The Pittsburgh Penguins made a minor transaction Friday to address their injury issues up front by claiming forward Matthew Phillips off waivers from the Washington Capitals.
A right-handed shot, Phillips has appeared in 27 games this season and has five points (one goal, four assists) while averaging 10 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time per contest.
Phillips, 25, is signed to a one-year contract worth $775,000, the league minimum. Scheduled to become a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason, Phillips is eligible for arbitration.
A sixth-round pick (No. 166 overall) of the Calgary Flames in 2016, Phillips (5-foot-8, 160 pounds) has 30 games of NHL experience between the Flames and Capitals, with all of his points coming this season with Washington.
Oddly enough, his lone NHL goal came against the Flames in a 3-2 shootout loss Oct. 16.
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Listed as a center, Phillips has primarily been deployed as a right winger in his career.
While he has rarely generated substantial offense during his limited NHL experience, Phillips has been a prolific scorer at the American Hockey League level. Last season, as a member of the Calgary Wranglers, Phillips was fifth in the AHL with 76 points (36 goals, 40 assists) in 66 games.
With the addition of Phillips, the Penguins now have 49 NHL contracts for the 2023-24 season, one short of the league’s limit of 50.
His addition to the NHL roster comes as the Penguins are missing the services of forwards Noel Acciari, Jansen Harkins, Jake Guentzel and Matt Nieto because of various injuries.
Note: Defenseman Thimo Nickl has left the Wheeling Nailers and signed with EC-KAC, a team based in his hometown of Klagenfurt, Austria, that plays in the International Central European Hockey League (ICEHL). The Penguins acquired Nickl’s NHL rights in a trade March 31, 2023, by trading away their rights to forward prospect Judd Caulfield to the Anaheim Ducks. Nickl has yet to sign an NHL contract, and the Penguins are scheduled to lose his rights June 1. In 46 games with the Nailers this season, Nickl had 16 points (two goals, 14 assists).
