from Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Daily News,

MacDonald - acquired from the New York Islanders in the spring of 2014 and then signed to a highly criticized, six-year, $30 million deal by then-general manager, Paul Holmgren - hasn't been a regular minor leaguer since 2008-09....

"Obviously, it's a bit of an adjustment," MacDonald said after the Phantoms fell, 3-1, to the Toronto Marlies in their third game in three nights. "At this point, I'm settling in here and just trying to help the team win here."

And playing three games in three nights?

"It's been a while," MacDonald said with a laugh.

He might have to get used to it. The Phantoms have eight more of those sets the rest of the season. And the way it looks right now, MacDonald, who entered Wednesday with two assists and a plus-3 rating in five games, isn't coming back to the NHL anytime soon. The Flyers, who gained $950,000 in cap relief when they sent MacDonald down, simply don't have the space to bring him back up.

"Quite frankly, we'd like to get him back up," said general manager Ron Hextall, who was in attendance Sunday. "It's a situation right now that's partly out of our hands and his hands.

"It's certainly not the way you script it. You don't want to have a guy making a ton of money here. That's not the way you plan things. Obviously, sometimes you have to adjust.

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