Chris Phillips.

BY IAN MENDES
sportsnet.ca

Chris Phillips will start this upcoming NHL season without his usual, reliable defence partner by his side.

Anton Volchenkov signed a six-year contract with the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, officially ending his time with the Ottawa Senators. Since they were initially placed together in the 2006-07 season, Phillips and Volchenkov emerged as one of the top shutdown pairs in the Eastern Conference.

"It's tough to lose a guy I have played with for a better part of four years," Phillips told sportsnet.ca on Friday. "We've been lucky to not have a lot of turnover in this cap system, but it is always just a matter of time."

Instead of re-signing Volchenkov, the Senators opted to throw more money - but less term - at Sergei Gonchar when the free agency period opened on Thursday. Gonchar plays a more offensive style than Volchenkov and general manager Bryan Murray hinted there was a change in philosophy behind the move.

"It’s great to block shots - but I’d like the other team to block shots," Murray told reporters on Thursday. "You do that by having the puck and helping your forwards get the attack going and being creative from the back end."

Phillips is on board with the alterations made to the Senators blue line, which now boasts several puck-moving defenseman like Gonchar, Erik Karlsson, Filip Kuba and Chris Campoli.

"I'm excited about Gonchar, who was always a guy we keyed on when we played against him," added Phillips. "He brings a lot of offence to help ease the load on guys playing out of position - especially on the power play. I'm looking forward to the season with the look of our team right now."

Cory Clouston said he had not started thinking about possible pairings, but Phillips, Gonchar, Kuba and Karlsson will be the top four defensemen when training camp officially opens for the Senators on September 17.