Maple Leafs Reportedly Offered Claude Giroux The Most Money
Per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, the Maple Leafs offered Giroux the biggest contract of any team in free agency before the veteran forward re-signed with the Ottawa Senators.
"The Citizen also reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested, along with the Edmonton Oilers," Garrioch wrote. "The talk is that the Leafs offered Giroux the biggest contract, but Toronto isn't the type of market that fits the mould for the kind of player that he is."
Elliotte Friedman said the same on 32 Thoughts.
"Toronto was definitely in there, I think actually Toronto might've bid the most money," Friedman said.
The Deal He Took Instead
Giroux re-signed with Ottawa on a one-year contract worth $2 million with up to $3 million in potential performance bonuses.
Per Garrioch, the 38-year-old took his time with the decision because next season is expected to be the final one of his career, and he wanted the last chapter to happen at home.
OFFICIAL: Claude Giroux is sticking around in the Nation's Capital!
— PuckEmpire (@puckempire) July 7, 2026
It's a one-year deal at $2M base salary, and $3M in potential performance bonuses, per @PuckPedia. pic.twitter.com/ihYThr12jC
Giroux is from the Ottawa area and has spent the last four seasons with the Senators after 15 years in Philadelphia.
The Flyers were also in the mix, along with Edmonton and reportedly Montreal, but Ottawa won out in the end.
Why Toronto Wanted Him So Badly
Giroux played all 82 games last season, posting 14 goals and 35 assists for 49 points with a plus-20 rating on a Senators team that made the playoffs.
He also won 63.1 percent of his 799 faceoffs, elite production in the dot that Toronto has lacked.
The Maple Leafs finished 32-36-14 with 78 points and closed the year on a seven-game losing streak, and John Chayka has been aggressive all summer trying to reshape the roster, signing Brandon Duhaime, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Jack Roslovic while acquiring Darren Raddysh as well.
Giroux would have given Toronto a steady veteran presence and a faceoff answer for tight games.
The Bigger Picture
The Giroux loss lands in a familiar pattern for Toronto.
Mason Marchment went to San Jose, Boone Jenner signed in Washington, and Matias Maccelli found a deal elsewhere, leaving the Maple Leafs with a series of near misses on the forward group despite Chayka's activity.
Giroux stays in Ottawa for what is likely his final season.
