Flyers Trade Goaltender Ivan Fedotov to Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH & Philadelphia, PA -โ September 14, 2025 – The Columbus Blue Jackets โขhave acquired goaltender Ivan Fedotov from the philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2026 fifth-round draft pick, both teams announced today.The move addresses a goaltending need for the Blue Jackets and โclears a logjam for the Flyers.
Philadelphia entered โขthe offseason wiht four goaltenders vying for NHLโข playing time: Ivan Fedotov, Samuel Ersson, Aleksei Kolosov, and newly signed Daniel Vladar. The Flyers signed Vladar to a two-year, $6.7MM contract โคin free agency to compete with Ersson for the starting role,โ making Fedotov expendable. By trading Fedotov, the Flyers eliminate what was considered thier worst-value contract among the four.
The Blue Jackets are hoping โคFedotov can provide NHL-caliber goaltending depth. While Jet โฃGreaves’ bid for a full-time role didn’t materialize,and Elvis Merzlikins โขremains in the mix,the team is banking onโข Fedotov’s strong overseas track record. He has a career .921 save percentage and 2.22 goals-against average in 133 KHL games, highlightedโฃ by a championship season in 2021-22 where he โposted โฃa .937 save percentage andโ 1.85 GAA โin 22 playoff games,earning him league MVP and โฃFirst Team All-Star honors.
Columbus, projected to have over $15.5MM in cap space byโ PuckPedia, can comfortably absorb Fedotov’s $3.0MM cap hit.โ Should he not make โฃthe NHL roster, his cap hit is sufficient to โคlikely โฃclear waivers, allowing him to serve as aโ third-string option in AHL Cleveland. Notably, Jetโ Greavesโ is no longer waiver-exempt,โข creating a potential challenge for Fedotov to earnโฃ a spot without risking losing Greaves. A three-goalie rotation is possible โขif Fedotov proves successful.
Financially,โฃ the blue Jackets will only pay $775K in actual dollars for Fedotov this season, โas his base salary is at the league minimumโข and the Flyers have already paid his โข$2.5MM signing bonus.
Kolosov remains waiver-exempt for the Flyers, allowing them to possiblyโข revert to a customary two-goalieโข system with Ersson and Vladar โขon the openingโค night roster.