According to multiple reports, the Philadelphia Flyers are expected to send polarizing goalie Ivan Fedotov to the AHL to start off the 2025-26 season.
The Flyers are one of many teams looking to find goaltending in a help in a 2025 goalie market that is not very friendly to buyers.
Jake Allen, who is likely to remain with the New Jersey Devils, is the top option available, and then other options, like former Flyers goalie Alex Lyon, lead the rank-and-file.
On Friday, Daily Faceoff insider Anthony Di Marco corroborated a report from Anthony San Filippo and his “Snow the Goalie” podcast, remarking ,”It appears that Fedotov will start in the AHL,” when discussing Allen and other goalie options for the Flyers on X.
The 28-year-old Fedotov just played his first full season in the NHL – one that saw him stapled to the bench for extended periods of time – posting a 6-13-4 record, a 3.15 GAA, and a .880 save percentage.
Consistency was the main issue for the Flyers’ former seventh-round pick. Eight of Fedotov’s 26 games, including two against Tampa Bay, saw him finish with a .920 save percentage or higher.
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On the other side of the fence, Fedotov played 10 games for the Flyers where he finished with a save percentage below .867.
So, although he’s on the older side, Fedotov is still relatively inexperienced in the North American game, and some time developing and facing lesser competition will help him make up for lost time in that regard.
Plus, it helps that the Flyers can shave $1.15 million off their NHL cap hit by sending Fedotov to the AHL.
But, if the Flyers have already made up their minds on this, it means that signing a new goalie is now a matter of when and not if.
Incumbent starter Sam Ersson dealt with a rash of lower-body injuries last season, and prospect Aleksei Kolosov was as inconsistent as Fedotov was and as a result may not be in the organization’s short- or long-term plans.
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Provided 19-year-old prospect Carson Bjarnason doesn’t start his pro career in the ECHL, he and Fedotov would then presumably comprise the goalie partnership for the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
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