Capitals’ place Phillips on waivers; Golden Knights’ Kallionkieli on unconditional waivers

A couple of players have been placed on waivers, including one that will have the ability to look for a new home.

On Thursday, the Washington Capitals put forward Matthew Phillips on waivers. The 25-year-old has been a healthy scratch for much of the last month, but wiggled his way into the lineup in the Capitals’ 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers on Feb. 8. It was Phillips’ first appearance since Jan. 3.

The Calgary native signed a one-year, one-way contract with the Caps on July 1 last offseasons, with an AAV of $775,000. In 27 games Phillips has scored one goal and four assists.

If he clears, he has the option to join the Capitals’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, who hold the best record in the league. It would be the first time Phillips has played in the minors since last season, when he was with the Calgary Flames primary affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.

Phillips played 298 games while as a member of the Flames’ organization from 2017 to 2023. Only three came in the NHL.

Also, the Vegas Golden Knights placed Marcus Kallionkieli on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.

Kallionkieli has never appeared in an NHL game. He was a fifth-round draft pick by the Golden Knights in the 2019 draft. He debuted with their AHL club, the Henderson Silver Knights, at the end of the 2020-21 season, before returning to the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings the following year. Injury problems during the 2022-23 campaign led the Finnish native to play just six games with the Savannah Ghost Pirates of the ECHL.

Kallionkieli was loaned to STS Sanok in the Polska Hokej Liga (Poland), where he scored 16 games in 10 games. He recently joined Kiekko-Espoo (Mestis, Finland) and has notched five points in four games.

If Kallionkieli clears, he will have the option to sign with NHL team he wants.

The Capitals (23-21-8) are currently sixth in the Metropolitan Division, six points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Golden Knights (31-16-6) are second in the Pacific Division, 10 points back of the league-leading Vancouver Canucks.