Yesterday, we passed along word that veteran Ottawa d-man Chris Phillips suffered a “significant setback” in his recovery from back surgery.
Today, we found out just how significant it is. From the Sun:
"Chris will require about a month of additional rehab before he’s able to begin training to get back on the ice with the team a (continued)
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) September 8, 2015
and will not be a participant in training camp. We do expect him to fully recover and be a big contributor the team’s success this season."
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) September 8, 2015
Phillips, 37, is the Sens’ franchise leader in games played and heading into the last of a two-year, $5 million deal with a $2.5 average annual cap hit. It remains to be seen what Ottawa will do in his absence; though he’s gotten long in the tooth and isn’t as big a contributor, Phillips was supposed to be in the group of seven defensemen Ottawa would rely on this year, along with Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, Patrick Wiercioch, Mark Borowiecki and Jared Cowen.
The Phillips injury could open the door for Chris Wideman, a minor-league standout that won last year’s Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman.