Claude Giroux has one trade destination in mind!

Could this be where he moves on from Philadelphia?!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 2 years ago
Claude Giroux has one trade destination in mind!
Zuma Press

All eyes are on Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who is playing out the last season of his eight-year, $66.2 million contract. And apparently, he is waiting out to talk with management about a contract extension, as insider Pierre LeBrun reported last week.

“What they’ve agreed to is that he’s entering the final year of his deal, as we’ve just mentioned, time flies, his eight-year contract that he signed in July of 2013 expires at the end of the season at which point he’ll be a UFA. Claude Giroux, his agent Pat Brisson, and the Philadelphia Flyers mutually agreed at an off-season discussion that they would not look to extend right now, that they would all play out the year and see how they all feel, how the team feels, how he feels, the Flyers captain, before making those decisions.”

This prompted many rumours to surface about what decision Giroux could make, and one keeps coming up: he could be traded to finish his career elsewhere. In saying so, this got NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Al Morganti suggesting that the only place Giroux would be willingly go is Ottawa, where he resides in the off-season.

This is how Elliotte Friedman put it in his latest 32 Thoughts column on Sportsnet:

“Hall of Famer Al Morganti stirred up something last week when he suggested unsigned Flyer Claude Giroux would be happy to play in the Canadian capital. For what it’s worth, there were rumours about the two teams talking last summer, but I looked into it and got multiple denials. We will see what the future holds.”

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, general manager Pierre Dorion would consider a move if he can find somebody to help his roster. This also got folks talking as many trade rumours have surrounded Erik Brannstrom. He could be on the move, though we don’t know if the Flyers would be interested in getting him as part of a return for their captain. Friedman on Brannstrom:

“The next item of business for Ottawa is Erik Brannstrom. You can read the tea leaves, it will be tough for him to find a consistent spot. But the Senators do recognize his talent, and they will ask real value from teams calling about him.”

If Giroux has only Ottawa in mind as a trade destination, there is no doubt that he would help the Senators almost immediately. The Sens lack experience on depth and Giroux, who plays left wing or center, would provide an immediate upgrade up front, taking pressure off young players like Josh Norris and Shane Pinto.

We are not saying this potential move will happen soon. While the Senators carry a $69.6 million cap payroll this season, giving them plenty of space to absorb Giroux’s $8.25 million cap hit, per Cap Friendly, we can only assume Dorion would pursue such a big-ticket rental player closer to the trade deadline.

And there is no way the Flyers would part with their captain on the market at this early stage of the season.

We will have to keep an eye on this.