Blue Jackets sign Sergei Ivanov to future goaltending deal
Columbus locked up Sergei Ivanov through 2027-28, but the 22-year-old goalie is headed back to the KHL first as the Blue Jackets build deeper into the future.
Columbus added another long-range piece to its goaltending pipeline on July 8, signing Sergei Ivanov to a two-year entry-level contract through the 2027-28 season. The Blue Jackets are not bringing him to North America right away. Ivanov is expected to spend the 2026-27 season in the KHL, which turns this from a simple signing into a calculated hold on a goalie the club has tracked since the 2022 draft.
Ivanov was Columbus’ fifth-round pick, 138th overall, in 2022, and the organization has spent years waiting for his game to catch up to the promise it saw overseas. Don Waddell described him as having great quickness and agility and sound positional play, a useful profile for a team trying to stock a position where stability is usually bought at a premium. The Blue Jackets have already spent the offseason widening their crease options, and this move keeps another young name inside the system without forcing a rush.
The 22-year-old, born April 3, 2004, in Chernushka, Russia, has already logged meaningful work across Russia’s top three levels. NHL.com lists him at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds and a left-catching goaltender. His NHL.com profile shows a KHL debut in 2022-23 with SKA St. Petersburg, and his professional path has since included stints with HK Sochi and Admiral Vladivostok.
The numbers help explain why Columbus was comfortable waiting. Ivanov owns a 34-50-8 career KHL record with a 2.65 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and eight shutouts in 108 appearances. He also has a 1-1 record with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage in two KHL playoff games. In 2025-26, he went 13-11-2 with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .928 save percentage and three shutouts in 29 KHL games for SKA St. Petersburg, while also appearing in six VHL games for SKA-VMF St. Petersburg.
That makes Ivanov more than organizational depth on paper, even if his arrival is delayed. Columbus already has Pheonix Copley, Elvis Merzlikins, Jet Greaves and other options in its 2026-27 goaltending picture, so Ivanov is not stepping into Cleveland as an immediate answer. He is being placed farther down the runway, with the Blue Jackets betting that a season more in Russia will make him a more complete NHL-track option when he finally crosses over.
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