CSKA Moscow defies IIHF ruling, plays Flyers goalie Ivan Fedotov

KHL club CSKA Moscow opted to start Philadelphia Flyers netminder Ivan Fedotov in the KHL regular-season opener against Ak Bars Kazan, thereby violating the IIHF sanctions laid out against the club last month, as Szymon Szemberg of the Alliance of European Hockey Clubs reports.

The international governing body ruled Fedotov’s tolled entry-level contract with the Flyers was valid for the 2023-24 season after CSKA Moscow attempted to sign Fedotov to a two-year deal earlier this summer. Fedotov originally signed with the Flyers in the summer of 2022 but was barred from leaving Russia to complete required military service.

Shortly after the IIHF ruled, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation announced it submitted an appeal. That process has not been completed yet, however, and no follow-up ruling has been adjudicated. The KHL released a statement before the game, citing its legal grounds for CSKA to play Fedotov based on the Russian constitution’s grant of a citizen’s right to work. KHL president Aleksey Morozov also said the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian government warned the KHL and CSKA “about the inadmissibility of violating the right to work.”

As Szemberg notes, this decision will likely continue to further isolate Russian hockey on the international landscape and could further delay its return to international play, even if the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine ends. With Russian players and teams already barred from participating in international events, Szemberg believes the KHL has nothing to lose by violating IIHF sanctions, as there’s not much more that could be levied against them.