The story of Ivan Fedotov continues to acquire new details. On the eve it became known that the silver medalist of the Olympic Games refused to appeal in court the decision to draft into the army.

Has Ivan resigned himself or does he have a plan to return to the KHL?

Fedotov is waiting for the decision of “Philadelphia”

Fedotov signed a one-year, $925,000 contract with the Philadelphia back in May. And in the offseason, the 25-year-old hockey player was actively preparing to move to the strongest league in the world. However, his training came to an abrupt end: on July 1, Fedotov was detained on suspicion of evading military service. After a short time, the goalkeeper ended up in the Severodvinsk training center of the Russian Navy.

The hockey community around the world began to closely monitor the situation around the goalkeeper of the Russian national team. Across the ocean, because of this story, a real panic arose. Bosses of NHL clubs began to fear that the same could happen to their players, who spend their summer holidays in Russia. The strongest fright was experienced in Minnesota: almost immediately after Fedotov’s arrest, a rumor appeared that Kirill Kaprizov was allegedly accused of buying a military ID.

In our country, fans accused sports officials and well-known hockey players of not speaking out in defense of the Olympic medalist. Fedotov himself did not make any loud statements. However, he was firmly convinced that the procedure for conscription into the army had been violated. Therefore, almost immediately, he filed a corresponding lawsuit. And on September 20, a preliminary hearing in the Fedotov case was to take place. It seemed that until this moment the history of the ex-goalkeeper will be forgotten. However, new details and rumors periodically began to emerge.

Ivan Fedotov / Photo: © KHL / Yury Kuzmin

So, Philadelphia officially announced that it was ready to freeze and even terminate the contract with Fedotov if he did not appear in the team’s training camp. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daley also spoke about this. At the same time, he made an important clarification that the club can break off relations with the player at almost any moment.

Contract with CSKA?

After that, completely unexpected information appeared: on September 7, fans discussed the news about Fedotov’s signing a three-year contract with CSKA. According to an insider, the army club was going to exchange the goalkeeper for another team after the deal. However, this rumor was quickly denied by the president of the capital club, Igor Esmantovich.

– There are no legal norms and legal acts for CSKA to sign a contract with a serviceman Ivan Fedotov today. And reporters who spread rumors and PR so that Ivan Fedotov is in the information field should be ashamed when throwing this information in, ”said Esmantovich.

Ivan Fedotov / Photo: © KHL / Andrey Golovanov

From this insider, NHL bosses also tensed up. Signing a contract with CSKA, having the current one with Philadelphia, would be illegal and would mean a final break in relations between the overseas league and the KHL. Therefore, after Esmantovich’s statement, North America calmed down a bit. However, the situation may change very soon, and Fedotov will be able to sign a contract with the KHL club without consequences.

The fact is that if Philadelphia freezes the contract of the goalkeeper of the national team, then he will become free for contractual relations in the domestic league. This means that overseas they will not be able to present anything to the KHL. And it seems that the goalkeeper has already agreed to this option. On September 20, it became known that Fedotov no longer had any claims against the St. Petersburg draft board: the keeper dropped the lawsuit, sending a petition about it, and the refusal was accepted by the court. At the same time, Fedotov can no longer change his mind and replay everything.

– Repeated appeal on a dispute between the same parties on the same subject on the same grounds is not allowed. The ruling can be appealed to the Leningrad Regional Court within 15 days by filing a private complaint through the Vsevolozhsk City Court of the Leningrad Region, said Judge Natalya Korableva, who dealt with the Fedotov case.

Transfer to a sports company

Perhaps the determination to prove that there was a violation of conscription into the army did not disappear by chance. And then the insider about the contract with CSKA will turn out to be true. And the army team should exchange Fedotov in SKA. However, the St. Petersburg club deny that such an option is possible now.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov

— You can always write something on the fence. Well what can I say? Fedotov is a very strong goalkeeper. He beat us in the last playoffs. Definitely. We were looking for a way to beat him. At first they threw it under the pancake, but then he closed this hole, and it became even harder for us. Yes, a very strong goalkeeper – from St. Petersburg. Started in Finland. We wish him success, but there is nothing more to comment on,” said SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg.

But the important thing here is that it is impossible to make a statement on Fedotov before the decision of Philadelphia to freeze the keeper’s contract. Otherwise, overseas will decide that the KHL and the NHL no longer respect each other’s contractual agreements. And the example of Fedotov can work in the opposite direction: hockey players from our league can leave the club at any time and go to the NHL.

The most interesting thing will be when the Philadelphia training camp begins. If the “pilots” refuse Fedotov, then he may end up in the St. Petersburg club in transit through CSKA. At the same time, he will simply be transferred to a sports company with the opportunity to play in the KHL.