3 Free Agent Destinations For Claude Giroux
At the age of 38, the days of $8 million+ AAVs are long gone, but Claude Giroux proved this past season with his hometown Ottawa Senators that he's still the king of the face-off dot, and remains a solid third-line center and secondary scorer. He'll be looking to play in his 20th season next year.
As an unrestricted free agent, his value on the open market is thought to be around $2.5 million to $3 million. As insider Frank Seravalli said on his Frankly Hockey podcast, "On a super competitive team, you can't really do much better than him at the 3C... Is this the year that he says, 'Hey, I was in Philly for 1,000 games, I tried it in Florida for a playoff run, I then did Ottawa... But I actually wanna get my mitts on the Stanley Cup'.
"And if that's the case," adds Seravalli, "I don't know how you can make the argument right in the here and now that Ottawa is the place where he has the best chance to do that. So is this the year that he says 'I'm going for it'?"
If it is, Seravalli and co-host John Buccigross speculated on three top fits in free agency for Giroux to chase the Cup:
Washington Capitals
"I think they're due for a bounce-back year, I think they're going to be aggressive, they've got a lot of cap space. And they could use more of the scratch and claw that Claude Giroux has. I think they've got a perfect fit for him in their bottom six... And I think he instantly makes their team better," Seravalli said.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Another solid fit for Giroux, a team that came into the playoffs this year as a legitimate Cup contender. Buccigross says that "a guy like him is so well-respected," and he could bring some new blood to the Tampa bottom-six.
"Playing with a (Yanni) Gourde, that would be a fun little interesting line there. A little French Connection. That's (a potential destination) for sure."
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers brought Rick Tocchet back to Philly this season as head coach. Could they reach into their past once again to bring Giroux back? The team made some nice steps this season to be a playoff contender, reaching the second round. Why not bring back a team legend who can still contribute at a solid level in the bottom six? And perhaps help take the Flyers another step closer to the Finals?
He won't be posting any more 20-goal seasons there (he had eight in his 15 previous years with the Flyers), but, as Seravalli notes, GM Danny Briere could sell Giroux on the fact that, "'Hey, you're comfortable here, we have a team that needs some leadership, why not?'"
Giroux finished his 19th NHL season this year with 14 goals, 35 assists and 49 points in 82 games while leading the entire league in faceoff win percentage at 63.1%.
