Chris Phillips (born March 9, 1978) is a Canadian businessman and former professional ice hockey player. Phillips was a member of the Ottawa Senators for his entire NHL career, which began with the 1997–98 season and ended with the 2015–16 season. He was regarded as a stay-at-home defenceman. The Senators drafted him first overall in the 1996 NHL entry draft. Phillips retired in 2016 after spending a season on the injured list. Phillips played 1,179 games with Ottawa in the regular season, making him the longest-serving player in Senators franchise history. In addition, he played in 114 playoff games. His number was retired by the team in 2019.
Phillips worked in community and business development for the Senators from 2015 to 2021, when he resigned as the executive director of the Senators Community Foundation after a dispute with owner Eugene Melnyk. After Melnyk's death, he rejoined the organization in September 2022 as the Vice President of Community and Business Development.
Contents
Playing career
Fort McMurray Oil Barons
Phillips was raised in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He began his junior career with the Junior A Fort McMurray Oil Barons of the Alberta Junior Hockey League in 1993–94, where he had six goals and 22 points in 56 games. In 10 playoff games, Phillips had three assists. He returned to the Oil Barons for the 1994–95 season, in which he saw his offensive production increase to 16 goals and 48 points in 48 games. In 11 post-season games, Phillips had four goals and six points. Phillips also participated in the 1995 Canada Winter Games where he was the captain of the Alberta team.
Prince Albert Raiders
Phillips joined the Major Junior Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL for the 1995-96 season, where he registered 10 goals and 30 assists in 61 games as a rookie with the Raiders. Phillips helped the Raiders to the Conference Finals, with 2 goals and 12 assists in 18 games. After the season, Phillips won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy and was drafted first overall in the 1996 NHL entry draft by the Ottawa Senators.
The Senators reassigned Phillips to the Raiders for the 1996-97. In 32 games back with the Raiders, he tallied three goals and 26 points. Prince Albert traded Phillips to the Lethbridge Hurricanes midway through the season.
Lethbridge Hurricanes
Phillips finished the 1996–97 season with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, where he had four goals and 22 points in 26 games, helping the club finish in first place in the Central Division.
In the playoffs, Phillips finished second in team scoring with 25 points, with four goals and 21 assists, to help Lethbridge win the President's Cup, and earn a berth at the 1997 Memorial Cup held in Hull, Quebec.
In the Memorial Cup, Phillips had two goals and five points in five games, as the Hurricanes finished the tournament in second place, losing to the Hull Olympiques in the final.
Phillips was selected to the Memorial Cup all-star team, and won the 1996-97 Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the top defenseman in the WHL.
Ottawa Senators
Phillips made his NHL debut in the 1997–98 season, when he appeared in 72 games with the Ottawa Senators, scoring five goals and 16 points, helping the club finish above .500 for the first time in team history. In 11 playoff games, Phillips had two assists, as Ottawa upset the New Jersey Devils in the first round, before falling to the Washington Capitals in the second round of the 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Phillips missed 48 games in the 1998-99, as he scored three goals and six points in 34 games with the Senators, before going pointless in three playoff games.
He saw his point total increase during the 1999–2000 season, as Phillips had five goals and 19 points in 65 games. In six playoff games, Phillips had an assist.
Phillips had another solid season with the club in 2000–01, appearing in 73 games, scoring two goals and 14 points, however, he suffered a late-season injury, in which he appeared in only one playoff game with the Senators. In that game, he scored his first ever playoff goal against Curtis Joseph of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He remained a big part of the Senators blueline in 2001–02, as Phillips scored six goals and 22 points in 63 games. In 12 playoff games, Phillips did not register a point.
In 2002–03, Phillips helped the Senators win the Presidents' Trophy, which is awarded to the team with the best regular season record in the NHL. In 78 games, Phillips had three goals and 19 points. In the post-season, Phillips had a memorable goal for the Senators, as in game six of the Eastern Conference finals against the New Jersey Devils, Phillips scored the overtime winner, as Ottawa fought off elimination. The Senators lost the seventh game, but Phillips had a very successful playoff run, scoring two goals and six points in 18 games.
Phillips appeared in all 82 games for the first time of his career in 2003–04, as he scored seven goals and 23 points for the Senators. In the playoffs, Phillips once again had some overtime magic, as he scored the winning goal in the fourth game of the Senators first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto ended up winning the series in seven games, and that goal was Phillips only point of the series.
International play
Phillips played for Team Canada at the 1996 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships held in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was held pointless in six games, as Canada won the gold medal. He returned to the tournament in 1997, held in Geneva, Switzerland, where Phillips had an assist in seven games, helping Canada win the gold medal once again. He was named to the 1997 tournament all-star team.
Phillips played for the Canadians at the 2000 IIHF World Championship held in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he had no points in nine games, as Canada finished in fourth place. He returned for the Canadian team at the 2005 IIHF World Championship held in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria, where the Canadians finished with a silver medal. In nine games, Phillips had an assist. Phillips represented Canada again at the 2009 IIHF World Championship held in Bern and Kloten, Switzerland, recording three assists in nine games as Canada won the silver medal. On November 11 playing with the Stitts Vegas selects on an overseas trip to Sweden, Phillips recorded 1 goal and 3 assists in his first international play in almost a decade.
Other ventures and post-retirement career
In 2012, Phillips became a co-owner of Big Rig, a microbrewery business named after his on-ice nickname. In 2014, it opened a second location and a new production facility. Its Big Rig Black IPA won the a gold medal at the 2014 Ontario Brewing Awards as well as the gold medal at the 2014 Canadian Brewing Awards. In 2019, the Big Rig business was purchased by Foodtastic, a Quebec restaurant chain, and Phillips sold his share by the end of the year.
After his retirement in May 2016, Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said that Phillips would have a role in the team organization working on community development, businesses development, and relations with alumni. Phillips served as a director of community and business development for five years, before being appointed the first executive director of the Senators Community Foundation in August 2020. The Senators Community Foundation was established to replace the role of the Ottawa Senators Foundation, which had ended its longstanding relationship with the team in July 2020. In July 2021, Phillips resigned as executive director of the Senators Community Foundation after a disagreement with owner Eugene Melnyk. In September 2022, after Melnyk's death, Phillips rejoined the organization as its Vice President of Business Operations, a role in which he would have to repair strained relationships with Ottawa businesses from the Melnyk era.
Phillips has also served as an assistant coach for the Kanata Lasers when his son was on the team.
Personal life
Phillips and his wife Erin live in Ottawa and have three children. He is the nephew of retired Edmonton Oilers radio broadcaster Rod Phillips.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Phillips was initiating a $7.5-million lawsuit against his former agent, Stacey McAlpine, to recover lost money as a result of bad real estate deals. The suit, launched at the Ontario court in Ottawa, alleges that Phillips was misled by McAlpine and hasn't been able to recover monies invested or access more than $5.5 million of his money being handled by McAlpine. The suit came one month after Phillips' former Ottawa teammate Dany Heatley initiated similar legal proceedings against McAlpine.
Career statistics
Awards
Canadian Hockey League
Top Draft Prospect - 1996
Western Hockey League
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) - 1996
Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy (Top Defenceman) - 1997
East First All-Star Team - 1997