The Capitals have returned forward Matthew Phillips to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, according to a statement from the team’s PR department. He was listed as a scratch on the league’s roster report for Sunday’s game against the Jets.
Phillips, 25, had been on the Caps’ roster for only two days since being summoned from Hershey on an emergency loan Friday. However, with T.J. Oshie (upper body) and Aliaksei Protas (lower body) returning from their respective injuries for today’s contest, the conditions necessitating Phillips’ presence in the NHL were no longer met.
Washington needed to either convert Phillips’ recall into a standard one or return him to the minors, choosing the latter option. He played 4:15 against the Hurricanes in Friday’s 7-6 shootout loss, posting a -1 rating and one shot on goal.
However, despite logging the least time on ice of any Capitals skater, he managed to record three individual scoring chances, tied for second in the game, per Natural Stat Trick. Still, Phillips has gone 13 games without a point, last getting on the scoresheet with an assist in a shootout loss to the Stars on Dec. 7.
Including Friday’s contest, Phillips has one goal, four assists, and five points in 31 games split between the Capitals and Penguins. Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers in mid-February after Washington attempted to send him to the minors for the first time this season. He went pointless in three appearances before ending up on the waiver wire again in early March.
The Caps took the opportunity to bring him back to the organization, claiming him off waivers from the Pens shortly before the trade deadline. As they reclaimed him within 30 days of initially losing him on waivers, they could assign him directly to AHL Hershey.
Phillips was strong in limited action with the league-leading Bears this month, posting 1-2–3 with 2 PIMs and a +2 rating in four games. The 2016 sixth-round pick of the Flames has developed into an elite producer at the minor-league level, recording 67-77–144 in 131 games with Calgary’s AHL affiliates between 2021 and 2023 before reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency last summer.
Signed to a one-year, one-way deal, the 5-foot-7 Phillips will continue to earn his $775K base salary while on assignment to Hershey. He will be an RFA with arbitration eligibility if the Caps issue him a qualifying offer this offseason.