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If he deems it time to drop his full no-movement clause to part ways from the franchise that drafted him some 16 years ago, other teams like the Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and the Boston Bruins have been rumored to be showing interest in Claude Giroux. With each passing day it is becoming increasingly apparent that the best choice of trade partners/landing spot- for both the Flyers and Giroux himself- is the Colorado Avalanche, and why not? The Avalanche are currently the top team in the entire NHL right now with 72 points to their credit this season and are thus heavy favorites to not only take home the President’s Trophy (awarded to the team that finishes with regular season with the best record) but the Stanley Cup as well. While the Flyers’ 34-year-old captain is surely weighing his options time and time again as his team continues on their losing ways despite his own strong efforts every single night, he should rest assured that no fan, journalist, or teammate of his would ever question his loyalty or allegiance to this franchise if he did in fact decide to choose to go chase a Stanley Cup with another club this spring.
As most would agree, the Colorado Avalanche and their General Manager (former captain) Joe Sakic have been building something pretty special in the Mile High City for some time now. Not only do they currently possess possibly the best line in hockey with their captain Gabriel Landeskog playing left wing, Nathan Mackinnon at center and Mikko Rantanen on the right side; they, like few teams are able to do, drafted each and everyone of them. They also drafted defenseman Cale Makar as well, who at just 23-years-old is arguably the best defenseman in the game today.
But besides just being able to draft, Joe Sakic has shown that he can in fact wheel and deal as well. In an effort to keep the best team possible out on the ice (and under the cap), over the years Sakic has had to part ways with some players that a struggling team like the Flyers would covet and overpay: Names like defensemen Ryan Graves, Ian Cole, Nikita Zadorov, and Tyson Barrie. But to his credit (and potentially the Flyers benefit) Sakic has been known to deal not only high end picks but prospects too in order to acquire players like star defenseman Devon Toews, and forwards Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky in order to better his current roster. With that being said, while Joe seems to benefit from borrowing Ariana Grande’s “I want it, I got it” attitude from her multi-platinum selling single “7 Rings,” his franchise still only has the two Stanley Cup banners that he, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy helped put in the rafters of the Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center). So, with all their star players now inked to huge deals and key contributors like Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin, plus both of their goaltenders now being impending free agents, Sakic has let it be known recently that he is going to be acting with the attitude of Championship or bust this season. This means he is more than willing to give up whatever it takes to acquire the players he deems necessary in order to achieve that goal. To prove this, Colorado has already been linked to the highly decorated goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the Flyers’ Claude Giroux with the mindset that, despite Kadri’s recent All-Star appearance, there’s simply no way that he can keep up this 120 point pace given the fact that over his now-13 year career he has never eclipsed more than 61 points in any given season. Sakic knows that Giroux would not only give them reassurance down the middle, but some much needed veteran leadership throughout the playoffs as well as another weapon to add to their arsenal on the power play.
But what could Philadelphia obtain from Colorado in return? The Avalanche do not have a first-round pick this year because they gave it away to the Coyotes when they traded for their current number one goaltender Darcy Kuemper. They also do not have a second-round pick this summer because they used it, along with their second-round pick from last year, in order to acquire their now-first pairing defenseman Devon Toews from the New York Islanders. So, in order to pull off such a trade, the Avalanche might have to be willing to give up a player from their current roster and/or multiple prospects in order to acquire Giroux.
The first player/prospect in most Flyers’ fans minds might be defenseman Bowen Byram who the Av’s took with their first-round pick (fourth overall) back in 2019. But as exceptional as this 20-year-old defenseman may look with him scoring five goals and six assists for 11 points in just 18 games played this year. the Flyers should shy away from him: Byram, like the Flyers’ former 2017 first-round pick Nolan Patrick, is currently out with (and has a history of) concussion symptoms that date back to his time playing Canadian Junior Hockey for the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Instead, the Flyers should look to acquire a few of the following prospects in a package deal.
Alex Newhook
A 21-year-old center who was drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Avalanche. He is an offensively-driven player that is known to have a high end motor. Like a good player does, Newhook’s feet never stop moving- which when paired with his explosive speed helps him to get into scoring position quickly. A true competitor, Alex is known to want the puck on his stick when it counts, only the catch is it’s never on there for too long seeing that Newhook possesses a powerfully quick release and that he has no qualms about firing the puck. Newhook is currently playing up in the NHL on the Avalanche’s third line where this season he has managed to score 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in 36 games played. If acquired in a trade for Giroux, Newhook would be able to be inserted immediately into the Flyers’ starting lineup where his speed and willingness to shoot the puck would be a great addition for years to come.
Tyson Jost
A 23-year-old center who was drafted 10th overall back in 2016 by the Avalanche. Currently centering Colorado’s fourth line, to-date Jost has not quite lived up to his draft stock. In juniors he scored 104 playing for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League back in the 2015-2016 season. He followed that same year by leading Team Canada in all statistical categories at the World Junior Championships in the U-18 division scoring six goals and nine assists for 15 points in just seven games played. Since turning pro it hasn’t come that easy for Jost: Although at times he can still show glimpses of that scoring touch he had back in juniors, in parts of six seasons with the Avalanche he has yet to really break out like the team would have hoped he would by now. Through 46 games played, his totals so far this season are as follows: Jost has scored five goals and eight assists for 13 points on the year. If obtained in a trade for Claude the Flyers would be hoping that a change in venue could turn his still-young career around and lead to the reemergence of the offensive threat he once was.
Justin Barron
Is perhaps the one player who the Flyers could use most out of any of the ones listed in this article. Barron is a 20-year-old right-hand-shot defenseman who was drafted in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He already possesses NHL size- standing 6’2 and 194 pounds, an effortless skating ability, and is mature beyond his years. This last trait being what has accelerated this player’s development to the point that he has already been gifted the opportunity of a brief two-game addition playing in the NHL this season. This comes after he showed that he can indeed excel at the AHL ranks where this season he has scored 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 30 games played. Barron possesses the type of talent and leadership qualities that would make him a staple on the Flyers’ blue line for years to come, and thus a potential future defensive partner for the Flyers’ promising prospect Cameron York.
Although there are other Avalanche prospects like forwards Martin Kaut, Oskar Olausson, and Sampo Ranta; defenseman Sean Behrens, and goaltender Justus Annunen (whom the Flyers should be salivating over if a possible trade where to be discussed), any of these three previously-mentioned players highlighted above must be a starting point in a return for Giroux. With big deals already starting to occur around the league (like the Calgary Flames going out and getting Tyler Toffoli for a first-round pick and much more) let’s hope that all the rumors about the Flyers’ scouting department and the newly-appointed Special Assistant to the General Manager Danny Briere taking in both Colorado Eagles (the Avalanche’s AHL franchise) and Avalanche games are true because we all know the early bird catches the worm. Meaning the Flyers mustn’t wait until the trade deadline to make a deal: By that time the advantage goes to the buyer seeing that the seller will most of the time then have to settle for whatever they can get seeing that most other teams have already gone out and acquired their guy.
