Several times this season, the Adirondack Phantoms sent players down to their ECHL affiliate, the Trenton Titans, to get some more playing time or ease them back after they returned from an injury.

That apparently won't be an option next season.

The Trentonian, citing multiple anonymous sources, reports that the Titans are expected to announce they will suspend operations for the 2013-14 season. There is a hope the team will return in 2014-15.

Trenton's attendance dipped from 3,013 fans last season to 2,578 this year, the Trentonian reported, and there were rumors of financial troubles. One source told the Trentonian that the players were concerned about if they would receive their paychecks, or if those checks would clear if they came. There was also some concern about travel costs associated with a playoff run that never materialized. 

The Trentonian and The Saratogian are sister papers under the Journal Register Company umbrella.

Presumably, this means the Philadelphia Flyers will look for another ECHL team to which they can send their prospects. It is possible the Flyers could split an ECHL affiliate with another NHL club.

The Flyers have had a longstanding history with using the Titans as their ECHL affiliate. When the Phantoms were based in Philadelphia, the Flyers used Trenton as their ECHL club from 1999-2007.

But when the Titans became the Trenton Devils in 2007, the Flyers sent prospects to the Wheeling Nailers for two years before the Phantoms moved to Glens Falls. The Flyers then used the Kalamazoo Wings in Adirondack's first season, 2009-10, and then the Greenville Road Warriors for 2010-11.

The New Jersey and Albany Devils also assigned prospects to the Titans over the past two seasons.