Could homegrown Flames prospect’s NHL opportunity be knocking… elsewhere?

Matthew Phillips, local kid, scores a big overtime winner at the Saddledome. It’s a Calgary Wranglers story, but some still dream it was a Calgary Flames thing.

Phillips is an AHL star. Undersized in stature but not in motor. Or heart. Or even grit.

His lack of opportunity with Darryl Sutter’s Flames is one of the biggest reasons many fans have turned on the defending Jack Adam’s winner. It’s also the largest factor in the belief that the 5-foot-7 Phillips’ hockey future lies in a land away from his hometown.

Phillips, who scored the overtime winner on Friday night at the Dome to give his Wranglers a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-five first-round series against the Abbotsford Canucks, will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer. Unless something drastic changes, it’s likely the Calgary fan favourite will be chasing his NHL dream somewhere else.

After a stellar start to his season, the 25-year-old was called up to the Flames by then-GM Brad Treliving in December. The diminutive winger was the AHL’s scoring leader at the time and the fan base was feverish to see what he could do at the NHL level.

He played 26 shifts during two games over 15 days with the Flames.

Averaging less than 10 minutes a night in those two quick looks, Phillips flashes some speed and upside but Sutter, as most know, prefers size and experience on his lower lines. And he clearly had no intention of trying the prospect on one of the top lines — a role a player like Phillips would need to showcase his best qualities.
It wasn’t all that different with Jakob Pelletier later in the season. And the talented prospect found himself in the press box for the duration of the most meaningful games of the Flames’ stretch drive.

Amid a season that had many memorable  Sutter moments, the Phillips experiment was the first long stretch for fan frustration.

And that may have extended right up to the front office. Treliving left the Flames following their disappointing season despite repeatedly being offered a contract extension. Reports have suggested his frustration with Sutter and the inability to fire the coach had plenty to do with that decision. Exit interviews featured multiple players expressing a lack of interest in playing for the coach again, according to NHL insiders.

So while Sutter watches his son and Flames prospects make their playoff run with the Wranglers this spring, the hockey world waits to see whether the bench boss will be back to start the two-year extension he was given in the fall.

Treliving couldn’t make the move he thought was best for the franchise, so it’s hard to imagine Flames ownership will allow a new GM to do it either.

That would almost certainly seal Phillips’ fate in Calgary, unless the idea of playing for the Wranglers is something he’s resigned to. Unlikely, in spite of his absolute joy in what’s happening right now.

“It’s great. Kind of like a pinch myself type thing,” Phillips said of playing in his hometown in the playoffs. “Just driving in, playoff game here, this atmosphere, playing against Vancouver, Canadian matchup — it’s just tons of fun. Just trying to soak it all in.”

Fans should, too. Who knows how long it will last?