Remembering the Career of Chris Phillips (DeMelo to the Jets) SensChirp

(UPDATE 2:36 PM)- Could you not have waited like eight hours, Pierre? The Ottawa Senators have made their first trade leading up to Monday’s deadline, shipping UFA-to-be Dylan DeMelo to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2020 draft. It’s probably a little weaker a return than some of us were expecting but it’s also entirely possible we overestimated the market for a 0 goals, 10 assist defenceman. DeMelo seemed like a fit for the Senators in the short-term but talk was the two sides weren’t even in the same ballpark on an extension.

Nights like this don’t come along very often in the history of a franchise.

Only 128 numbers have officially been retired in the history of the National Hockey League. It’s an honour that has only been handed out just once in the modern day history of the Senators. Frank Finnigan’s sweater is up there too of course but only Daniel Alfredsson, the best player in franchise history, has had his number retired.

After tonight, the number four will never be worn in Ottawa again.

Chris Phillips, Ottawa’s all-time leader in games played, will have his number retired prior to tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Leading up to the ceremony, I have been thinking a lot about the career of Chris Phillips, about the years he spent with the team and about why this is such a significant moment for the Senators. And I think a big part of it is the fact that Chris Phillips embodies so much of what this team used to be about and a lot of what we’ve lost in a rocky few years.

Stability.

He was a humble guy on and off the ice, under-appreciated around the league, low maintenance, no drama, fiercely loyal to the organization and just a proud Ottawa Senator.

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Obviously there isn’t much about his offensive production that jumps off the page.

Career high in goals? Just eight. Points? Only 24. But Chris Phillips is a throwback to an era when a good shutdown guy could win hockey games on his own and at his peak, there were few better in the role. If you were a high-end offensive player rolling into Ottawa, you knew you were going to get a healthy dose of the Big Rig. And you knew you were in for a long night. The pairing of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov is often talked about as one of the top shutdown pairings of their era.

It’s why some of the best players of this generation, guys like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, have both talked about how tough it was to play against Phillips in his prime.

In the history of the NHL, Phillips sits 24th overall in games played with one team. Seventeen seasons and 1179 games, all in a Sens uniform.

One of the interesting things about Phillips is because he played his whole career here in Ottawa, there is a generation of fans that never saw Phillips at his best. And they really don’t remember what a crucial player he was during some of the best years in Sens history.

But in some ways, Chris Phillips is a symbol of a better days. Days of predictability and stability. When even during tough losses and playoff heartbreak, we were proud to be Sens fans.

So much of this rebuild that is currently underway in Ottawa is about culture.

It’s not just about rebuilding the roster, it’s about rebuilding the identity of what it means to be an Ottawa Senator.

And guys like Chris Phillips, like Chris Neil and like Daniel Alfredsson stand out as examples of what the Senators should strive for in the future. These are guys that didn’t just come to Ottawa to play hockey. They made it their home. They became pillars in the community and they legitimately cared about the city, about its fans and about the crest on the front of the jersey.

You build a roster full of guys like that and you’ll be in damn good shape.

Chris Phillips also takes me back to a different time in my own fandom. When I lived and died with the results of every game and when sometimes, it felt like I cared more about winning than some of the players. Only I never felt that way about Chris Phillips.

For Sens fans, the last few seasons have been filled with annoying reminders that hockey is a business. That players are expendable and that profit is what matters most. Obviously that has been magnified here in Ottawa but it’s a reality for the league in general.

In a salary cap era, it’s hard to imagine we’ll ever see another player quite like Phillips. A guy drafted by the team and who then spends his entire 1179 game career there. That kind of longevity is so rare. I mean, I hope we see it again in Ottawa but you never know.

When an NHL team retires a number, they are setting a standard. They are sending a message to the rest of the league about what’s important to their franchise. That’s the only real criteria. It doesn’t have to be about points or major awards. Things like hard work, stability, loyalty, leadership and commitment to the organization and to the community…those things matter. And in pro sports, they don’t always come easy.

That’s why this is such a fitting tribute and a well-deserved honour for Chris Phillips.

In recent years, drama has surrounded this organization. But as that 4 gets raised to the rafters at the CTC, it will be a throwback to a better time in Sens history and a reminder of what this organization should value going forward.

A quick search suggests there are still tickets available for this one. If you’re one of the many fans that have sworn you’d never go to another game under current Ownership, this might be a good time to make an exception. It seems to me a random Tuesday night sell out would be a great way to send a message that this city still cares about its hockey team, about the history we’re building here and about things we value as a fan base.

Chris Phillips gave everything he had to this organization and he deserves a full house when his number is raised to the rafter later tonight.

Congratulations Chris!