Longtime Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Phillips announced his retirement on Wednesday after 17 seasons in the league. Owner Eugene Melnyk thanked Phillips for his time with the organization in a press release.
“Chris’ trademark leadership, determination, hard work, and resilience as a hockey player gave our city and our fans the opportunity to witness an impressive 19 year journey in the National Hockey League,” said Melnyk. “Chris’ commitment to our team and our city places him among one of the greatest players to don a Senators uniform. He will forever hold a special place in the history of our hockey club.”
Phillips was the first selection in the 1996 draft. Considering it was one of the worst first rounds in NHL history (Andrei Zyuzin, J.P. Dumont and Alexandre Volchkov followed Phillips), the pick was the right one by the Senators.
Phillips proved to be a capable defender, who excelled with his physical play and was often put on the Senators top defensive pair. He averaged over 20 minutes per game in almost every season of his career. Phillips was a workhorse who wasn’t the fanciest of players but was a consistent force for the Senators during both bad and good times. He never won the Stanley Cup but made the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, where Ottawa fell to Anaheim in five games.
Phillips didn’t appear in a single game in 2015-16 due to a back injury. He last skated in 2014-15 where he had a trainwreck of a season. Phillips scored just three points in 36 games and posted an atrocious 44.4 corsi for percentage, despite being paired with Erik Karlsson for a majority of his minutes at even strength. Phillips was clearly done. The injury assured his career was over. Phillips was placed on IR this season and counted for a $2.5 million cap hit.
It’s rare to find loyalty like the kind Phillips had for the Senators. He finished his career one game ahead of Daniel Alfredsson for the team’s all-time games played record. While he won’t be heading to the Hall of Fame, Phillips had a respectable and admirable career.
