Colorado Avalanche sign forward Matthew Phillips to one-year contract

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Matthew Phillips to a one-year contract, the club announced Friday morning.

Phillips, 26, split the 2023-24 regular season between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, collecting five points (one goal, four assists) in 31 games.

The 5’8″, 160-pound forward also appeared in nine AHL games with the Hershey Bears, racking up three goals and six points; he dressed in six playoff contests with the club as they won their 13th Calder Cup championship.

The Calgary Flames originally selected Phillips in the sixth round (No. 166 overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Calgary, AB product played his junior career with the WHL’s Victoria Royals before turning pro in the Flames organization in 2018.

Phillips spent the majority of the next five seasons in the AHL, leading the Stockton Heat and Calgary Wranglers in scoring for the final three, but only appeared in three NHL games with the Flames before leaving the organization as a free agent in 2023.

Through 274 career AHL games over parts of seven seasons with the Heat, Wranglers, and Bears, Phillips has collected 106 goals and 243 points. He’s appeared in 34 career NHL games with the Flames, Capitals, and Penguins.

Phillips is the second former Flame to sign a one-year contract with the Avalanche in recent days, joining defenseman Oliver Kylington. Although Kylington will almost certainly start the year with the NHL club, Phillips could be a candidate to join the AHL’s Colorado Eagles once the season begins.

The Avalanche finished the 2023-24 regular season with a 50-25-7 record and 107 points in 82 games, enough to finish third in the Central Division. They defeated the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs before falling to the Dallas Stars in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals.