Flyers Trade Fedotov To Blue Jackets
Some news today: Philadelphia will be trading Ivan Fedotov to Columbus
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 14, 2025
Blue Jackets have been looking to add a goalie, now they have another
The Flyers didn't have great goaltending, even with Samuel Ersson, Alexei Kolosov, and Fedotov as three different options last season. This resulted in the team signing Dan Vladar in free agency and bolstering that. There was a highly unlikely chance Fedotov was going to get any looks in the NHL after that signing was made as Kolosov is younger and has more potential as the next man up.
While it took this long to pull off, it seems as though the Blue Jackets weren't able to land a different goalie this offseason and didn't want to target the remaining free agent options like Ilya Samsonov or James Reimer, which led to this trade. Jet Greaves, who stepped up in a big way at the end of last season, showed he is NHL-ready and will be the backup in Columbus, competing for starts with Elvis Merzlikins as the team should go with which goalie is playing better and gives them the better chance to win.
Fedotov should settle into the third string role and get the callup if one of the two miss any time. The third string goalie for the Blue Jackets before this trade was Zachary Sawchenko, a 27-year-old who has spent the majority of his career in the AHL, only playing seven NHL games in 2021-22 for the San Jose Sharks.
This isn't a bad move for the Blue Jackets at all. It is a no-risk addition to grab a goalie who has NHL experience, even if his numbers haven't been the best, going 6-13-4 with a 3.15 GAA and .880 SV% last season. The team might just need his services at some point, even for just a couple of games. It's better to have options.
Photo credit: © Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
