Ivan Fedotov defies IIHF ruling after playing in KHL season opener
A fairly significant development has occurred regarding Ivan Fedotov and his KHL club, CSKA Moscow.
On Friday, CSKA Moscow opened up their 2023-24 season against AK Bars Kazan and Ivan Fedotov took to the crease for the game, despite being banned from competing by the IIHF.
Following the news that Fedotov would play on Friday, IIHF President Luc Tardiff said the following:
For those who aren't up to date with what's been going on, here's a synopsis.
Fedotov signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2022, but before coming over to North America, he was arrested for what Russia called "evasion of military service" and was sent to the country's far north to complete training.
Upon the conclusion of that training, it was announced that his contract with the Flyers was being tolled to the 2023-24 season, but he then signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow in July, which the KHL registered and said was allowed because he didn't have a 'valid and binding contract with an NHL club'.
The IIHF open an investigation into the matter and ruled in favour of the Philadelphia Flyers. As a result, the IIHF banned Fedotov from competing in the KHL for four-months starting on September 1st and going until December 31st, while CKSA Moscow received a one-year ban on international transfers.
It's going to be interesting to see what the International Ice Hockey Federation does in this situation, but there's no doubt that things could get pretty messy between them, Fedotov, CSKA Moscow and the KHL.
| POLL | ||
What should the IIHF do in this situation? | ||
| Significantly fine CSKA Moscow | 5 | 8.9 % |
| Ban Fedotov from competing in KHL for 1 year | 6 | 10.7 % |
| Both | 42 | 75 % |
| See Results | 3 | 5.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
