Matthew Phillips gets claimed off waivers by division rival!

On Thursday, the Washington Capitals placed forward Matthew Phillips on waivers with the purpose of assigning him to the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League.

The plan did not go accordingly.

On Friday at the 2 ET pm deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins claimed Phillips off the waiver wire.

The 25-year-old forward had just one goal and four assists in 27 games with the Capitals this season. A change of scenery could do him good, while the Penguins need to add some depth up front. On Thursday, Pittsburgh announced that star forward Jake Guentzel was said to miss the next four weeks because of an upper-body injury.

The Penguins recalled forwards Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza and Valtteri Puustinen from Wilkes-Barre Scranton of the American Hockey League. Gruden and Puustinen each played Thursday; Hinostorza was scratched.

Phillips signed as a free agent with Washington on July 2, inking a one-year, $775,000 contract, but it looks like he’ll end the season in Pittsburgh. He was trending quite a bit at the start of the season when he made the NHL roster when listed as 140 pounds and at 5-foot-7. A 2016 sixth-round pick, Phillips had spent the past six years in the minors in the Calgary Flames organization before cracking the Caps' roster in 2023-24. 

“He’s a hard-working guy,” Washington captain Alex Ovechkin had said of Phillips before the campaign got underway. “He’s small but doesn't take contact and makes some plays. He deserves it.”

In other waiver news on Friday, Marcus Kallionkieli clears unconditional waivers and will have his contract terminated by the Vegas Golden Knights. He has played on loan in Europe this season with Poland’s STS Sanok and Finland’s Kiekko-Espoo.

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