Claude Giroux ups his trade value with MVP performance for Metro in All-Star finale
Anthony Scultore
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Claude Giroux scored two goals to lead the Metropolitan Division to a 5-3 win against the Central Division in the finale of the NHL All-Star Game on Saturday afternoon at Las Vegas.
Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Chris Kreider scored goals for the Metro. Frederik Andersen made seven saves and Tristan Jarry finished with 14 saves as the Metro goalie duo held off the Central.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist, while Clayton Keller and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Central. Cam Talbot made nine saves, and Juuse Saros followed with four saves for the Central.
Claude Giroux MVP performance
Giroux, who had a goal and an assist in a 6-4 win against the Pacific Division in the first semifinal, scored his third goal of the day on a backhand finish off a rush for a 5-3 lead at 12:42 of the 20-minute final.
The Central pulled their goalie and Alex DeBrincat scored with 1:45 left, but it was determined he had been offsides and the goal was disallowed.
The Metro scored 13 seconds into their semifinal win and Kuznetsov scored 27 seconds into the finale against the Central for a 1-0 lead.
Giroux scored at 3:33 for a 2-1 lead. That was followed by Kreider, who leads the NHL with 33 goals, scoring off a feed from Hughes to expand the lead to 3-1 at 4:50.
Kadri cut the lead to 3-2 with a shot off the bar and into the net at 5:27
Hughes, who scored twice in the semifinal win, scored his third goal of the day for a 4-2 lead at 7:55.
Pavelski started the second half of the period with a goal to cut the deficit to 4-3 at 11:19 but Giroux and company held on for the victory.
Claude Giroux was named the MVP of the All-Star Game.
Claude Giroux trade value goes up
The Philadelphia Flyers captain was already rising on the NHL Trade Bait Board before this performance. If he decides he wants to chase a Stanley Cup, he may become the top option come March 21.
“It will be Claude’s decision,” Fletcher said. “Claude has a no-move [clause] in his contract; ultimately that will be his decision [to waive]. We’re at the halfway point [of the season]. We’re two months to the trade deadline. We’ll continue to have conversations, and ultimately a decision will have to be made one way or the other. But it’ll be Claude’s decision.”
ESPN
Giroux, 33, is coming off a season where he scored 43 points in 54 games. This is the final year of a contract that comes with a $8.275M cap hit.
“Claude and I will be spending time together within the next few weeks exploring his best options while having discussions with Chuck,” agent Pat Brisson told Pierre LeBrun.
The expectation is that Giroux will look to be traded.
–Field Level Media contributed to this report.