By all indications, it appeared as though former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who has played the last four seasons as a member of the Ottawa Senators, was going to come back to the organization with whom he spent the first portion of his career with for one final campaign.
While Giroux had been linked to other Canadian-based clubs like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers, the prevailing thought among most NHL Insiders was that the veteran forward was going back to the City of Brotherly Love for what is likely going to be his final season in the NHL.
However, thanks to a late-night development on Monday, Flyers fans are now feeling spurned, and understandably so.
Claude Giroux Is Not Signing With The Philadelphia Flyers And Is Going Back To The Senators
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, Giroux will sign for a fifth season with the Senators, putting to bed any thought of a reunion with the Flyers for the upcoming 2025-26 NHL season.
“He will return to Ottawa, it is getting done,” Friedman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
The Flyers remain in a holding pattern for now after news of the explosive and NHL record-breaking offer sheet they extended to Anaheim Ducks forward Leo Carlsson was made public.
Carlsson signed a five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Flyers, meaning the Ducks have less than a week to match it; if they don’t, they’ll receive four first round picks from the Flyers as compensation.
While it appeared as though Giroux was coming back to the Flyers for one more go at it, it looks like the ongoing situation with Carlsson may have caused him to change his mind.
Last season in Ottawa, he skated in all 82 regular season games, and scored 14 goals while adding 35 assists.
The Senators Offered Giroux A New Contract Extension At The NHL Trade Deadline
According to Senators general manager Steve Staios, the club wanted Giroux back and even went so far as to offer him a new contract extension at hotel NHL Trade Deadline in March.
“I think we’ve stated how much we want him back. We’ve been unwavering in our message to him,” Staios said about Giroux. “(We) offered him a contract as far back as before the trade deadline. (He) wanted to take a look around in free agency, but hasn’t closed the door to come back to Ottawa.
“For us, there’s also a reason why I’m not active today. Obviously, that spot is reserved for him, and I’m eagerly anticipating waiting to have a conversation with him.”
Giroux signed a three-year contract with the Senators in the summer of 2022 after a brief stint with the Florida Panthers, and upon the expiration of that deal, he agreed to a $2 million contract extension last summer with up to $2.75 million in performance bonuses.
So far in his NHL career, Giroux has scored 379 goals with 786 assists in 1,345 games with the Flyers, Panthers, and Senators.
New Twist In Claude Giroux Saga Leaves Flyers Fans Spurned