Chris Phillips Announces His Retirement

The Senators will be hosting a news conference today at noon for Chris Phillips to give an update on his future. After 17 seasons with the Sens and just shy of 20 years since his draft date, he is widely expected to announce his retirement. This will make him the first player to go wire-to-wire with Ottawa.

Drafted first overall in 1996, Phillips went back to junior for one season then made the jump to the NHL and never looked back. His 1,179 games in Ottawa is a franchise record, and while that record can sting a little bit, it is an impressive count by any measure. That places him 121st for games played in NHL history, 21st most for a single franchise, and 13th most among those players who only played for one team.

While age and injury have led to him losing a few steps in recent years and stripped some of the lustre off our memories of him, he was a stalwart of the Ottawa blue line for many, many years. Choose to remember him as a key part of the powerhouse teams that were perennial contenders.

It's not the last we'll see of Phillips though...

#Sens GM Pierre Dorion announces that Chris Phillips will stay on with the organization to work with the #Sens alumni and in community.

— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) May 26, 2016

From what was said, it sounds kind of like an ambassador-like role. It's a role that feels like a great fit for someone that is already so involved in the community, though not everyone is so sure that's a good move.

To end on the highest of highs, we'll leave you with the goal pictured at the top of the article - the biggest goal of his career.