the organization’s hope and a rising star in recent years, left the club in mid-winter due to an investigation into sexual abuse of the 2018 Canadian youth team. Charges were brought against him, and everything is going to the point that the “pilots” will not be able to count on him in the near future. In the absence of the Canadian, Samuel Ersson became number one. The 24-year-old Swede has not been very successful in this role – he has an 89% save percentage in 51 matches. Other goalies in the system are also not ready: Cal Petersen and Felix Sandstrom were not even convincing in the role of backups. And Alexey Kolosov, who returned from a loan from Dynamo Minsk, was immediately sent to the AHL.

When Fedotov first arrived at Philadelphia’s location, he became the uncontested second number. In the future, they see him first – the Russian has everything for this. In America, they admire his size, namely his height of 2 meters. He is the tallest goalie in the current NHL and one of the tallest in history. He has good technique and also has character. Without the latter, he simply would not have been able to return to professional sports after a year of inactivity.

General manager Daniel Briere and head coach John Tortorella believe in the player. Compliments and praise are generally not accepted in North American hockey culture, but here there are more of them than usual. And the club didn’t give up on Ivan after 3 matches in the NHL (81.1% of shots saved). Still, Fedotov arrived without playing for a couple of weeks. He had a difficult season behind him at CSKA, lack of understanding whether the club would let him go, and there was simply no time to adapt to a new team and a new league. And the Russian’s performance cannot be called a complete failure; there are questions for the entire team, which failed at the end of the championship and lost its place in the playoffs.

The Flyers did not draw conclusions based on several games. If the club had a different situation with goalkeepers, perhaps Fedotov would not have been so clung to. But there is simply no other way out. Plus the story still turns out beautiful: Ivan’s fate is too dramatic. Everyone wants a happy ending to this story – and here “Philadelphia” acts as the fairy godmother’s savior.