Photo Credit: Len Redkoles/Getty Images
Claude Giroux, the longest tenured athlete in Philadelphia remains the most coveted player to obtain at the trade deadline. He will have plenty of suitors to include the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs, possibly the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, and the St. Louis Blues.
Giroux would fit well on any one of those teams, but the sole decision lies with Giroux as to where he wants to play given his No Movement Clause. As if Sundays game against the Montreal Canadiens, Giroux is yet to discuss anything with Flyers management, specifically, Giroux says he will have a meeting with management to see what the game plan is, not just the trade deadline, but his future.
“The organization here has been great for me for 14 years,” Giroux said over a month ago. “Played with great players, had some great coaches. It’s been an honor to be a Flyer this long.”
Giroux made his NHL Debut back on February 19, 2008. Donning a #56 Flyers jersey, Giroux wore #56 for two games on February 19 and February 21 in 2008. There are many people that forget that Giroux wore #56.
Scott Hartnell, Ian Laperrière, and Sean Couturier sounded off on Claude Giroux yesterday, sharing some great stories and fond memories of their interactions from the time Giroux was a kid in the league to present. Laperrière said when he played, “He (Giroux) was just a baby,” to which Hartnell chimed in, “He (Giroux) looks like he was 14-years-old,” when Giroux entered the league.
“I got the chance to play on his line, and that gave me the chance to push my career to another level,” Couturier said. “His intensity, it just makes everyone better around him. It did for me.”
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
I was fortunate to ask Hartnell a question, to which I asked him if playing on the line with Giroux and Jaromir Jágr was the best line he ever played on, “Absolutely 100%,” he said. “I was pretty fortunate, and one of the best years of my career. Just saucer a pass to G or Jágr (Laughing).”
Hartsy continued, “I also think I scored 37 goals that year, and followed it up with a six-year extension (Laughing).”
We will be featuring these type of stories about Giroux all week long. Giroux will become just the second player in Flyers history to eclipse the 1,000 game mark, so this is a special week.
