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Colorado Avalanche sign Matthew Phillips to one-year contract

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Matthew Phillips waves to the crowd
📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB

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After a whirlwind 2023-24 season spent both in the NHL and AHL, Matthew Phillips is leaving the Washington Capitals and moving on to a new organization.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound forward signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Phillips will make the veteran minimum, $775k, at the NHL level and $287.5k in the minors.

Phillips was a Group 6 unrestricted free agent. Per PuckPedia:

A player becomes a Group 6 UFA if they are 25, completed 3 or more professional seasons, has a contract expiring, and has played less than 80 NHL Games.

Phillips spent most of last season in the NHL, suiting up in 31 total games. He played 28 with the Washington Capitals and three with the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Caps’ rival claimed him midseason off the waiver wire. The Capitals reclaimed him back on March 5. Phillips finished the season with the Hershey Bears as a healthy scratch, losing his place to Garrett Roe in the lineup. The Bears went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup, making Phillips an AHL Calder Cup champion for the first time.

Phillips signed with Washington last summer after two 30-plus goal campaigns with the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate under now Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love. He was one of the most impressive and consistent players for the Capitals during the preseason and made the team out of training camp.

Phillips — one of the smallest players to ever play in the NHL — scored his first NHL goal against the Flames last October, his former team, and spent the first four months of the season in the NHL, suiting up in 26 games for the Caps. Once Washington got healthy, Phillips went on waivers in February but was claimed by the Penguins where he shared the ice with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He was with the Penguins too when Jaromir Jagr practiced with the team and the Penguins retired his number.

Once Pittsburgh got healthy, they put Phillips back on waivers, allowing the Caps to reclaim him. He bounced back and forth between DC and Hershey, appearing in two more games for the Capitals.

“There’s been some ups and there’s been some downs,” Phillips said to RMNB in Hershey late in the year. “There’s been a lot of uncertainty, I would say, and it’s obviously been — I’m very happy that I kind of made that jump and made it in the NHL out of camp and got my feet wet there.

“It’s not easy being in and out of the lineup; any player would say that. And then the whole Pittsburgh stint for a little bit and then reclaimed. The last about month and a half has been a lot of craziness for me, but it’s just one of those things where sometimes you just have to kind of laugh and keep moving and just bring your best wherever you are.”

Capitals’ players honored Phillips and his against-all-odds graduation to the NHL by starting a ridiculous pregame lift ritual before games. He was also nicknamed Toothy, short for Toothpick, by Alex Ovechkin.

Congratulations on your new deal, Matthew, and good luck in the future.

Here’s the full press release from the Colorado Avalanche:

Avalanche Signs Phillips

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the organization has signed forward Matthew Phillips to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season.

Phillips, 26, spent the majority of the 2023-24 season with the Washington Capitals but also spent some time with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He started the season with Washington before being claimed by Pittsburgh on Feb. 16. He was re-claimed by the Caps on March 5 and finished the season with the Capitals’ AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He ended with five points (1g/4a) in 31 NHL games overall, registering all five of his points in 28 contests with Washington and skated in three contests with the Pens. His first career NHL point came on Oct. 16 vs. Calgary. Phillips tallied six points (3g/3a) in nine outings with Hershey and appeared in six postseason games with the team to help the Bears capture the Calder Cup championship.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound forward has appeared in 34 career NHL contests with Washington, Pittsburgh and the Calgary Flames, making his NHL debut with the Flames on May 19, 2021 vs. Vancouver. Phillips has skated in 274 regular season AHL contests with Hershey and the Calgary Wranglers/Stockton Heat from 2016-24 and has collected 243 points (106g/137a). He has also added 15 points (4g/11a) in 30 AHL postseason contests. Phillips was selected to the AHL All-Star game twice (2019-20, 2022-23) and earned a spot on the AHL First All-Star Team in 2022-23.

Prior to turning pro, Phillips spent four seasons in the WHL with the Victoria Royals from 2014-18 and tallied 281 points (136g/145a) in 215 regular season games. He was awarded the Jim Piggott Trophy as the WHL rookie of the year for the 2015-16 season where he collected 76 points (37g/39a) to pace all league rookies in points and goals. The forward also appeared in 30 postseason games with the Royals and totaled 30 points (12g/18a).

Phillips was originally drafted by the Flames in the sixth round (166th overall) in the 2016 NHL Draft.

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