The Washington Capitals have reclaimed forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. After spending 18 days with the Penguins organization, Phillips will return to Washington.
Signing a one-year, $775K contract with the Capitals on July 2nd last summer, Phillips was looking for a fresh start with a new organization. Unable to make his way up the depth chart with the Calgary Flames, Phillips was able to crack Washington’s active roster after an impressive preseason performance.
In his first four games with the Capitals, Phillips got off to a quick start, scoring one goal and three points overall. Unfortunately, in his next 23 games for Washington, Phillips was only been able to muster two assists, leading to his placement on waivers by the team only a few weeks ago.
Only suiting up in three games for Pittsburgh, the Capitals will now have the ability to send Phillips down to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, without having to place him back on waivers. As they attempt to defend their Calder Cup title, the Bears are well positioned to repeat, sitting in first place across the league in the AHL standings by a margin of 13 points.