Ice hockey | Now the Russian Ice Hockey Federation is confusing the case of the goalkeeper who was forced into the army

Where star goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov, 26, will play next season?

This is being discussed feverishly both in Russia and in North America. The Russian goalkeeper’s contract deal is confusing and could at worst inflame the relationship between the KHL and the NHL.

Last summer, Fedotov signed a one-season contract with the NHL club Philadelphia Flyers, but he was caught in Russia and forced into the country’s army. He was accused of evading conscription and buying a fake military passport.

Now Fedotov has been released from the army and, according to Russian newspapers, has signed a two-year contract with the KHL’s major club CSKA Moscow.

However, the NHL and the Philadelphia Flyers are of the opinion that the contract signed by Fedotov last summer carried over to the next season, because the Russian goalkeeper could not represent the Flyers last season due to his military service.

Fedotov the contract is about a bigger whole than just one goalkeeper’s place in the coming season.

Until now, NHL and KHL have respected the contracts of players and coaches in the other league, but due to the war in Ukraine, the cooperation agreement was suspended.

Now Fedotov may be becoming a new bone of contention between the leagues, because the KHL changed its line in the case of the goalkeeper in the middle of everything.

The KHL initially did not agree to register Fedotov’s contract with TsSKA, known as the army club, because of his NHL contract situation, but later the Russian league announced that it had registered the contract.

The representatives of the KHL said that they asked the NHL for an appropriate explanation of Fedotov’s contract situation and interpreted based on that that the goalkeeper does not have a binding contract with the Flyers. The NHL and the Flyers disagree on this.

The situation is fragile and can cause chaos between the NHL and the KHL and affect, for example, how likely it is that Russian players will move from the KHL to the NHL in the future.

Perhaps for this reason, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation intervened in the game on Monday. Unsurprisingly, it did not side with the KHL.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation said that it considers the situation unclear and hopes for a detailed analysis and a fair solution. The union also made a strict demand to the KHL.

“A decision on a player’s participation in the KHL can only be made after consultation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As a member of the IIHF, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation requires that the KHL strictly follow the IIHF’s international transfer rules and regulations. Violation of them may lead to negative consequences for Russian ice hockey,” said the press release of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation’s press release and sharp line have been admired in the country’s media.

For example Championatin columnist Lev Lukin updates how the country’s Ice Hockey Federation practically took a stand against TsSKA and even threatened to prevent a Russian player from playing in the Russian premier league.

In addition, it is a club that the president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation Vladislav Tretyak represented his whole career and which he openly supports.

I looked according to this, it may simply be that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation does not want to anger the IIHF any more in hopes of returning to international tournaments.

Russia has not been admitted to international rinks after the end of February 2022. It’s still in place for at least the 2023–24 season.

Lukin considers the explanation that Russia does not want to annoy the IIHF to be reasonable. However, he also brings up a wild conspiracy theory.

In the leadership of Russian ice hockey, there has long been a power struggle between St. Petersburg and Moscow. According to Lukin, this time too, it may be that certain people have won the power struggle in the cabinets and decided to bully and unnerve CSKA, whose goalkeeping situation without Fedotov would be worrying.

However, Lukin does not point the finger directly at St. Petersburg influencers, such as the vice president by Roman Rotenberg in the direction of.

St. Petersburg and Moscow’s power struggle has been seen concretely in the Russian national team. When the national team was under the command of St. Petersburg people led by Roman Rotenberg at the time of the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, there were no less than 15 players from St. Petersburg SKA in the Olympic team.

When the national team was under the command of the Muscovites last year at the Beijing Olympics, there were only two SKA players left.