Tag: Claude Giroux

Claude Giroux is playing his first game with the Florida Panthers and it’s super weird

This is going to take some getting used to.

It’s going to take some time to get used to Claude Giroux in a Florida Panthers sweater.

Thursday night was Giroux’s first game with the Panthers after being traded to Florida before the 2022 NHL trade deadline. The former Philadelphia Flyers captain had an emotional week leading up to the deadline, culminating in his 1,000th career NHL game with the team in what was partly a celebration and partly a farewell tour.

Now, a new leaf has been turned and Giroux has taken to the ice with the Panthers in an official game capacity. And folks I have to say, it’s really really weird!

Yeah, this hurts me.

Not only that, Giroux and former Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg teamed up to assist on Aleksander Barkov’s opening goal just a minute into the game for their first points in a Panthers’ sweater.

Here’s how the hockey world — and Flyers fans in particular — reacted to Giroux’s first game with the Panthers.

2022 NHL trade deadline winners and losers

Monday’s trade deadline was a busy one.

The 2022 NHL trade deadline has officially come and gone. On a day that saw nearly 30 deals made — at the time of this writing, anyway — it was quite the chaotic afternoon, even though there were very few blockbusters made.

This year’s trade deadline certainly was much more active than the 2021 deadline, which saw fewer than 20 deals made on deadline day, so it’s fair to say the day went by quite fast. Even with over half of the league capped out, nearly every single team made some sort of trade or deal by Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline. And hey, in a flat salary cap world, that’s not too bad!

Now that the rush has died down, let’s take a look at the big picture! Here are our winners and losers from a busy 2022 NHL trade deadline.

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Flyers, fans celebrate Claude Giroux’s 1,000th career game in emotional ceremony before trade deadline

Claude Giroux’s 1,000th NHL game was an emotional affair.

Claude Giroux has hit a milestone not many NHL players hit: playing 1,000 games all with the same team.

Thursday marked Giroux’s 1,000th career NHL game, all coming with the Philadelphia Flyers. The career milestone also comes just days ahead of the 2022 NHL trade deadline, in which Giroux’s name has been talked about heavily as a candidate to move to a contending team.

So you see, it’s been quite an emotional time for Flyers fans recently, leading up to Thursday’s ceremony honoring Giroux’s time with the team while also feeling very much like a farewell party. As the longest-running captain in Flyers history, it’s no surprise that the team went all out to honor Giroux’s run with the team.

Given that it could very well be Giroux’s last game in a Flyers uniform, Thursday’s pre-game ceremony was quite the emotional affair for all involved. Here are all the best moments from the Flyers’ celebrations and from the fans honoring their long-time captain.

Claude Giroux’s likely final days as captain of the Flyers are a tour de force of emotions

Claude Giroux’s getting a well-deserved farewell tour in Philly.

Claude Giroux is set to get quite the poetic ending as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Thursday will mark Giroux’s 1,000th career NHL game, with all one thousand coming with the Flyers. Then, almost certainly, Giroux will be traded ahead of Monday’s NHL trade deadline to a Stanley Cup contender.

Giroux’s name has been in trade rumors for some time now, an unfortunate and unnecessary consequence of the Flyers’ inability to build a contending team over the last decade. At age 34, Giroux is in the last year of his eight-year, $66.2 million deal that’s seen him through as the longest-tenured captain in team history. Due to his upcoming expiring contract and excellent hockey acumen, Giroux enters the trade deadline as the biggest name on the market for a contending team.

Thursday night’s game against the Nashville Predators is set to be an emotional one for Giroux, the team, and Flyers fans in what will be one part celebration, one part farewell tour. Even before the main event, emotions were running high over the last week during team practices and on the Flyers’ social media as everyone in Philadelphia started to come to grips with the sad reality.