Teams hoping to acquire Ottawa Senators veteran defenseman Chris Phillips by the trade deadline will have to look for another trade target.

Hours before the 3 PM ET NHL trade deadline, the Senators announced they'd re-signed Phillips to a three-year, $9.25 million contract extension, with a "no-movement" clause.

Phillips, 32, has spent his entire 13-year NHL career with the Senators, and is currently in the final year of his four-year contract earning $3.5 million per season, so essentially he agreed to a slight pay-cut ($3.083 million per season) on a slightly lesser term.

Despite the decline in his numbers this season -only five points in 62 games, with a plus-minus of -25, which could be more reflective of the Senators overall depth this season than of his performance - Phillips would've been a popular target by the deadline for clubs seeking a physical defenseman, and might've received a bigger contract elsewhere had he wished to test this summer's UFA market.

Phillips however was adamant his first choice was to remain with the Senators and help in their rebuilding efforts. It's also believed his family played a role in his decision as they apparently wanted to remain in Ottawa.

He'll be expected to play a leadership role on the Senators blueline over the next three seasons as it's expected they will be giving more playing time to younger blueline prospects. They'll need Phillips to mentor those young players.

Phillips' new contract will push the Senators payroll for next season to just over $40 million for 15 players, though it's possible they might shed some more salary by the deadline or perhaps at the entry draft. It won't however adversely affect the Senators ability to perhaps dip into this summer's free agent market or to re-sign key players.