AHL standout moves on to Capitals, while Flames re-sign a trio of players from their minor-league club
Matthew Phillips, the Calgary kid who starred in the AHL but only played a three NHL games for his hometown team, signed with the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Phillips, 25, who became an unrestricted free agent having played too few games to qualify as a restricted free agent, inked a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Capitals.
The 5-foot-8, 160-pound forward followed his AHL coach, Mitch Love, to the Capitals.
Phillips placed among the AHL leaders with 36 goals and 76 points last season, and tied a league record with 15 game-winning goals. He added seven points in nine playoff games and was named to the first all-star team.
Drafted by the Flames in the sixth round (166th) in 2016, he collected 103 goals and 237 points in 265 AHL games over six seasons. He was held without a point in the trio of NHL games.
The Flames did try to keep Phillips in the fold, but reportedly offered a two-way deal in the first season of a two-way contract.
The Flames did re-sign a trio of players to two-way contracts on Sunday. Left wing Dryden Hunt inked a two-year deal, while winger Martin Pospisil and defenseman Colton Poolman signed one-year pacts. All three contracts have a $775,000 salary cap hit at the NHL level. Pospisil, the 2018 fourth-round draft pick who has been limited by injuries, was a restricted free agent, while the other two were UFAs.
Hunt has played 202 NHL games for Florida, Arizona, the New York Rangers, Colorado and Toronto.