Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers, Bob Clarke to honor Claude Giroux (and, yes, the ex-GM now knows his name)
If Thursday turns out to be Claude Giroux’s last home game with the Philadelphia Flyers, he will go out in style.
It will be his 1,000th career game for the team, and the 34-year-old forward will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. Bob Clarke, a franchise icon, will take part in the festivities. After Thursday, Clarke will be the only other player in the Flyers’ history to play in 1,000 games (1,144) for the franchise.
The Flyers will host Nashville on Thursday.
The NHL trade deadline is March 21. Before the deadline, the Flyers have games against Nashville on Thursday, in Ottawa on Friday, and at home against the Islanders on Sunday — the day before the deadline.
Giroux is expected to waive his no-trade clause to get a chance to play for a Stanley Cup contender. He has played parts of 15 seasons with the Flyers and has never won a Cup.
This season, Giroux is second on the Flyers in goals (18), assists (24), and points (42).
Colorado, Florida, Washington, St. Louis and Minnesota are among the many teams reportedly showing interest in Giroux, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Avs interest probably increased after Gabe Landeskog went down with an knee injury that required surgery Monday.
For the first time, Giroux publicly talked Thursday about wanting to have a discussion with the Flyers’ management about possibly staying in Philadelphia beyond this season. You can read about it here.
What could the Flyers, whose farm system needs replenishing, get in a trade for No. 28? Russ Cohen, prospects expert, gave his views.
In franchise history, Giroux is second to Clarke in games, assists, and points. He collected his 900th career point in Sunday’s excruciating 4-3 overtime loss to Montreal. Giroux scored his 18th goal in the defeat.
When Clarke was the Flyers’ general manager in 2006, he temporarily forgot Giroux’s name as he was announcing the team’s first-round selection from the podium.
He remembers it now.
So do millions of Flyers fans.
.@28CGiroux gave interesting answer when asked if this season will impact his decision to waive his no-movement clause. #Flyers pic.twitter.com/RDfIxvUn8X
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) March 14, 2022
Ok, so G hits a nice round number. 1000 games. Still 2nd behind Clarkie. Waive the NTC or not?