Claude Giroux will have played exactly 1000 games and accumulated 900 career points with the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s a 15-year chapter that ends in the city of brotherly love, which reluctantly lets its captain go.
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“Every day you trade your captain is tough, and with what Claude meant to this organization and how he performed for 15 years, it’s even harder to say goodbye. Claude is one of the best players to have worn the Flyers uniform,” said general manager Chuck Fletcher in a press release on Saturday.
Giroux joined the Florida Panthers in a monster trade involving prospects and draft picks. The Franco-Ontarian himself was called up early in the 2006 auction, 22nd overall, and became one of the Flyers’ greatest players.
“He was the Flyers’ longest-serving captain, only the second Flyer to play 1,000 games in orange and black, and made the All-Star Game seven times, but that’s not all he’s done. for this city and this franchise. It’s a bittersweet day, but we’re excited to see Claude in the playoffs with Florida this year, and Claude will always be a Flyer,” added President Dave Scott, who worked alongside Giroux for nearly of a decade.
Both in terms of games played and points, the 34-year-old athlete is second only to the legendary Bobby Clarke.
He never won the Stanley Cup, however, but came close in 2010 when the Flyers reached the Finals, before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks. Giroux has always performed well in the playoffs, with 73 points in 85 games, and he should be of great service to the Panthers, one of the favorite teams for the top honours.
Immediate input?
Sending Giroux, Connor Bunnaman, German Rubtsov and a fifth-round pick to Florida, the Flyers earned a conditional first-round pick in 2024 and a third-round pick in 2023. Up-and-coming right-winger Owen Tippett is also coming to Philadelphia with the firm intention of launching his career once and for all.
“I am very excited about this new opportunity to join a team, build with them and start a new beginning. I’m still working on fine-tuning my game over 200 feet, but I believe I can bring offense, size and speed to the lineup,” he explained.
Tippett, the 10th player selected at the 2017 auction, has 33 points in 94 National Hockey League games. The Flyers also recalled him from the American League on Sunday and the new number 74 will take part in the duel in the afternoon against the New York Islanders.