Waived: [WSH] F Matthew Phillips waived by the Capitals (claimed)
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Evgeny Oliker
Registered User
I like this kid. Small but works hard. I think NYR should be all over this with their crappy bottom 6.
Zirakzigil
Global Moderator
Not surprised, wish he would of worked out for the Caps and or Flames. Lot of Flames fans are going to be clamoring for Conroy to claim him. Zero room on the roster though.
Bitz and Bites
Registered User
Damn, I was just going to put my Matthew Phillips bobble head on EBay, guess I’ll hold off for now.
Hivemind
We're Touched
Wish he got a longer leash in Washington, some of the players they were icing over him were pretty pedestrian.
lakai17
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Backlund
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It was valid. That he never got a chance here was an indictment of the last regime. With the last regime we'd have Trevor Lewis and Lucic instead of Zary and Pospisil too.
CapsCrazyX17
Registered User
I wish he would have gotten more looks but there were also games where he would get absolutely manhandled and looked like a child playing amongst men. I can see why the coach would rather play some of the Caps' mediocre prospects over him, especially against bigger, more physical teams.
What chance? He played a total of 23 minutes in the NHL for us. Such a bs opinion.
Backlund
Registered User
Lucic was never staying no matter the coach. We were waiting out his contract and Sutter tried to give him a meaningful role. Sutter also liked Zary and kept him late in training camp. He also stopped playing Rooney but since he's not young it doesn't fit the Sutter hates young guys narrative.
And in those 23 minutes Sutter thought he wasn't good enough. He left for Washington and they decided after 27 games he wasn't good enough either.
Everyone wants Phillips to succeed so badly that they can't accept with the fact that he's not an NHL caliber player.
Yes in those 23 minutes... Listen to yourself. It's pretty clear you're a Sutter fan boy. Zary and Pospisil both suck too right? All young player are bad. Bring in more Lewis, Lucic, Ritchie right?
Fig
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I'm happy if he gets more roster looks on another NHL team. IF AHL though, I'd be OK bringing him back in Calgary.
Again, happy for him if he can get more NHL roster TOI.
It was one of the first things that happened under the Conroy regime. With how the Toffoli scenario was dealt with and the perception at the time, I can see why some Flames were upset. We had so much bad news for all of last season and entering this season. As small as it was, it was still some salt in the wounds to lose Phillips.
But now we've added NHL roster players to teams like Arizona (Ruzicka) and NJD (DeSimone). I think it's not terrible that we do a good job developing and end up with logjams like this. It might make teams more willing long term to take a risk on our guys.
NJD for instance I think are still happy with the Toffoli trade. Flames fans are happy with changing tunes on that deal seeing how Sharangovich and Suniev are panning out.
IIRC, any time Phillips was given a chance, he was some form of injured (call up or pre-season). Some of the "he wasn't given a fair chance" views aren't unreasonable but definitely not devoid of exaggeration.
Especially with us losing Ruzicka for nothing scenario. Ruzicka was easily perceived to be much ahead of Phillips for last season and off season.
Backlund
Registered User
Well Sutter would've also saw him in practice and Wranglers games considering he would go watch some so while it was 23 minutes of NHL game time there was more to it than that. I never said Zary or Pospisil suck, I just said Sutter thought they weren't ready last training camp and neither did Huska because they didn't make the team out of camp this season either. You're not even arguing the point just reacting emotionally because someone doesn't agree with you.
No, I'm saying 23 minutes over 3 seasons is not "gave someone a chance and they sucked."
Well, the Caps did give him more of a chance and he wasn't very good.
He might not have received a fair shake in Calgary, but nevertheless he's an undersized and insufficiently skilled player for this level. Best of luck to him, and I hope he manages to claw his way to a career as a journeyman, but he's going to have to do more than he did in Washington. There was plenty of opportunity for a tweener to carve out a regular roster spot in DC and he couldn't do it. Now that Sonny Milano is returning, he's the odd man out.
I think there's a reasonable chance he clears and tears it up on an already loaded Hershey Bears team, frankly. Maybe that gets him a look from an NHL team this summer, and then rinse and repeat: Too good for the AHL, not good enough for the NHL.
He might not have received a fair shake in Calgary, but nevertheless he's an undersized and insufficiently skilled player for this level. Best of luck to him, and I hope he manages to claw his way to a career as a journeyman, but he's going to have to do more than he did in Washington. There was plenty of opportunity for a tweener to carve out a regular roster spot in DC and he couldn't do it. Now that Sonny Milano is returning, he's the odd man out.
I think there's a reasonable chance he clears and tears it up on an already loaded Hershey Bears team, frankly. Maybe that gets him a look from an NHL team this summer, and then rinse and repeat: Too good for the AHL, not good enough for the NHL.
Fig
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Another project for Zito?
Honestly speaking, it seems that Flames trained and roster players have fit in quite well for the Panthers and Devils. If the Panthers and Devils look at players, they could indeed conclude their chances of success are incrementally higher if they take on former Flames.
I don't know for certainty, but Capitals seem to have had quite a few shoot first mentality type players (Ovi, Wilson, Patches, Mantha etc.). I think I read that Phillips was tried up and down the roster. This means that Phillips might have been the lesser shooter/cannibalizing the shot attempts on a line. If he were moved to a Panthers or Devils team that has a lot of playmakers and less finishers, Phillips might thrive more there than he did in Washington on an NHL roster. It's not an awful gamble if the Panthers think that's a fit. It's a waiver pick up, not an expensive asset acquisition.
Success or it'll be the same pattern as before, but no big deal due to contract type. No cost for none to medium reward possibility.
EDIT: And as I mentioned earlier, I'm happy for these fringe guys getting a shot on other teams. I still have a soft spot for Hathaway and Lomberg.
Volica
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Flames fans my entire adult life:
We have to stop bringing back these guys! We don’t need recycled players!
Flames fans in 2024:
We need to bring these guys back!
Tough break for Matty. He’s sort of in a weird spot where he’s not good enough to be a top 6 player in the NHL but isn’t physically gifted in the slightest to be a decent bottom 6 guy.
He could seriously carve out a tremendous AHL type career or Euro standout.
We have to stop bringing back these guys! We don’t need recycled players!
Flames fans in 2024:
We need to bring these guys back!
Tough break for Matty. He’s sort of in a weird spot where he’s not good enough to be a top 6 player in the NHL but isn’t physically gifted in the slightest to be a decent bottom 6 guy.
He could seriously carve out a tremendous AHL type career or Euro standout.
He played in Calgary for our AHL team, our organization had plenty of viewings of him and didn’t need time in the NHL to recognize he probably wasn’t an NHL talent. He is one of the shortest and lightest players in the NHL without anything special about his skating or strength. That is a disastrous combination unfortunately, even with all the skill and smarts he possesses. He’ll probably keep getting tried by a few NHL teams hoping his insane AHL offense translates, but he couldn’t crack it on the 3rd worst offense in the league, that’s not a great sign. His best chance will probably be on a rush heavy team that system creates the time and space for him, but personally I don’t like his chances.
Europe or the KHL could be a great career move for him. International sized ice is exactly what his game needs, and there’s more money to be made than in the AHL if he plays his cards right.
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