Flyers plan special night for Claude Giroux as trade talk intensifies
Anthony Scultore
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The Philadelphia Flyers are looking to make Claude Giroux’s 1000 game with the franchise a special night. At the same time, they hope to snap a three-game losing streak.
Bobby Clarke (1,144) is the only other player to reach at least 1,000 games with the Flyers. Giroux’s first game with the Flyers came against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 19, 2008.
It also could be Giroux’s last home game in a Philadelphia uniform. Giroux has been the subject of trade rumors with the deadline looming on Monday.
“It maybe took me a little while to understand what it is to play in Philly,” Giroux said on Wednesday. “When I got to figure it out and understanding the fans, how they are. … Their passion, how they want to win. You have to respect the way they think, the way they act.”
Claude Giroux to play game 1000 with Flyers
“That’s a real amazing accomplishment, to play 1,000 games with one organization, to play them the way that he did, to add what he’s added to this organization,” Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said. “Let’s celebrate that and let’s celebrate it with a great game.”
The Flyers have scheduled a lengthy pre-game ceremony to honor Giroux.
But Philadelphia hasn’t had much to celebrate this season with separate 10- and 13-game winless streaks. The 13-game skid set a dubious franchise record. The team has struggled mightily to close games.
“We’re going to have to keep finding ways to get players to understand that you can play the way you want to play, or you can play winning hockey,” Yeo said. “We will put guys on the fourth line, scratch guys if we have to. I don’t even know if we have enough (players) to call guys up. There’s veteran players we’re going to have to do it to, too. You’ve got to get the job done.”
Claude Giroux trade rumors
Giroux, 34, is scheduled to be a UFA this summer. The Flyers are in need of a retool and the assets that he could bring in at the trade deadline would help. He has 42 points in 56 games so far this season.
Right now, there are three teams reportedly in on Giroux. Florida, Colorado, and St. Louis. However, they all may require the services of a third party to eat some of his cap hit.
The two teams that have already openly stated they would be willing to lend cap support are the Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken. Depending how much cap is required to be eaten will determine what the cost is going to be.
As a scale, eating 50% of whatever remains after the Flyers retain may cost the acquiring team a second or third round pick.
The latest buzz is that the Colorado Avalanche, who recently placed Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR after knee surgery will not need any cap help to make this deal. Plus with the Panthers giving up a lot to land Ben Chiarot, it could just be down to the Avs and Blues.
Predators looking to spoil the night
The Nashville Predators will look for their sixth win in seven games on Thursday when they battle captain Claude Giroux and the host Philadelphia Flyers.
The Predators intend to spoil the night of Giroux, who will be playing in his 1,000th career NHL game.
Nashville was quite impressive in its last outing, registering a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Captain Roman Josi recorded three assists, Colton Sissons set up a pair of goals, while Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, Eeli Tolvanen and Yakov Trenin found the back of the net in a balanced effort.
“I just have a lot of respect for the way the guys have dug in and competed and remained focused and ready for the game,” Predators head coach John Hynes said. “They’ve met the challenges of each game and also the challenges within each game.”
Josi’s three assists propelled him to a career-best 52 while pushing his point streak to seven games (three goals, 13 assists).
–Field Level Media contributed to this report