Flyers’ Ivan Fedotov, CSKA Moscow appeals rejected by IIHF

On Saturday morning, the IIHF announced that their independent IIHF Disciplinary Board had rejected the sanctions appeals lodged by both Ivan Fedotov and Fedotov’s current club, CSKA Moscow. Had CSKA not signed Fedotov, the goalie would be with the Philadelphia Flyers right now.

CSKA appealed the sanctions imposed against Fedotov and the club for violating what IIHF deemed to be a valid professional player contract with the Flyers. Fedotov, 27, was banned from playing for four months in both national and international games, whilst CSKA was banned from signing international players for one year.

Among the key points in their findings, the IIHF found that “The IIHF correctly determined that Mr. Fedotov breached his SPC with the Philadelphia Flyers when he signed a contract with CSKA to play in the KHL for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 season, as Mr. Fedotov’s SPC had been correctly tolled to the 2023/2024 season,” and that “not only did CSKA not rebut the presumption of inducement, but the evidence established that CSKA did induce Mr. Fedotov to breach his SPC with the Philadelphia Flyers by signing Mr. Fedotov to a contract with CSKA when it knew or ought to have known that Mr. Fedotov’s contract with the Philadelphia Flyers was tolled.”

Effectively, Fedotov and CSKA Moscow are both guilty as charged. Though, it’s fair to wonder, due to the nature of Russian politics and the landscape of things out there, if Fedotov really had any say. After all, the Flyers prospect was literally detained two summers ago when trying to head over to North America. Since then, Fedotov has completed his obligatory military service and signed a two-year contract with CSKA.

The Flyers’ next chance to see Ivan Fedotov again will be after his contract expires, in 2025. On that front, though, you’re counting on him making it onto a plane to Philadelphia unnoticed or unabated. For the sake of Matvei Michkov, Alexei Kolosov, Yegor Zavragin, and others, it might be best to let bygones be bygones.

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