Phillips, the first overall draft pick of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, has been with the Sens his entire career, but the end appears to be near. A back injury limited him to just 36 games in 2014-15, and it’s questionable that he'll be able to uphold durability in his age-37 season. Even if he manages to stay on the ice this season, Phillips has averaged a meek and mild 16.2 points in the last five full NHL campaigns, making his upside rather limited.
The 36-year-old blueliner is by far the longest tenured Senator, so it's easy to know what you're getting if you draft him. He hasn't cracked 20 points since 2010, and finished 2013-14 with a goal and 14 assists in 70 games. He probably brings more to the team as a leader in the locker room than he does through his on-ice production, but he's an everyday player, so he does hold some value in deep fantasy leagues.
Phillips is the veteran on the team at this point, having played over 1,000 career NHL games -- all with the Senators. Although he remains a solid player, he'll probably only provide around 15 points again in 2013-14. Nevertheless, he's durable and plays every game. You know exactly what you're getting if you draft him.
Last season was undoubtedly Phillips' worst of his career. Playing in all 82 games, the former first overall draft pick had one goal, eight assists, and a team-worst minus-35 rating. While Phillips has averaged around 20 points a season over his long career, a return to that level at this stage in his career shouldn't be expected. Fantasy-wise, five goals and 10 assists this season is likely his ceiling. He doesn't play the power play and will be matched up against other teams' top forward lines, so his plus-minus rating might once again be on the negative side, especially on a young, rebuilding team in Ottawa.
Phillips will likely begin the season paired with newly acquired blueliner Sergei Gonchar to form Ottawa's No. 1 defensive unit. He enjoyed a relatively strong offensive season by his standards in 2009-10, notching eight goals and 16 assists. Phillips won't see time on either of Ottawa's two power play units so don't count on any power-play points from the shutdown d-man. Nonetheless, playing with Gonchar at even-strength should help his offensive numbers and 25 points is not out of the question for the 12-year veteran.
Phillips is one of Ottawa's best shutdown defensemen and that won't change this year. His numbers improved dramatically when Cory Clouston took the reigns so don't expect his plus-minus to be negative like last year. Phillips has limited fantasy value as he's known for his defense and not his offense.
Phillips, while not an offensive threat, should have another outstanding defensive year. He'll block a lot of shots, kill a lot of penalties, and eat a lot of minutes. He's the heart and soul of Ottawa's blue line.
Phillips will once again team up with Anton Volchenkov to form Ottawa's first defensive pairing not to mention one of the league's best shutdown tandems. As Phillips rarely sees time on the power play with most of his time spent trying to shutdown the opposing team's best players, he is not known for his offense.
The 28-year old will continue to be a mainstay on the Ottawa blueline in 06-07. He is not known for his offensive capabilities and should put up similar numbers as the year before.
Phillips could see a slight bump in production as new Sens coach Bryan Murray's style of play is expected to be more of an up-tempo, offensive style than former Ottawa coach Jacques Martin's restrictive and at times boring style of play. We like Phillips to reach 25-30 points, with a positive double-digit plus/minus total in 2005-06.
