Matthew Phillips is now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Phillips, who was waived by the Capitals on Thursday, was claimed by the Penguins before Friday’s 2 pm deadline.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the news.
PIT claims Phillips from WASH
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 16, 2024
Phillips was deemed to be the odd man out in Washington after Sonny Milano took the next step in his injury recovery process by being a full participant in multiple practices. The Capitals need an open roster spot to eventually activate Milano off of injured reserve.
Pittsburgh has had a rash of injuries in the past few weeks, losing forwards Jake Guentzel, Jansen Harkins, and Noel Acciari all to upper-body ailments. All three players have recently gone on long-term injured reserve or regular injured reserve, freeing up roster spots.
The 25-year-old forward has five points (1g, 4a) in 27 games this season. His last game with the Capitals came on February 8 against the Florida Panthers. He skated 8:54 of ice time in that 4-2 loss. Phillips could see his old teammates in just a few weeks as the Capitals are scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh for a game on March 7.
The Penguins have claimed forward Matthew Phillips off of waivers from the Washington Capitals.
Phillips is signed through the 2023.24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 16, 2024
Phillips signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000 with the Capitals this past offseason. If the Penguins waive Phillips again before the end of this season, the Capitals will be the only team allowed to claim him off of waivers and immediately send him to their AHL affiliate. Any other team would have to keep him on their roster for the rest of the year or send him back through waivers if they want to send him down.
Players must be on the roster of their AHL teams before the March 8 trade deadline to be eligible to play in the AHL playoffs though. Given Guentzel’s long-term injury, it’s unlikely Pittsburgh will waive him before then.
With the claim, the Hershey Bears are now down their leading scorer, Mike Sgarbossa, as he is up with the Capitals and won’t be getting any reinforcements in the form of Phillips.
