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Chris Phillips isn’t sure what his NHL future holds.
The Senators defenceman met with GM Bryan Murray Tuesday and expressed his desire to finish his career in Ottawa, where he started it more than 900 games ago.
While the 32-year-old potential unrestricted free agent has the final say with his no-trade clause, the door is being left open for a trade before the Feb. 28 deadline.
“I’ve played 900 games with one team and I’d love to keep that going,” said Phillips. “There’s a lot of intangibles that could happen that could swing that one way or another.
“It was a positive meeting. It wasn’t like, ‘As soon as I get the right deal I’m coming to you’ and he’ll hold it over my head. I felt like he wanted me to be part of this group that has a few young defencemen and some more coming up the pipeline. I can see that role of helping those younger guys and that was the message sent.”
If Phillips wants a long-term deal, he’s likely not going to be kept. If he’s willing to settle on a three-year contract, the two sides should be able to work out something before the deadline.
“It was a good discussion about a lot of things. I don’t wish to be too descriptive on what exactly was said. We do have a bit of a plan to follow and see what happens. It would be best to keep that behind closed doors,” said Phillips.
