Photo Credit: Katelynn Reiss
It’s no secret to anyone who follows the Flyers on a regular basis, that Claude Giroux is a vital part to the teams overall success. When thinking of the Flyers best player of the decade there is no one even close to the player that Giroux was.
If you ask Giroux if he should be better, he will tell you he has to be better. Giroux wears his heart on his sleeve and always has been a team-first guy. Giroux is the longest tenured player on the Flyers, while tallying 238 goals, dished out 485 assists for a grand total of 708 points in 718 games played this past decade. What more does the Captain have to do to show people how good he is or has been this past decade?
“I think can make this team better. I want to win. I’m pretty pissed off at the position we’re in right now.”– Claude Giroux said at exit interviews
He just wants to win, and he wants to do it with Philadelphia. Giroux is as classy as they come in the locker room, and he commands a presence inside that locker room. When he talks people listen, and he finished this season tied for the most points on the team. Giroux is not happy with how the season went, nor should he be.
“It’s not just defense,” Giroux said at exit interviews. “Your best defense is sometimes your offense. When you’re playing in the o-zone, you don’t have to defend. It’s not just one part of the ice, it’s the whole ice, the whole team, and there’s five guys out there on the ice. We have to do a better job of supporting each other. I think we weren’t happy with the way we’re playing. And I feel like when one bad thing happened on the ice, a second one would follow and then a third one. So when that happens, frustration happens. And sometimes you get off your game. And it’s good to stay calm sometimes. So frustration was a big part of our game this year.”
Some people refuse to give Giroux credit for making players around him better!!! Let’s see he makes Jakub Voracek a better player when he plays with him, Sean Couturier succeeds, Travis Konecny is better, shoot even Scott Hartnell killed it with him, and Jaromir Jagr had a great season with Giroux. Quite frankly Giroux had a great season with Jagr, as well, as Giroux posted his second best statistical season with 93 points in 2011-12. The fact is no matter who plays with Giroux players seem to always succeed, hence the reason some struggling players have been moved up to play with him (Voracek for instance multiple times).
“Well, I think we showed it last year that we can compete with any team,” Giroux said at exit interviews. “For me, we have a lot of things to work on, as for sure. But like we’re we have a young team with a lot of talent that when it starts clicking, I think we’re gonna be dangerous.”
It’s crazy to find out that Giroux has issued 686 hits this past decade. He really has tried everything just to win a hockey game. Some say when he wins a Cup, then he will get the respect he deserves. What a darn shame that is. This guy deserves respect now, and there hasn’t been a Flyers player even close to how good he has been this past decade. Whatever the case may be Giroux just wants to win, so let’s hope they write the ship this coming season.
“Oh, we definitely talk about pretty much everything,” Giroux said of Chuck Fletcher. “I say my opinions, I try to be honest about what I think can make this team better. I want to win. So we’re going to talk about it. I’ll see what he has to say. I’ll say a few things and we’ll see.”
He says the same shit every year – and yet disappears for weeks at a time during the season.
Saying your pissed and doing something about it are two different things.
This team has not had true leadership since Chris Pronger. They will continue to flounder until they find a true team player that actually cares…not guys like this, that only provide lip service and tell you how hard they are gonna work to get better, but never do.
Maybe the team should try putting better players around him. This fan base thinks it’s a one man show
Not sure how you can blame Giroux for the teams” lack of success. If you’re basing it off Cups then look at what Clarke had for linemates. The LCB line. Lindros had The Legion. Who has Giroux had? Where’s his sniper, goal scoring extraordinaire been? Yet he is among the franchise’s ALL TIME LEADERS!!! Let me guess you have been a Flyers fan for 5 whole years.
Giroux becomes Captain Invisible when it matters the most. Awful “leader” and an even worse captain.
It’s no wonder why Pronger told him he sucked right to his face, among other things.
He’s pissed off……but when he had the chance to actually do something about it during the season, he became a ghost and disappeared.
The sooner we get rid of this loser the better off we’ll be.