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Claude Giroux

Snapshots: Sandin, Senators, Schneider

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One of the unsigned restricted free agents still waiting on a contract is Rasmus Sandin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Some have suggested that the Maple Leafs could trade the young defenseman, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet threw some cold water on that today during the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Like I said a couple of weeks ago, I really don’t think Toronto has a desire to trade Sandin. You look at their depth chart over the next couple of years and basically every defenseman aside from [Timothy] Liljegren and [Morgan] Rielly come off the cap pretty soon. I think they have a desire to keep him. 

Friedman notes that some agents believe the leverage for Sandin (and fellow unsigned RFA Nicolas Hague) has been lowered by some of the recent deals signed, including the ones for Michael Anderson (one year, $1MM) and Sean Durzi (two years, $3.4MM) with the Los Angeles Kings. Camp starts in just a few days, meaning Sandin might be absent if a deal can’t be worked out at the last second.

  • The Ottawa Senators announced their full leadership group ahead of what should be a very interesting season. Claude Giroux will be one of Brady Tkachuk’s alternates, along with Thomas Chabot, after signing a three-year, $19.5MM contract this offseason. Giroux served as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers for ten seasons before reaching unrestricted free agency this summer.
  • Cory Schneider will be back in the New York Islanders organization this season says general manager Lou Lamoriello, who spoke with media including Kevin Kurz of The Athletic today. The 36-year-old goaltender leaned into his role with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders last year, posting a .921 save percentage in 30 games, while also making one appearance at the NHL level (and winning his first game since 2019-20). Like so much other Islanders-related news, it is not clear what kind of contract Schneider will be signing, or what role is expected of him this year.

Claude Giroux To Sign With Ottawa Senators

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12:53 pm: The team has indeed signed Giroux to a three-year deal worth $19.5MM in total. Giroux will earn $7MM in the first two years of the deal and $5.5MM in year 3.

11:03 am: TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Ottawa Senators have signed veteran forward Claude Giroux to a three-year contract carrying a cap hit of $6.5MM.

Giroux, 34, had never played for an NHL team other than the Philadelphia Flyers before this season. A deadline deal, one that was highly influenced by his no-movement clause, took him to the Florida Panthers, where he managed to show he can still be a top-end offensive player. With the goal-happy Panthers, he scored 23 points in 18 games down the stretch and then was still effective in the playoffs, even if Florida’s offense dried up in other areas.

Now, as he enters free agency, it isn’t a return to Philadelphia but a homecoming of another sort. Though originally from Hearst, Giroux and his family moved to Ottawa when he was still just a teenager, giving him the chance to go to high school in the area and play high-level minor hockey. Originally passed over in the OHL draft, he would eventually find himself joining the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, just across the river. In three seasons for Gatineau, he recorded 399 points, including a franchise-record 51 in 19 playoff games during the 2007-08 season.

His No. 28 is now retired by the Olympiques, and if the deal with Ottawa is completed, he’ll get a chance to wear it in front of the home crowd once again (if Connor Brown will give it up, at least).

Though he isn’t the MVP-caliber player of his youth, Giroux’s addition to the Senators lineup would be substantial. He and DeBrincat instantly legitimize a forward group that was previously considered young, talented, but unproven, and make them a force to be reckoned with. While there are still holes on the roster, Ottawa is making a case as a real contender in the Atlantic Division.

Ottawa Senators Expected To Push For Claude Giroux

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With the Florida Panthers still hoping to try and re-sign him and several other teams waiting for their chance, Claude Giroux is a wanted man. One team that most might not have expected is the usually tight-budgeted Ottawa Senators, who have emerged as a “legitimate option” for the veteran forward according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

Not expected, until one is reminded that Giroux grew up and played his minor hockey in the area, and still has strong ties to Ottawa. The 34-year-old would be a huge splash for an organization that is trying to claw its way out of the rebuilding stage and contend for a playoff spot once again.

After buying out Colin White, the team has plenty of money and cap space to go after someone like Giroux, and could offer him a chance to play with young talents like Brady Tkachuk or Tim Stutzle. The veteran forward has played mostly wing the last few years but also has tons of experience in the middle, meaning he and Stutzle–just learning the center position himself–could share responsibilities, as right and left-handed options on the same line.

They won’t be the only team after Giroux though. He still put up 65 points in 75 games this season, including an outstanding 23-point run with the Florida Panthers after a midseason trade. There’s enough skill there to be a difference-maker for the Senators or any team at both even-strength and on the powerplay, even if he’s not going to be the 100-point player he was in his prime.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Claude Giroux

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It’s hard to make a bigger impact as a trade deadline addition than Claude Giroux did for the Florida Panthers, registering 23 points in 18 games down the stretch and adding another eight in ten playoff matches. The veteran forward has proven he can still hang with elite offensive players even as he enters his mid-thirties, and should he reach free agency, there might be a few new ones trying to convince him to come north.

The Edmonton Oilers, reports Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, are “lurking” and hope to have a chance to sign the veteran forward if he fails to reach an extension with Florida. It also likely would only be possible if the Oilers can’t re-sign Evander Kane, though, with his uncertain future tied to a grievance hearing that is still unscheduled, Edmonton may be forced to make a tough decision on that front.

Giroux, 34, recorded 900 points over a 1,000-game career with the Philadelphia Flyers before heading to Sunrise this year and has long been an elite play-driving forward. With the versatility to play both center and wing, the idea of pairing him with Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl (or both) will certainly be exciting for Oilers fans.

Still, a multi-year contract for a player of his age comes with plenty of risks, even if he did play well this season. The Oilers can’t afford to hand out deals that end up backfiring, as they look to capitalize on the elite play of McDavid and Draisaitl over the next few years. A player like Giroux might help them get closer to contention but if his game takes a step back, it could prove costly.

Latest On Claude Giroux

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The free agent market this summer may be headlined by players in their prime like Johnny Gaudreau and Filip Forsberg but there is also another tier of older talents that can still make a huge impact. Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Patrice Bergeron, and Marc-Andre Fleury could all be going into the Hall of Fame one day and are technically available, once July 13 rolls around.

There’s another player that should be included in that group: Claude Giroux. The Philadelphia Flyers icon is now 34 and though he may not have a ton of time left in his career, there’s no doubting that he can still be an impact player. After scoring 18 goals and 42 points in 57 games with the brutal Flyers squad this season, Giroux showed exactly how productive he can still be by joining the high-flying Florida Panthers and adding 23 points in 18 games. He had another eight points in the Panthers’ ten-game playoff run and now must make a decision on where to take his career next.

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the first priority would be to stay in Florida. Both Giroux and his agent Pat Brisson told LeBrun that there is a desire to stay with the Panthers if possible, and general manager Bill Zito confirmed that he hopes to find a way to make it happen. Hope, of course, is the operative word, as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers don’t exactly have cap space to throw around this summer.

For the first time in a little while, there are no big restricted free agents to sign, but with more than $71.3MM already committed to 16 players, a $637K bonus overage penalty carrying over to next season, and Keith Yandle’s buyout penalty jumping to nearly $5.4MM, the Panthers will have to make some moves just to fit their current group in under the $82.5MM ceiling. Getting Giroux seems extremely difficult unless he’s taking a huge discount compared to what he could make on the market.

Wherever he lands, Giroux will have an outside chance at hitting the 1,000-point mark this season. The 15-year NHL veteran currently sits at 923 and needs just six goals to hit 300. It would be extremely odd to see him reach those milestones in a non-Flyers sweater, even if he did seem to fit in after arriving in Florida.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Looking At Claude Giroux’s Impending Free Agency

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With the Florida Panthers now swept out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, many questions will arise this offseason about the future of this year’s Presidents’ Trophy winners. One of those questions will be the future of forward Claude Giroux, who the Panthers acquired at the Trade Deadline. The longtime captain of the Philadelphia Flyers was moved for what many viewed as an underwhelming return, and despite Florida’s early elimination, Giroux performed with renewed vigor on a better team. He had eight points in 10 playoff games but piled up assists in the regular season, notching 20 in 18 games with the Panthers. He still managed 42 points in 57 games with the Flyers prior to the trade on a massively struggling team, too. His eight-year extension that kicked in prior to 2014-15 is now expiring, and Giroux could hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his 15-year career.

Giroux has already stated his desire to return to South Florida if the opportunity arises. However, with the worst year of the Keith Yandle buyout hitting the Panthers next season, the team has just under $4MM in projected cap space for the 2022-23 season, according to CapFriendly. That’s already an impossible number to sign Giroux unless he takes a serious old-man discount, but the team also has a handful of roster spots to fill on both forward and defense. The team could likely opt to trade Patric Hornqvist (with a limited no-trade clause) and the final year of his $5.3MM cap hit, though, which could seriously open the door for a Giroux return.

If Giroux can’t work out a return to the Panthers organization, though, teams will come prepared with serious offers for his services. The 34-year-old can still be counted on for at least 20 goals and 65/70 points in a full season, and he remains a very good defensive presence and faceoff man. Giroux is still boasting a streak of five seasons above a 55 percent mark in the faceoff circle, and although his skill set is now best used on the wing, he’s still valuable as a faceoff specialist. It’s hard to imagine Giroux receiving less than $6MM or $7MM, although a four-year term is likely an extreme maximum for Giroux at this point.

His hometown Ottawa Senators have been constantly linked to Giroux over the past few years, and the team hasn’t been quiet about their desire to improve this offseason drastically. With the team boasting nearly $25MM in cap space this offseason, they have the room and then some to make that sort of acquisition.

Is a return to the Flyers in the cards? It’s doubtful. Giroux hasn’t made a Stanley Cup Final in 12 years and he doesn’t have a ring. It’s that fact that makes it seem like a discount to stay in a team on the rise in Florida would make the most sense for Giroux. However, if the Senators play their cards right and their prospects develop properly, they could be in a position to win Cups by the end of a Giroux contract as well. Other teams in contending positions may not have the cap space to afford Giroux’s services, but it’s much too early to eliminate that scenario.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: St. Louis, Giroux, Senators

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The Montreal Canadiens made waves earlier this season when the most storied franchise in NHL history replaced a head coach that had just guided them to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly 30 years with someone who had no professional coaching experience to speak of. However, under Laval native Martin St. Louis, the Canadiens, despite being battered and bruised, looked rejuvenated and carried much more of the same energy that had taken them through four rounds in 2021.

Now, it appears that St. Louis has done enough to impress the team’s front office and guide them through what’s likely to be a tumultuous next few seasons in terms of roster construction. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that he expects the Canadiens to announce an extension for St. Louis “in the near future”, although there’s no timeline given for this. The Canadiens finished the season 14-19-4 under St. Louis, a marked improvement over the team’s abysmal 8-30-7 record under Ducharme.

  • After being swept out of the Second Round by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Claude Giroux expressed interest today in returning to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Florida Panthers. How the team manages to make that work under the salary cap, though, is a gigantic mystery. While the Panthers don’t have any significant pieces to re-sign aside from Giroux and Mason Marchment, the team is greatly restricted in salary space next year by the combined $6.575MM cap hit from the Keith Yandle and Scott Darling buyouts. With that, the team will have just $4MM in cap space this offseason with depth roster spots to fill. Giroux would need to take a steeply discounted deal, which could be unlikely given the much more rich offers he’ll receive elsewhere. Giroux had 23 points in 18 games down the stretch for the Panthers in the regular season and eight points in 10 playoff games.
  • The Ottawa Senators appear to be ready to take aggressive steps in exiting their rebuild, with general manager Pierre Dorion saying that the team’s seventh overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft is on the table for trade. Dorion also said that he’s focused on acquiring a top-four defenseman or a high-end forward, if possible. While the Senators do have a strong pool to deal from, they’re also a core that has proven very little with the team staying stagnant in the standings this season. With the team sitting on over $20MM worth of cap space again this offseason, though, they have the roster flexibility to make moves.

Florida Panthers Acquire Claude Giroux

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The Florida Panthers have acquired Claude Giroux from the Philadelphia Flyers, reports The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. TSN’s Chris Johnston adds that Owen Tippett is part of the package going back to Philadelphia. The Flyers will also receive a 2024 first-round pick from the Panthers, says David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period, which is top-10 protected. They will also receive a 2023 third-round pick, according to The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (link).

In addition to Giroux, the Panthers will also receive forward Connor Bunnaman per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, as well as forward German Rubtsov and the Flyers’ 2024 fifth-round pick, adds LeBrun (link).

With the trade finally materializing, Giroux’s illustrious career on Broad Street has come to an end, and so has the sweepstakes for one of the most coveted deadline rentals in recent history. With the details all accounted for, this trade includes many moving parts on either side. The Panthers of course acquire Giroux, along with Rubtsov, Bunnaman, and a fifth-round draft pick in 2024. In exchange for their franchise icon and other pieces, the Flyers receive Tippett, a first-round draft pick in 2024, and a third-round draft pick in 2023. The Flyers will also retain 50% of Giroux’s salary, as expected.

In Giroux, the Panthers acquire an incredibly versatile player, and another star to add to their group. The 34-year-old has shown throughout his career he can produce strong offensive numbers while playing a 200-foot game, excelling on both the powerplay and penalty-kill, and is widely regarded as one of the best faceoff men in the game. To date, Giroux sits at exactly 900 career points in an even 1,000 career games, including 18 goals and 24 points in 57 games for the Flyers this season.

Giroux not only gives the Panthers another option, but should allow them to be creative in setting their lineups down the stretch and into the playoffs. He should also be able to take some pressure off of the players around him, including star center Aleksander Barkov and Hart Trophy candidate Jonathan Huberdeau.

As exciting as the blockbuster is for hockey fans, especially Panthers fans, the trade is a tough pill to swallow for the Flyers and their fans. While Giroux was expected to be dealt considering the team’s recent struggles and Giroux’s status as a UFA after this season, it is no easier to see the team’s captain, who had just celebrated 1,000 games in the NHL and in a Flyers uniform, at home on Thursday.

Nonetheless, the return for Giroux should be enough to excite the Flyers. The organization acquired two draft picks, including a third-round pick in a strong 2023 draft class, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2024. While the 2024 draft feels like it’s quite far-out, it provides the Flyers with an asset to help continue and develop their build with assets down the road. The primary centerpiece of this deal though, is Tippett. Although Tippett has not met the expectations that saw him selected 10th overall by the Panthers in 2017, he has been able to produce in both the AHL and NHL so far in his career. It’s also worth noting that Tippett has seen rather limited minutes and opportunities in his time with the Panthers, considering the talent and depth of the organization. Most likely, Flyers fans can look forward to seeing their young forward in the lineup soon.

Latest On Claude Giroux

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All signs point to Claude Giroux leaving the Philadelphia Flyers now that he has played in his 1,000th game, though there is still at least a bit of intrigue in regards to where he is going. Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad reported last night that Giroux would not be accompanying the Flyers on their trip to Ottawa, something that Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirmed this morning.

The sharp money is on the Florida Panthers right now in terms of who will acquire Giroux before Monday’s deadline, though Friedman writes that the Colorado Avalanche have “not given up” as of this morning. Emily Kaplan of ESPN writes that there could be another team involved, though she too expects it to be Florida when the dust settles.

Florida of course already acquired Ben Chiarot, moved out Frank Vatrano, and have held Owen Tippett out of the AHL lineup in advance of the deadline as they attempt to go all-in this season. The Panthers are among the league’s best teams, even if they did get beaten by the struggling Vegas Golden Knights last night. Overall, Florida has a 41-14-6 record and is still in first place in the Atlantic Division.

If it is the end of Giroux’s time in Philadelphia–Friedman tweets that the captain will be held out of the lineup through the weekend even if a trade isn’t completed today–he finishes with exactly 1,000 games and 900 points with the franchise. This season has been another strong one with 18 goals and 42 points in 57 games, even if the overall results for the Flyers haven’t been what was expected. The 34-year-old is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and has yet to raise the Stanley Cup.

More On Josh Manson Trade

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Of course the team to jumpstart a stagnant trade market is none other than the NHL’s very best. The league-leading Colorado Avalanche made a big move on Monday night to acquire defenseman Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks. They weren’t the only team looking to pry the big blue liner away though. A number of clubs have been linked to Manson, including the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs, the latter of whom seemingly got close to adding him. Sportsnet’s Nick Alberga reports that Manson was unwilling to waive his trade protection to go to Toronto, which implies that the Leafs got close enough that the Ducks approached the veteran defender about the possibility. Manson has just a limited No-Trade Clause – a twelve-team no-trade list. It seems that the Maple Leafs were among those dozen undesirable landing spots. It is unclear whether the team has been a long-standing member of that list or a more recent addition given their current struggles.

  • The Manson trade shows that the Anaheim Ducks are officially sellers. The team has exceeded expectations this season and have continued to stick around the Western Conference playoff picture, but of late have slid outside of a reasonable chance of reaching the postseason this year. Any question as to their deadline position is now over, but the unknown remains to what extent they will sell. While Manson is a very talented player, he is not even among the top two potential rentals in Anaheim. That would be fellow defenseman Hampus Lindholm and skilled forward Rickard Rakell. Both of these players are core pieces for the Ducks and critical to their success and at 28 years old could each continue to play a major role for years to come. If Anaheim feels that they are close to contending following their strong start this season, then they could opt for extensions rather than trades for Lindholm and Rakell. Alas, Alberga reports that there are no ongoing contract negotiations with either player right now, which could imply that they will soon follow Manson out the door.
  • If and when the Ducks do move Lindholm, they have set the bar high for the rental defenseman market. Manson is the first and only proven top-four defenseman to be dealt so far this season and in return Anaheim landed a 2023 second-round pick and a well-regarded 2019 second-round pick in Boston College defenseman Drew Helleson, a top-five scorer for the Eagles. Though a solid defensive asset, Manson pales in comparison to the more well-rounded Lindholm, who might be the best defenseman on the trade market. An A-level prospect and a second-round pick, or even two second-round picks, is now the baseline to which Anaheim can refer when commanding a much better return for Lindholm. Around the league, the Canadiens, Kraken, and possibly the Stars will be happy to see the Manson return knowing that their top-four rentals – Ben Chiarot, Mark Giordano, and John Klingberg – may also garner an equal or greater return.
  • The Colorado Avalanche are not done either. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun was quick to note that the Manson acquisition is not all that GM Joe Sakic has in mind as he chases the Stanley Cup. Especially given the cap flexibility afforded by recent injuries to Gabriel Landeskog and Samuel Girard, the door is open in Denver. LeBrun still expects the team to take a swing at Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux and have their eyes on other forwards as well.

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