Flyers sign goalie Aleksei Kolosov to a one-year contract extension

The Flyers entered the offseason with two major questions in goal. They are down to one.

On Friday the Flyers signed goalie Aleksei Kolosov to a one-year contract extension worth $850,000. Kolosov, the team’s No. 3 netminder, and backup Sam Ersson were both set to become restricted free agents.

The decision to retain Kolosov was far from a slam dunk, as the Belarusian has mostly struggled since moving to North America at the end of the 2023-24 season. The 24-year-old has an .863 save percentage in 21 career NHL games and an .892 mark in 52 AHL contests.

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This past season for Lehigh Valley, Kolosov was 15-21-2 and posted an .895 SV%, 2.98 goals-against average, and two shutouts in 38 games in the American Hockey League. In four NHL games, he was 0-2-0 with an .830 SV%, including a Jan. 17 outing in which he allowed goals on all three shots he faced against the New York Rangers.

The 2021 third-round pick also initially struggled to adapt and integrate with teammates in Lehigh Valley, leading to him reporting to training camp late two seasons ago in an attempt to force a loan move back to the Kontinental Hockey League. The Flyers also have former second-round pick Carson Bjarnason in the AHL and top goalie Egor Zavragin developing in the KHL, so they could have elected to move on from Kolosov.

But the Flyers obviously see value in keeping him around, a good sign that they think he’s gotten past his early issues on and off the ice. That confidence likely stems from his great start this past season with the Phantoms, when he compiled a .910 SV% across his first 18 games and won the AHL’s player of the week award in early January. But Kolosov’s play was very uneven over the second half of the year, as he posted a save percentage below .850 in six of his final 14 starts, and an .882 overall mark during that span.

“He is a different player, different personality. He’s really trying to fit in,” Flyers assistant general manager and scouting head Brent Flahr told The Inquirer in December of Kolosov.

“He’s very athletic, very competitive, and he’s giving our team a chance to win down there almost every night. He’s a talented kid, so he’s got a chance to be an NHL goalie now. He just skipped a step last year. Now he’s building it back up again here, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Before coming to America, Kolosov had established himself as one of the best young goaltenders in the KHL, posting a .909 save percentage in 120 career games with Dinamo Minsk. And it was fair to wonder if this offseason he’d seek a return to his native Belarus.

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Instead he will remain with the Flyers organization and compete for the backup job next season behind starter Dan Vladař. Whether that competition will be with Ersson, who had an up-and-down season himself, remains to be seen. The Flyers are still weighing whether to qualify the Swede before the June 30 deadline, and would likely bring in a free agent goalie if they do elect to let Ersson walk.

In addition to making a decision on Ersson, the Flyers could look to lock in Vladař, who has one year remaining on his current deal, to a contract extension once he becomes eligible on July 1. Vladař, 28, was a revelation in his first season in Philly, posting a .906 SV% and ranking third in GAA (2.42), fourth in quality starts (37), and 10th in goals saved above expected (13.8), according to Money Puck.