The International Ice Hockey Federation banned Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov from international competition. This ruling stems from the IIHF’s original statement from last summer on which of Fedotov’s contracts are valid: the one he signed with the Flyers or the KHL’s CSKA.
In the summer of 2022, Fedotov signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers to make the transition to North America. Fedotov was then arrested by the Russian military, where we spent all of the 2022-23 season at a Naval base in the Arctic Circle.
After leaving his mandatory military service, Fedotov signed with CSKA, causing a contract conflict in which the IIHF intervened and determined that the Flyers’ contract was valid over CSKA. After Fedotov continued to play in the KHL for CSKA, the IIHF imposed the following sanctions.
Fedotov was suspended for four months from September 1st to December 31st, 2023, and CSKA was banned from international transfers for one year.
The latest sanctions have been imposed after Fedotov’s transfer to Philadelphia has been deemed a violation of the IIHF’s International Transfer Regulations. CSKA has been given a 24-month transfer ban, which will start after the 12-month ban ends this August and run until August of 2026. Meanwhile, Fedotov has been given a six-month suspension from any club under the jurisdiction of the IIHF Member National Federation.
This will not affect his time in the NHL with Philadelphia; it will only be imposed if he transfers out. Fedotov has also been banned for three years from International Competitions, which include the Olympic Games and World Championship. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has been fined one million Swiss Francs, which is roughly 1.1 million US Dollars.
As stated before, this ban will have no impact on Fedotov in the NHL; it will only bar him from international competition, which Russia is already banned from. After their invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus have been banned from IIHF competitions. This most notably includes the World Junior Championship, which takes place in late December/early January, with U-2o players to showcase upcoming and recently selected draft picks.
Along with the World Championships, which is taking place right now in Chechia, consisting of NHL players who missed the playoffs and the rest of the world’s best whose seasons had already ended.
The biggest fallout of these sanctions could be the strained relationship between the KHL and NHL, which could make Russians more hesitant to leave for North America.
There have been discussions about Matvei Michkov and the chances that he could come to Philadelphia before his KHL contract ends in 2026.
PHOTO: ClutchPoints
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