Claude Giroux, 1,000 Games Later

Photo Credit: NHLTradeRumor.com

“It was very special to practice with the Flyers,” were the first words echoed by the 20-year-old rookie with a heavy French accent and some broken English. The rookie, Claude Giroux, was excited to play in his first NHL game with the Philadelphia Flyers. That day was 5,141 days ago. Young Giroux felt that he needed to prove that he could play with the Flyers in a few years’ time. Giroux only played two NHL games during the 2007-08 season and wore number 56 on the back of his sweater. For the kid who wanted to prove that he could play with the men in the future, February 18, 2008, was the start of a special run. 

In the 2008-09 NHL season, Giroux, or “G” as he began to be called, earned more playing time with the big club. He got 42 NHL games that season and registered 27 points on nine goals and 18 assists. He was a big part of the team’s second powerplay unit after being called up, and also became a weapon on the penalty kill. Giroux had mainly been playing as a third-line center but could also fill in on the wing in the top six when he was needed. 

During that 08-09 season; however, Giroux failed to make the team out of camp and was sent to begin the season in the AHL. He had a decent start to the year but needed to learn more about becoming a pro and adjusting to life in the NHL. The Flyers’ head coach at the time, John Stevens, after a preseason game said “I think Claude has done just okay, to be honest with you. I think there was a lot of pressure on this kid coming in.” There certainly was pressure on Giroux, the Flyers had been searching for their next Bobby Clarke or Eric Lindros for years. The expectations for Giroux to be a superstar as a rookie were a bit unrealistic. 

After beginning the season on a solid note, Giroux really caught fire in December of 2008. He earned Rookie of the Month for December after posting 14 points in eight games. He was recalled by Philadelphia over the Christmas break and when play resumed, Giroux registered his first NHL point on an assist on a Jeff Carter goal. The Flyers ended up making the playoffs in the 08-09 season but were eliminated in the first round in six games. Giroux had a solid series for a rookie with two goals and three assists in those six games. During that season, he had done enough to earn a permanent role on the 2009-2010 Flyers’ roster, which was also a special roster. 

In the 2009-10 season, Giroux cemented his status as a roster player and finally did not have to worry about being sent down anymore. He finished the year with a nice 46 points on 16 goals and 31 assists while playing a few more minutes every night. Giroux also put up big numbers on the powerplay with eight goals and 13 assists on the man advantage. The Flyers as a team were stocked with talent. The roster had names like Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Brayden Coburn, Scott Hartnell, Chris Pronger, Símon Gagne, Mike Richards, and Jeff Carter. The roster was ready to win and with contributions from young players like Giroux and the guidance of veterans like Coburn, Richards, and Gagne, the Flyers were poised for a deep playoff run. 

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The season was a roller coaster with the Flyers being on the edge on the playoffs the entire season. It came down to the final game between the Flyers and division rival New York Rangers for the final playoff spot. Both teams needed two points to get into the tournament. The game finished regulation tied and the game went into overtime. Each team received one point for the overtime game. Overtime had come and gone and the game was still tied. The final game of the season, the game each team needed to win to make the playoffs, came down to a shootout. If there was ever a time for the Flyers to win a shootout, it was now. Danny Briere shot first. Briere scored at over 40% of his shootout attempts in his career and was 1/5 heading into the game. Briere deked Rangers’ goalie, Henrik Lundqvist and elevated the puck over him. The Flyers had taken a 1-0 lead in the shootout before the Rangers had even taken a shot. Erik Christensen would shoot for the Rangers. His career numbers in the shootout were 18/34 (53%), which was extremely high. Christensen picked up the puck from the red line and skated in on the Flyers’ goalie, Brian Boucher. Boucher stayed with Christensen the whole way and stopped his wrist shot with his blocker. The Flyers’ next shooter was their captain, Mike Richards. Richards was a 30% shooter and moved down the ice toward Lundqvist. He tried to shoot to Lundqvist’s stick side but the big goalie was able to fend it off and keep it at 1-0 Flyers in the shootout. New York’s next shooter was PA Parenteau. Parenteau had never missed in his career in a shootout as he had converted on both his attempts. This time was no different as he beat Boucher and the game was tied again, 1-1. Up next for Philadelphia was Claude Giroux. Giroux was 2/7 for his career at the time and Jim Jackson, the voice of the Flyers, let everyone know that Giroux had a “wide assortment of dazzling moves.” Giroux skated in toward Lundqvist and looked high glove. Nothing there. His next thought was low blocker. Still nothing. Feeling panicked, Giroux looked 5-hole and saw a little room. He ripped a shot off that Lundqvist was unable to get to and had put his team up 2-1 in the shootout. Giroux let out a yell and fist pump after seeing his shot find the next, realizing the Flyers were one save away from the playoffs. The final shooter in the skills competition was the Rangers’ Olli Jokinen. Jokinen started from deep in his own zone near his own goal line and had the puck on his stick with blazing speed. He came down the ice in seconds and tried to deke Boucher but Boucher was better. Jokinen was unable to slide the puck past the Flyers’ goaltender. When the team on the bench saw Boucher’s reaction, they all lept onto the ice to crowd around their goalie. The Flyers had made the playoffs as the seventh seed in the playoffs as they held the regulation wins tiebreaker over the Canadiens 41-38.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers saw the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers ended up beating the favored Devils in five games to move on to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Giroux had a goal and an assist in game two, a goal in game three, and two goals and another assist in game five. Altogether, he put up four goals and two assists for six points in the five games. This high scoring throughout the series would be a common theme for Giroux. The most electric part of the series was the Dan Carcillo overtime winner in game three. This gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the series and also gave them the confidence they needed to beat one of the best goalies of all-time in the playoffs. During the celebration of the goal, Carcillo looks like he turns to Giroux, then at the last second, he turns away to another player. Giroux went flying into Carcillo, literally bodyslamming him down to the ice. All of the Flyers jumped on top of the dogpile that was formed. 

After upsetting the Devils, the Flyers moved on to face the Boston Bruins. The Bruins, led by their captain Zdeno Chara, were a perennial playoff power and always hard to play against. The Flyers found themselves down three games to none in the blink of an eye and were on the doorstep of elimination. All the work they had put in that season would be gone unless they could find a way to get themselves back even in the series. The first two games were each decided by only one goal. Game one was won by Boston in overtime in which Giroux had no points. Game two was a 3-2 loss also in Boston, Giroux again had no points. In game three, Giroux posted an assist on an Aaron Asham goal, but the Flyers lost 4-1 at home. Staring at elimination, the Flyers went into game four with a new sense of urgency. The game was tied at four in overtime when Matt Carle found Símon Gagne for a redirection goal which gave Philly its first win of the series. Giroux had a goal and an assist in game four. The Flyers went back into Boston and shutout the Bruins 4-0 in front of Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher. Boucher went down with an injury during the game and backup goalie Michael Leighton stepped in and preserved the shutout, and the series was now 3-2. Philly had all the momentum and could not be stopped. Giroux did not appear on the scoresheet during game five. In game six, Giroux assisted on the game-winning goal, which was scored by Danny Briere during the second period. The Flyers were rolling into game seven and felt unbeatable. They were also going to have to beat Boston, in Boston, in game seven. Things got a little out of control quickly. 

Michael Ryder put Boston up 1-0 early in the game on the powerplay. Zdeno Chara’s one-timer from the point got through traffic and hit Leighton. The save produced a rebound which went right to Ryder who slid it home for a 1-0 Boston lead 5:27 into the game. 

After Ryder’s goal, Milan Lucic made it 2-0 Boston on the powerplay again. Giroux was on the ice for the Lucic goal. He and Mike Richards were the forward pair on the penalty kill. Lucic came down the ice and snuk in right behind Claude Giroux while Dennis Wideman circled around behind the net. While circling, Wideman found Lucic crashing the net, centered it, and Lucic one-timed it past Leighton for a 2-0 lead with 10:58 remaining in the first period. 

Boston, already up 2-0, stayed on the attack and kept looking for more. When the Flyers had the puck in their offensive zone, an errant pass by Darroll Powe and a bad pinch by Kimmo Timonen led to a 2-on-1 for the Bruins the other way. Lucic walked in and sniped it right by Leighton and Boston now held a 3-0 lead. With the season slipping away in a 14-minute span, and unable to pull his goalie, Flyers’ head coach Peter Laviolette called a timeout. Among other things he told his team, he emphasized the fact that they needed to get just one goal. The team’s composure was gone, TD Garden was rocking, and the Flyers needed someone to step up and net a goal. 

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That honor would go to James van Riemsdyk. JvR, playing in his first career postseason, found the puck on his stick near the net, made a move to get himself space, and the shot hit a broken stick and trickled by Tuukka Rask. The Flyers had their goal and went into the intermission down 3-1. Giroux had the primary and only assist on JvR’s goal. 

In an interview years later, Danny Briere revealed that he was near tears on the bench because he felt he cost his team the game after taking another penalty. Briere also said he had an absolute meltdown in the box. The referee had to come over during a stoppage in play and calm him down. That’s when the re-focus began and he and the Flyers could settle in knowing they had a lot of work to do. 

In the same interview, Briere said that no one said a word during the intermission break. “We were all furious as a team.” The mood in the locker room definitely served the Flyers well as they went out and tied the game in the second period. Scott Hartnell brought the Flyers within one just about three minutes into the period. Then, Danny Briere scored on a wrap-around that got a bounce off the Bruins’ defender and into their net. The game was 3-3. The Flyers, after falling behind in the series were back even at three, and after falling behind in game seven, were again back even at three. 

The mood had completely changed in the locker room during the second intermission. Briere said in the interview that “they knew it was coming,” talking about the Bruins’ lack of confidence after the van Riemsdyk goal. When the Flyers tied the game, “it” had arrived. There was no way the Flyers were going to lose the game after coming back again. The scene inside the locker room was like a party. They just needed that one goal again. 

This time, it was Gagne. The Bruins took a too many men on the ice penalty with under ten minutes left in the game and Gagne found the puck on his stick and elevated it over Rask to give the Flyers their first lead of the game. It was 4-3 and the arena was absolutely silent. Back in Philly, the opposite could be said. Fans were beginning to pour out into the streets, which is usually reserved for a championship win, but this time was excused. When the final horn sounded after Claude Giroux cleared the puck out of his zone, it felt amazing for all Flyers’ fans everywhere. The boys were moving on to face the eight-seed Montreal Canadiens in the East Final. It would be a matchup up the seventh seed versus the eighth seed for the first time in NHL playoff history. Giroux had a relatively quiet series, compared to the rest of these playoffs, stats-wise, but still found a way to have a big impact on the outcome.

Since the Flyers were the better team, they would have home-ice advantage for the first time in the 2010 playoffs. The Canadiens had also won their series in seven games. They dispatched the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Flyers lit up the Canadiens in game one, winning 6-0. Giroux had a goal and an assist in the game. The Flyers also shutout the Habs in game two, 3-0. Giroux notched another assist in the game. The series was going to Montreal and the Flyers hadn’t allowed a goal in eight straight periods. In game three, Montreal flexed its muscle and handled the Flyers easily winning 5-1. Gagne had the only Flyers’ goal and Giroux was not on the scoresheet. Game four was another Flyers’ shutout, again a 3-0 win. Giroux tallied two goals in the game, and the Flyers were one win away from heading to the Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers went into game five having only allowed the Canadiens to score in one game in the series. They allowed five goals in game three but shutout the Habs in games one, two, and four. That was an incredible defensive effort. The Flyers won game five 4-2, Giroux notched an assist, and the Flyers were on their way to the final where they would meet the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago had swept the San Jose Sharks 4-0 in the Western Conference Final and rolled into the final with lots of momentum. 

Game one was a back and forth loss for the Flyers. The final score was 6-5, and the defense that was so good in the Montreal series was nowhere to be found. Game two was a defensive battle but also won by Chicago, 2-1. Game three was to be played in Philly, in front of the craziest but best fans in the world. Every athlete says their fans are the best, but no one matches Philadelphia fans. They are truly in a class of their own. 

Game three went into overtime, tied at three. After a neutral zone faceoff, the Flyers gained possession of the puck. For some reason, the Blackhawks’ forwards decided to go for a line change, opening up the chance for a rush. Briere held the puck and entered the zone. He found defenseman Matt Carle across the ice opening up for a one-timer attempt and dished him the puck. Giroux, reading the play the whole way, cut toward the net for a potential rebound or redirection. Carle slid the puck to Giroux who was literally by himself at the front of the net. Giroux lifted his leg and redirected the puck in behind Antti Niemi for the game-winner in overtime. The Flyers had made the series 2-1, and Giroux had his first career Stanley Cup Finals goal. To go along with the goal, he also had two assists for a three-point game in game three. 

The Flyers would also win game four by a score of 5-3. Giroux tallied another goal in the game. Unfortunately for Giroux and the Flyers, Chicago would win games five and six and the series, ending the Flyers’ dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup. 

The 2010 playoffs put Giroux on the map as a budding star in the NHL. During the 2011 summer, the Flyers traded their captain, Mike Richards, to the LA Kings, and their best goal scorer, Jeff Carter, to the Columbus Blue Jackets. These moves opened the door for Giroux to have much more ice time, more powerplay time, and be a part of the Flyers’ leadership group. Giroux was given an “A” on his sweater and it was not much longer until that “A” became a “C.”

In the 2010-11 regular season, with a much bigger role, Giroux broke out for 76 points. He scored 25 goals and added 51 apples while playing in all 82 games for the second year in a row. Giroux had now become a real star in the league, at the age of 23. Fans were excited to see what would become of this young star in the future and marveled at his skill on the ice while enjoying his fun personality off the ice. 

In the 2011-12 season, the world took notice that Giroux was quickly becoming one of the best players in the game. His 93 points were good enough for third in the NHL, and had he played all 82 games in the season, he likely would have scored over 100 points. Giroux was not named a finalist for the league MVP, but he met the player that won it in the playoffs. As amazing as his regular season was, Giroux’s best performance again came in the playoffs. The Flyers faced off against the hated Penguins in the first round. Sidney Crosby and Giroux had formed a rivalry on the ice that was unlike any other in the NHL at the time. It made for one hell of a playoff series. 

Game one was played in Pittsburgh where the Flyers fell behind 3-0 after the first period. It looked like they would run off the ice by their archrivals. Instead, they clawed their back into the game and found a way to win it 4-3 in overtime with Jakub Voracek scoring the game-winner. Giroux played 20:37 and finished with 2 PIMS. He was not done collecting PIMS, in fact, he was just getting started. 

Game two was the best game of Giroux’s career, production-wise. He finished the game with six points on a hat-trick and three assists. He and rookie center, Sean Couturier, were the first pair of teammates to score hat-tricks in the same game in the playoffs. Giroux finished the game with 22:30 TOI, ten shots, a powerplay goal, and a shorthanded goal. Giroux was driving play and had become a monster on the ice. He was an absolute force to deal with. No one could stop him. 

Game three was the first game of the series played in Philadelphia. If someone said the fans were loud, that would be a lie. The building was shaking during the entire game. The Penguins took an early lead on a Jordan Staal goal that somehow got past Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers soon after found themselves on the penalty kill. Instead of leaning back and playing defensive hockey, the duo of Giroux and former Penguin Max Talbot created a goal out of nothing. Giroux threw a puck on net that Marc-Andre Fleury just couldn’t handle. Talbot flipped the puck back into the crease area the Fleury tried to cover. He ended up knocking the puck back into his own net and the game was tied at one apiece. What followed the goal was more entertaining than the goal itself. Matt Niskanen (Flyers’ legend, not really) cross checked Talbot from behind which sparked a line brawl between the two teams. Giroux was given a roughing penalty and Niskanen was given two minor penalties, one for roughing and one for cross checking. The Flyers ended up having a 5 on 3 powerplay after Kris Letang took a cross checking penalty out of frustration. On the powerplay,  Danny Briere fired a shot into an empty net to make the game 2-1, Philly. Briere struck again with just under eight and half minutes left in the first period on a 3 on 2 rush by the Flyers. Shortly after that goal, the Penguins bench called a timeout to slow the game down and find their composure. That did not happen. After a save by Bryzgalov, a line brawl erupted again which featured Giroux and Crosby fighting each other, Kimmo Timonen and Kris Letang fighting each other, and more minor penalties being given out. Timonen and Letang were each ejected. Crosby and Giroux were both given fighting majors. Voracek was given a minor penalty for slashing, and Steve Sullivan was given a minor for roughing. The game featured more penalties, fights, and plenty more goals. The final score was 8-4, Philadelphia. Giroux finished with a goal, an assist, seven PIMS, and 16:52 TOI. These numbers also reveal a “Gordie Howe hat trick.”

Games four and five were both Penguins’ wins. Giroux had a goal and another assist in the 10-3 loss in game four. He also added two more PIMS, bringing his series total to 11 in four games. In the 3-2 loss in game five, Giroux notched an assist on a powerplay goal by Scott Hartnell. He now had 11 points in five games in the series. 

Now we arrive at game six. Remember earlier when I said it wouldn’t take long for the “A” on Giroux’s sweater to become a “C?” Yeah, it happened about five seconds into game six. Literally five seconds. Immediately after the opening faceoff, Giroux laid out Crosby on an open-ice hit. The building erupted with cheers. About 25 seconds later, Giroux picked up a failed clearing attempt and made a little move to skate right and shoot left. The shot whistled by Fluery and if the building was loud earlier, it was booming now. The Flyers had a 1-0 lead thanks to the best player in the world, as Peter Laviolette would call him. Giroux added an assist later in the period on the powerplay and another one as the second period was beginning. The game was a 5-1 win for the Flyers, Giroux had three points in the win, bringing his playoff total to 14 in six games. The team was now firmly in Giroux’s hands and it became clear after he rocked Crosby and sniped home a goal in 32 seconds that he was going to be here for a long time. 

The Flyers would lose their next series to the Devils but Giroux finished the playoffs with 17 points in 10 games. He also racked up 13 PIMS as well. The Flyers’ captain at the time, Chris Pronger had been forced into retirement because of a head injury. The Flyers needed a captain and had plenty of great options. Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, or Scott Hartnell would have been a logical choice, but the Flyers already knew who their guy who. Giroux was anointed captain on January 15, 2013. Giroux was the 19th captain in Flyers’ franchise history and he still holds that honor to this day. 

Giroux’s 2012-13 season last only 48 games because of the NHL lockout. He still scored a point-per-game 13 goals and 35 assists. The Flyers failed to make the playoffs in Giroux’s first year as captain, but the young star was not so young anymore. Giroux was now 25 years old and looked at as one of the best players in the game. Following the end of the season, Giroux was signed to an eight year contract extension that payed him over $8m annually. The Flyers had locked up their superstar signed him through the 2021-22 season. It was a very special moment for Giroux who had set Flyers’ records during the prior season. He scored the most points in a season at 93 since 1998-99 when Eric Lindros also had 93. Giroux was the fourth Flyer at the time to have back-to-back seasons of over 50 assists. The three others were Bobby Clarke, Brian Propp, and Mark Recchi. Giroux’s 14 points in the first round against the Penguins were the second-most in a single playoff round in Flyers’ history behind Tim Kerr’s 15 in 1989. 

The 2013-14 season was another good one for the captain. He scored at over a point-per-game pace with 86 points, tying his career-high in goals with 28. He also put up 58 assists. The Flyers wound up making the playoffs and pushed the Rangers to seven games before being eliminated. The Rangers wound up making the Stanley Cup Final where Alec Martinez of the Kings scored in overtime to give LA their second championship in three years. 

The 2014-15 year was the first year Giroux failed to score at point-per-game average since his second full year in the league, 2010-11. He still had a great year, 25 goals and 48 assists for 73 points. He was an absolute monster on the powerplay, scoring 14 powerplay goals. He had only 11 at even strength. The Flyers failed to make the playoffs that season, continuing a trend of making then miss the playoffs in back-to-back years which drove fans insane. The reason was not that Giroux couldn’t lead them there. He was doing his part, and then some. The Flyers’ front office decided to throw money at unrestricted free agents that were declining due to their age. With a bad cap situation and an old roster, the Flyers were in trouble. 

The 2015-16 season featured a losing streak of 10 games, a coaching change, and a new rookie by the name of Shayne Gostisbehere. When the Flyers’ top defenseman Mark Streit went down with an injury, the team called up “Ghost” to take his place. Ghost infused life into the team and city with his wicked shot from the point, powerplay ability, and playmaking decisions. Fans fell in love with the team as Giroux and Ghost powered the Flyers to the playoffs where they would face off against the greatest goal-scorer of all time in Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. The Flyers fell behind 3-0 in the series immediately. They won the next two games, then the Capitals finally put it away in game six. Giroux had finished the series with only one point. It was a far cry from what Flyers’ fans had grown used to expecting from Giroux in the playoffs. The Flyers’ owner, Mr. Ed Snider had also passed away during the playoff series. This only made the road to overcoming 3-0 again even more difficult. Giroux did have another strong regular season, though. He finished the season with 67 points on 22 goals and 45 assists. Sure, the numbers took a small dip, but it was not extremely concerning. Giroux was still a star. It was later revealed that Giroux needed hip surgery and spent the summer rehabbing from it. 

The 2016-17 season was the worst of Giroux’s career. He finished the season with only 58 points and 14 goals. He was a -15 and shot the lowest shooting percentage of his career at 7.04%. The team had missed the playoffs and it looked like their captain was beginning to show signs of rapid decline. The hip injury sustained the year earlier did not help Giroux as he needed to rehab the entire summer which meant he could not really do much training. The Flyers were in another really bad spot. 

With people believing he might be on his way out after three seasons of failing to produce at a point-per-game clip, and his most recent season being the worst in his career. The 2017-18 season was going to be a big one for the team. The Flyers found themselves with the second overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft and selected 18-year-old center, Nolan Patrick. Patrick was a skilled power forward who relied on his net-front presence and passing ability to create offense. With the evolution of young players like Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov, mixed with veterans Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and Giroux, the Flyers had a middle-of-the-road roster but needed goaltending help. Before the Trade Deadline, the Flyers traded for Red Wings’ goalie Petr Mrazek. Mrazek was more of a patchwork solution that the Flyers had hoped could come in and get hot for the rest of the season. Giroux meanwhile, had bounced back in an incredible way. He finished the season with 102 points on 34 goals and 68 assists. He finished the season second only to Connor McDavid in scoring. He was not even named a Hart Trophy finalist after many thought that he should have won the award as the NHL’s MVP. The 2017-18 was the best season of Giroux’s career. He set new career highs in goals, assists, points, shooting percentage, and faceoff win percentage. The Flyers had made it into the playoffs on the last day of the season when they shutout the Rangers 5-0. The game started with Giroux at 99 points. The Flyers needed one point to get in the playoffs, and Giroux needed one point to eclipse 100 for the first time in his career. Giroux netted a hat-trick in the game, the first of his career, and the Flyers got their point. They got a bad draw as they faced the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. To make matters worse, breakout star Sean Couturier missed part of the series with a torn MCL suffered during practice. Going against a stacked team without one of their best players, the Flyers were bounced from the playoffs again. Eliminated. Done in the first round again. 

The following 2018-19 season was supposed to be a big step forward for the Flyers, but it wasn’t. The Flyers missed the playoffs again, but not because of Giroux. He was back at his point-per-game scoring average, finishing the season with 22 goals and 65 assists. He had led the team in scoring yet again and it was becoming more and more clear that he would go down among the franchise’s greatest players. 

Then came the 2019-20 season. The Flyers had a new head coach, a big summer addition in Kevin Hayes, and hope for a playoff appearance. The team began the season in the Czech Republic with a win over the Blackhawks. They started the season out pretty well and were in decent shape in December. December 13, 2019, was when the season took a scary turn. Oskar Lindblom, the team’s leading goal-scorer at the time, and only 23 years old had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and was expected to miss the rest of the season. The team tried to rally around Oskar, but had a bad road trip out on the West coast and came back home with almost no energy and no fight. When all signs were looking down, Lindblom became a source of strength for the Flyers. His fight became the team’s fight. The Flyers went on an incredible run and by the time the Trade Deadline had arrived, management went out and acquired Nate Thompson and Derek Grant to shore up the bottom six of the lineup. The team was surging up the standings and had become the fourth-best team in the East. With the Flyers playing their best hockey at the right time of the year, they flew down to Tampa for a big test on the road. That test never came. The regular season was cut short and the Flyers had played their last game of the season. The coronavirus pandemic shut everything down in March 2020.

The season finally resumed in Toronto later in the summer. The Flyers had won the round-robin tournament between them, the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and Tampa Bay Lightning. They had earned the number one seed in the East and were considered the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. They took care of business in the first round against the Montreal Canadiens. Young goalie Carter Hart went off against his idol, Carey Price, and the Flyers won the series 4-2. They again found themselves with a bad draw as they faced the New York Islanders in the second round of the playoffs. The Flyers went down 3-1 in the series with their only win coming on a Phil Myers shot from the point that got deflected by Anders Lee for the overtime win in game two. Games five and six both went into overtime as well and the Flyers won them both. Game five was a deflection goal by Scott Laughton and game six was a point shot by Ivan Provorov. Game six also featured the return of Oskar Lindblom. Lindblom had won his battle with cancer and although it was thought he would not play in the tournament, he shocked the entire hockey world by being out on the ice for game six. Game seven was a shutout win for the Islanders who would go on to lose in the East final to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Giroux had 53 points at the time of the shutdown on 21 goals and 32 assists. He added another eight points during the playoffs. 

With the Flyers coming off a strong season in 2019-20, the hope was to build on it during the shortened 2021 season. Everything that could have gone wrong in 2021, went wrong. Injuries hit the team in a big way, young players regressed, and the Flyers played in a new temporary division that featured some of the best teams in the NHL. The team faltered and failed to make the playoffs, with some big changes coming in the offseason. 

In the summer of 2021, the team traded away Jake Voracek, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Nolan Patrick, Phil Myers, and multiple draft picks. They brought in Cam Atkinson, Rasmus Ristoleinen, Ryan Ellis, and Martin Jones. They had hoped changing youth for playoff experience would pay off in a big way. Ultimately, we all know that it did not, which brings us to this season.

The Flyers started this season strong and it looked like they might be back in the playoffs again. Nothing could be farther from the truth as the team now sits in the bottom five in the league with a new interim coach, and a lineup that consists of a lot of AHL caliber players. Here we sit, just days from the deadline, and the question on everyone’s mind is: Will Claude Giroux be traded? The answer will be known soon as the belief is that he would like to be moved to a team that can make the playoffs and make a run for the Stanley Cup. 

Last night marked Claude Giroux’s 1,000th game. He has played all 1,000 games of his career with Philadelphia, the organization that drafted him 22nd overall back in 2006. The ceremony was beautiful with Giroux’s family being present for it. His wife, Ryann, and sons Gavin and Palmer were all on the ice to receive their gifts from the Flyers. His extended family was in the arena as well. It was a touching tribute to the second-best player in franchise history, and perhaps a thank you for everything you have done. The Flyers have one more home game on Sunday before the Trade Deadline on Monday, which could potentially be his last game in a Flyers’ uniform. If this is indeed it for Giroux, he will go down as the second-best Flyer ever, behind only Bobby Clarke. The number 28 will never be worn again after he leaves town. Many think he is a Hall of Fame player. The only thing that could convince the entire world that Claude Giroux should be enshrined in the Hall of Fame is winning a Stanley Cup. Hopefully, he gets that chance this year.

The Flyers have wronged G for so many years. They surrounded him with Chris VandeVelde and Jori Lehtera and asked him to lead those teams to the playoffs. They gave him hurdle after hurdle and in the end, the front office could finally do right by him and send him to a contender. So, as we really transition into a completely new era of Flyers’ hockey, we should look back fondly and remember how special it is to have a player, leader, man, and captain like Claude Giroux.