When Ottawa Senators head coach Dave Cameron met up with the media yesterday, he revealed some news that may finally make sense in why defenceman, Chris Phillips, has been out of the lineup, since February 5th. All that was known up until this point was that Phillips was suffering from “wear and tear” and “fatigue”. The bitter yet thankful thing about this is, at least Senators fans actually have a clue in what’s been troubling Phillips. Cameron went on to say that he expects Phillips to be ready and at full health, with a successful surgery, by the start of training camp in the fall.
The coach confirms that Chris Phillips will have back surgery tomorrow. Full presser is below.
WATCH: http://t.co/eYPgokJ7ts
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) April 20, 2015
This news comes with the Senators being down three games to none in round one versus the Montreal Canadiens. Could Phillips be used in the lineup? As harsh as this may seem, and as terrible as the third pairing of defence has been for the Sens, I couldn’t see Phillips being used because he has not demonstrated that he is still an effective hockey player over the course of this season and last year.
When the 37 year-old veteran was last in the lineup, he had just passed Daniel Alfredsson‘s franchise record of all time games played with the Senators (1,179). Now even with the Senators struggling to put together a strong three pairings of defence, Phillips still looks like the odd man out, even with his hockey knowledge and veteran presence. It’d almost be best for Phillips to either look for a trade to a young team who seeks value in what little left he does have to offer as a mentor for their youngsters, or possibly retire. I’m unsure, even with this back surgery, that Phillips will ever be able to be depended on in the Senators lineup like he once was.
Phillips, who was drafted first overall in the 1996 NHL entry draft by Ottawa, has scored 71 goals and 217 assists in his long 1179 game tenure with the only club he’s played NHL hockey with.
