TRANSACTION: Aleksei Kolosov Loaned Back to Lehigh Valley

The Philadelphia Flyers have officially loaned goaltender Aleksei Kolosov back to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Kolosov has not appeared in a game for the Flyers since January 2nd vs. the Vegas Golden Knights. The Flyers sent their 23-year-old netminder back to Lehigh in late January, but were quickly recalled after an injury scare to backup Ivan Fedotov.

Kolosov never appeared in a game during his second stint with the Flyers. However, he remained with the team and practiced since his recall.

The Flyers have yet to announce a corresponding move.

Along with the 3:00 p.m. EST. trade deadline on March 7th, which marks the AHL loan deadline. Players who are on the NHL roster post-trade deadline cannot be loaned back to the AHL. This does not rule out a Kolosov return later this season. All it does is make him eligible to go to-and-from the Phantoms for the remainder of the season.

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One Interesting Saga

The Kolosov situation has been one of the most interesting stories trailing behind the Flyers this season. The confusion in the offseason regarding his return to Belarus and the lack of knowledge on whether he would return was put to rest when he reported back to the Flyers in camp. He competed for a roster spot but was ultimately assigned back to Lehigh Valley for the start of the year.

Early-season struggles from Fedotov led to Kolosov getting his first NHL action late in October. He took over as the number two in Philly and competed with Sam Ersson for playing time. A lack of consistency from all three netminders led to the Flyers rolling with three for a good portion of the year, just trying to find something.

Eventually, he was demoted to the third goalie after an abysmal stretch of games in late December, capped by that January 2nd game vs. Vegas. Despite the demotion, he remained with the Flyers until his January 22nd loan to the AHL, but was quickly recalled.

Despite not playing a single game since, he has remained with the team. He has just four wins this season, a 3.70 goals-allowed average, and a .870 save percentage. He likely could have used more time at Lehigh to better his development.

In the middle of last night’s game, Anthony SanFilipo reported that Kolosov would get sent down, and would “be there for a while.”

It sure makes it seem like it is not just a paper transaction. Only time will tell how long Kolosov will spend in Allentown.

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