Breaking Down Ivan Fedotov After An Unexpected NHL Debut
Sam Ersson let in two of the six shots he faced during the first period against the New York Islanders Monday. The margin for error had disappeared for the Philadelphia Flyers. John Tortorella hooked Ersson for goaltender Ivan Fedotov to make his NHL debut.
The 6-foot-7 Russian became the talk of the NHL last week. Danny Briere dropped the bomb and brought in the 2015 draft pick with time running out on Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.
How did Fedotov fare in his first two periods of NHL action?
Ivan Fedotov Makes NHL Debut
The Wells Fargo Center crowd roared when the mysterious new netminder stepped between the pipes. They cheered when Fedotov so much as tapped the puck toward the stick of his defensemen.
The Flyers struggled to suppress the New York attack from the opening faceoff of the second period. The Islanders outshot them 16-3 and dominated the puck battles in the Philadelphia end. The Flyers’ goaltender bailed them out.
Fedotov made his first solid stop on a breakaway against Mathew Barzal, who leads the Islanders with 75 points this season. He utilized his size well by remaining square against shooters and dwindling their options to pick any open space.
The (seasoned) rookie stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced in the overtime loss. Both goals against came on defensive lapses.
Tortorella, Flyers Desperate For Goaltending
John Tortorella took a major risk sending Fedotov into the crease after the first intermission. He furiously criticized his team for not producing a better effort after the switch.
“I put him (Fedotov) in a hell of a spot, and he’s the only god damn player that played in the second period.” -John Tortorella
The Flyers lost their third straight game. They’re slipping at the wrong time, and their head coach knows it.
“We have to figure things out as far as what we’re going to become as a team here. That was embarrassing (in) the second period for the Philadelphia Flyer uniform, the way we played, embarrassing.” -John Tortorella
The two-time Jack Adams Award winner gave credit for a good recovery in the third period after the initial intensity of his outburst.
Sam Ersson has struggled with the heavy workload thrown on his back since Carter Hart began a leave of absence in January. Ersson has an .864 save percentage since March 1. Will the exhaustion lead Tortorella to send the 27-year-old Russian wild card back in the net on Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres?
Approaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs
The Flyers play their final back-to-back of the regular season this weekend. Each goaltender will probably get one start apiece on Friday or Saturday.
Goaltending is the most fickle position in hockey and possibly in all professional sports. The Flyers have an absurd history of goaltender chaos and the ultimate wild card standing behind their bench.
It seems crazy to think Fedotov might start an NHL playoff game so soon after emigrating to North America. He’s just weeks removed from a season in the KHL. However, one week ago, it seemed crazy to think he’d ever wear orange and black. Yesterday, it seemed crazy to think he’d appear against the Islanders.
Fedotov has four seasons under his belt as a full-time goaltender in the KHL, considered the second-best hockey league in the world. He led Russian athletes to a silver medal at the Winter Olympics in 2022.
The list of obstacles is enormous. KHL goaltenders face less traffic on screens and less puck movement in high-danger areas than the fast-paced NHL barrage. The NHL implemented rules in the salary cap era that restrict goaltending pads and eliminate the advantage of thick equipment KHL goalies typically wear. Fedotov just stepped foot on American soil last week.
He’s no ordinary rookie though. The Flyers just might be desperate enough to give him a shot to win the crease for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“I’m not (a) young guy. I have some experience, and (I) know how it’s working. I don’t care if I’m playing from the first minute or (entering) during the game. I need to play, so it doesn’t matter. I just want to help the team.” -Ivan Fedotov pic.twitter.com/NaP81EtMEE
— Colin Newby (@ToNewbyginnings) April 2, 2024
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A Cup Of Coffee: 16 Philadelphia Flyers With Better NHL Careers Elsewhere
Jaromir Jagr
A reunion with the Penguins looked inevitable when Jaromir Jagr returned to North America for the 2011-12 season at age 39. The former Philadelphia nemesis had other ideas.
Jagr deliberately passed up an opportunity to return to the franchise where he reached NHL stardom and opted to sign with their arch-rival. Embarrassing Pittsburgh got him into the good graces of Flyers fans immediately.
He played one season on the top line with Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell, finishing with 54 points in 73 games. The Flyers defeated the Penguins in the opening round of the playoffs in one of the wildest series in NHL history.
Jagr then climbed to the second spot in NHL history in scoring behind only Wayne Gretzky in stints with five other NHL teams after his 40th birthday. His time with the Flyers certainly wasn’t the highlight of his absurdly long hockey career, but it was one of many great memories.
Adam Oates
The Flyers sent their upcoming 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-round picks and Maxime Ouellet to the Capitals on deadline day in March 2002 to acquire 39-year-old Adam Oates.
Oates had established himself as one of the best passers in the NHL in 16 seasons with the Red Wings, Blues, Bruins, and Capitals. However, the Flyers didn’t properly evaluate an impending unrestricted free agent well past his prime. The Senators stifled the Flyers in the opening round of the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs, holding them to just two goals in a five-game series.
Oates walked away in free agency after the playoff exit. He sits eighth in NHL history in assists, but 19 games in orange and black certainly weren’t the highlight of his career.
Tony Amonte
Jeremy Roenick spent three seasons with the Flyers, who decided to bring in his long-time friend and linemate Tony Amonte at the trade deadline in 2003.
Amonte spent 12 seasons as a top-line player with the Rangers and the Blackhawks. He took a step back in orange and black with less production in his early 30s. He delivered a respectable 68 points in 93 games in a serviceable role toward the end of his career.
Peter Forsberg
The ripple effects of the Eric Lindros trade in 1992 impacted the NHL and the Flyers for decades. Peter Forsberg proved himself as the crown jewel of the package Philadelphia sent to Quebec for Lindros.
Forsberg reached the top tier of the NHL with two Stanley Cups and a Hart Trophy after Quebec moved to Colorado. His run in the late 1990s and early 2000s convinced the Flyers to right a wrong after the 2004-05 lockout. They thought they signed the best player in the world, but Forsberg experienced a lot of injury problems in Philadelphia.
The crafty Swede notched well over a point per game in parts of two seasons, but he didn’t have the prolonged success the Flyers hoped for when they signed him at age 32. They dealt him to the Nashville Predators in 2007 as part of a series of moves that helped them land Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell.
Forsberg retired with 885 points in 708 NHL games. His injury issues limited a Hall of Fame career while Lindros experienced similar (although more extreme) limitations.
Derian Hatcher
6-foot-5 defenseman Derian Hatcher became a rock on the blue line for the Dallas Stars during an excellent run in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had some left in the tank at age 33 for three seasons in Philadelphia.
However, Bobby Clarke and the Flyers didn’t properly evaluate the direction of the NHL after the 2004-05 lockout. Rule changes lessened the value of big defensemen like Hatcher and fellow cup of coffee free agent Mike Rathje.
Hatcher had a decent stint with the Flyers, but he flourished more during an era that had already passed before the famous Shanahan Summit.
Paul Coffey
The Flyers acquired Paul Coffey and an additional draft pick from the Hartford Whalers in December 1996 for Kevin Haller and two picks.
The 35-year-old defenseman had won two Norris Trophies as a member of the Oilers dynasty of the 1980s. With the benefit of passing to Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, he finished one shy of tying the highest single-season point total in NHL history among defensemen with 138 in 1984-85.
Coffey wasn’t anywhere close to the same puck-moving catalyst with a lengthy list of league records among defensemen by the time he got to the Flyers. A combination of age and deflated offensive numbers as the style of the 1980s shrunk in the distance held Coffey to eight goals and 47 assists in 94 games for Philadelphia.
The Hockey Hall of Famer remarkably played for three more NHL teams after the Flyers before retiring at age 39.
Vincent Lecavalier
Flyers fans got to know Vincent Lecavalier too well with Tampa Bay during the 2004 Eastern Conference Final. The Lightning went on to win the Stanley Cup, and Lecavalier grew into an NHL superstar despite a rocky development under John Tortorella.
Paul Holmgren signed a 32-year-old Lecavalier to a five-year contract in 2013. The lucrative deal quickly became an albatross. The Flyers moved on from Peter Laviolette and removed a potential system fit for Lecavalier.
He played 133 games in three seasons without enough offensive production to justify a significant cap hit. A former 52-goal scorer even faced demotion to the fourth line at one point. Ron Hextall dumped the contract to the Kings in 2016, and Lecavalier played just 42 more NHL games after a rough stint in Philadelphia.
Dale Hawerchuk
The Flyers geared up for a playoff run in March 1996 by dealing Craig MacTavish for Dale Hawerchuk in a one-for-one swap. Hawerchuk had become a legend of the franchise formerly known as the Winnipeg Jets, and he spent five good seasons with the Sabres in the early 1990s.
Hawerchuck got off to a fast start with 20 points in 16 games in the remainder of the regular season. He added 12 goals and 22 assists in 51 games for the Flyers in 1996-97. While it didn’t match the production he posted in his prime, he played a serviceable role in Philadelphia.
The aging center played in 17 playoff games during the run to the 1997 Stanley Cup Final but sat out the decisive loss to the Red Wings and never played in the NHL again.
Martin Biron
The goaltender carousel had become a major storyline in Philadelphia by 2007. Paul Holmgren plugged the hole between the pipes as part of an excellent retool that helped the Flyers back into Stanley Cup contention after a disastrous season in 2006-07.
Martin Biron provided above average goaltending for parts of three seasons. He started 23 playoff games with the Flyers, but the most sustained success of his NHL career came during his 20s with the Buffalo Sabres.
Alexander Daigle
The Ottawa Senators drafted Alexandre Daigle with the 1st-overall pick in 1993. The expected future superstar made a regrettable comment by asserting that nobody remembers the 2nd-overall pick.
The Hartford Whalers picked a defenseman by the name of Chris Pronger second. Flyers fans will never forget Pronger’s role during the run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, but they might forget the 68 games Daigle played in orange and black in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
Daigle bounced around to six NHL teams that never came close to meeting high expectations.
Tony DeAngelo
Chuck Fletcher aggressively traded three draft picks for Tony DeAngelo and a 7th-rounder in 2022. The franchise was in a state of turmoil, and the deal represented a disconnect between the front office’s short-term plan and the need to move toward a new era.
DeAngelo was never a shutdown defenseman, and he struggled in his own end with the Flyers. His excellent ability as a puck mover and capable power-play skills didn’t impact his only season with his favorite childhood team.
The South Jersey native clashed with John Tortorella late in the 2022-23 season, and he moved back to the Hurricanes in better position to succeed after a forgettable stint in Philadelphia.
Matt Niskanen
Niskanen played 12 seasons and 125 playoff games through 2018-19. He had helped the Washington Capitals win their first Stanley Cup just one year before they sent him to the Flyers for Radko Gudas.
The one-for-one swap worked smoothly in 2019-20. Niskanen played the right side next to a young Ivan Provorov on the top defensive pair during Philadelphia’s resurgent regular season.
Niskanen wore down from the challenges of the pandemic and the 2020 playoff bubble. He retired after one season with the Flyers, who struggled to replace him and allowed Provorov to slip out of favor without the steady veteran beside him.
Michael Del Zotto
Michael Del Zotto looked like a blossoming puck mover on the Rangers blue line early in his career. His development had slowed before the Flyers signed him to a low-risk deal entering the 2014-15 season.
He played a serviceable depth role in parts of three seasons, but most hockey fans will remember him in one of his seven other uniforms or for his unexpected friendship with adult film star Lisa Ann.
Max Talbot
Hockey fans inevitably hate players on rival teams despite the fact that they’d love the same players on their favorite teams. Maxime Talbot provided a classic example during his short stint with the Flyers.
He had silenced the Philadelphia crowd with a momentum-shifting fight in the opening round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs and later scored the decisive goal to help the Penguins win their first ring in the Sidney Crosby era.
The Flyers couldn’t help themselves from stealing a grinder like Talbot in free agency in 2011. He played a solid gritty game as a penalty killer and a depth scorer for parts of three seasons. He continued an admirable professional career with two more NHL teams and stints in the AHL and KHL.
Philadelphia fans might’ve liked his game in a Flyers uniform, but they can’t pretend his legacy lives anywhere more than Pittsburgh.
John Vanbiesbrouck
John Vanbiesbrouck developed into a strong NHL goaltender with the Rangers through the 1980s. He couldn’t overtake Mike Richter when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, but he helped the Florida Panthers to a Cup appearance of their own in 1996.
The Flyers signed “The Beezer” in 1998 12 years after he won his only career Vezina Trophy. The declining veteran gave way to Brian Boucher by the time the Flyers made their run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2000.
Craig MacTavish
The final player in NHL history to skate without a helmet won four Stanley Cups before he began his career with the Flyers at age 36.
Craig MacTavish was a strong defensive forward who helped Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers take down the Flyers in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. He played 100 games for Philadelphia after his prime had already passed, registering just 25 points.
The Flyers sent him to the St. Louis Blues for Dale Hawrchuk in March 1996.
