Claude Giroux Won’t Have To Wait Long To Face His Old Team This Fall

The last time Claude Giroux was on the ice at Wells Fargo Center, he was receiving a silver stick from franchise legend Bobby Clarke.

Claude Giroux gets the silver stick from Bobby Clarke — the only other player in Flyers history to play in 1,000 games! pic.twitter.com/4Jww08EL2s

— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 17, 2022

On March 17, Giroux joined Clarke as the only two players ever to have played 1,000 games for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was named first star that night, in front of an adoring crowd. The home side downed the Nashville Predators, 5-4.

Two days later, the 34-year-old was traded to the Florida Panthers. In return, the Flyers received winger Owen Tippett, a third-round pick in 2023, and a first-rounder in 2024.

In Florida, Giroux donned another team’s uniform for the first time in his NHL career. He put up 23 points in 18 regular-season games with the Panthers. In the playoffs, he added eight points in 10 games. That was good for second in team scoring. But after a second-round sweep by the Tampa Bay Lightning, both sides knew that Giroux was not a long-term fit in South Florida.

Choosing Ottawa

Giroux spent 15 seasons as a Flyer. He was a Panther for less than four months. When free agency opened on July 13, he quickly inked a three-year deal with the Ottawa Senators, with a cap hit of $6.5 million per season.

“The more I thought about Ottawa, it started making a lot of sense,” Giroux told Jeremie Charron of Ottawa’s CTV News earlier this week.

Giroux was born and raised in Hearst, in northern Ontario. As a teenager, he started elite-level hockey in Cumberland, Ontario, just outside of Ottawa. He then spent his three years of Major Junior just across the Ottawa River, with the Gatineau Olympiques.

While young Giroux watched the Senators play at the Canadian Tire Centre, his dreams of an NHL career of his own began to take shape.

Giroux’s wife, Ryanne, hails from Kanata — the Ottawa suburb that’s also home to the Sens’ home arena. Now with two young children, and after two years of dealing with cross-border travel restrictions, the couple saw the upside of returning to their roots.

“You get to come and play at home, live at home and have parents and have a sister (nearby),” Giroux said. “Everybody’s got kids, all my friends and family.

“For my kids to go to school here in Ottawa and be able to see their grandparents, not just two or three times a year, I think it’s going to be a huge difference.”

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Giroux Returns To Philly on November 12

Giroux earned nearly $80 million during his tenure with the Flyers. When he left the team in March, he was still at the top of his game, and one of Philadelphia’s best players.

The former captain will step onto the ice at Wells Fargo Center as a visitor for the first time on November 12. The Sens will visit the Flyers for a 1 p.m. ET Saturday matinee as part of a quick two-game road trip.

Ottawa hosts Philadelphia twice next season — one week earlier, on November 5, and on March 30, 2023.

When Giroux started out in Philadelphia, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter ruled the roost. Carter’s trade to Columbus at the 2011 draft brought back longtime teammate Jakub Voracek as well as the first-round pick that was used to select Sean Couturier.

At 721 career games, Couturier is now the longest-tenured Flyer. Now locked up for eight more years, there’s a good chance that he’ll succeed Giroux as captain.

It will be strange for both players to face off as opponents after spending so many years together, often as linemates.

Several other long-time teammates of Giroux’s are still in Philadelphia:

• Scott Laughton (eight seasons)
• Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov (six seasons)
• Travis Sanheim (five seasons)
• James van Riemsdyk (seven seasons over two tours of duty)

Unfamiliar faces on the other side will include Tony DeAngelo and Nic Deslauriers on the ice, along with John Tortorella and his associate coach Brad Shaw behind the bench.

Joining A Team On The Rise

The Senators haven’t made the playoffs since 2017. For the last few summers, they’ve been more focused on reaching the salary-cap floor than on signing big-name free agents. But they also amassed a nice collection of draft picks and prospects while trading away stars like Matt Duchene, Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.

Now, steady workhorse Thomas Chabot is anchoring the Ottawa defense. Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris and Tim Stutzle headline an exciting forward group.

As he prepared to pitch Giroux on signing with Ottawa, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion spent the weeks ahead of free agency making moves to signal that his group is ready to take the next step forward.

First, he added more octane to his forward group by acquiring sniper Alex DeBrincat from the Chicago Blackhawks. Then, he unloaded the cumbersome contract attached to Matt Murray. Finally, he acquired veteran netminder Cam Talbot. He’ll join Giroux as another veteran voice who can help a talented young group get better.

“I still think I’m young at heart,” Giroux said. “A lot of players under 25 —  it’s funny to think that they’re 10 years younger than me. But I’m excited to be with them and the energy they will bring. And I bring a lot of energy myself.”

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