Rumor: Claude Giroux expected to sign with Canadian team this offseason

Trade rumors swirled around former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux all season, but right from the get go it was clear that he was only willing to go to one destination: the sunny beaches of southern Florida. To no one's surprise, Giroux accepted a trade to the Florida Panthers and is now a big part of the team's push for a Stanley Cup run.

But... Giroux is also a pending unrestricted free agent and there's no guarantee he'll remain with the Panthers. Some have even suggested that Giroux could return to Philly to resume his role as the Flyers' captain. But former NHLer turned analyst Kimmo Timmonen, a former teammate of Giroux's, maintains that Giroux will sign with his hometown Ottawa Senators.

From Timmonen's podcast (translated from Finnish):

He’s from Ottawa, his wife is too, and they go to Ottawa every summer for a few months, so I’m not ruling out the possibility, that if Florida doesn’t work out, he’ll sign a two, three year deal with Ottawa and kind of settle there for the rest of his career. That’s probably the other possibility.

He’s 34, has two kids, wife is from Ottawa, he likes it there… I see it being an option for Claude after this season, no matter what happens with Florida, that he’ll retire at home, in Ottawa, where all his friends and family are. I think, at that age, family is the priority. But Auston Matthews… Him being 27 [at that point] and Arizona being where they are right now, I just don’t see it happening, no matter where his home is.

- Kimmo Timmonen

I'll be honest... the only way I see Giroux signing with the Sens is if he wins a Cup with the Panthers this summer. I mean, if he signs with the Sens he's pretty much guaranteeing that he'll never get another shot at a Cup. Crazier things have happened, of course, and the Sens probably have a better shot than the Flyers do... but I don't think too many oddsmakers will have the Sens as a Cup contender for at least 3-5 more seasons. Stay tuned.