All signs point to Claude Giroux leaving the Philadelphia Flyers now that he has played in his 1,000th game, though there is still at least a bit of intrigue in regards to where he is going. Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad reported Thursday night that Giroux would not be accompanying the Flyers on their trip to Ottawa, something that Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirmed Friday morning.
The sharp money is on the Florida Panthers right now in terms of who will acquire Giroux before Monday’s deadline, though Friedman writes that the Colorado Avalanche have “not given up” as of Friday morning. Emily Kaplan of ESPN writes that there could be another team involved, though she too expects it to be Florida when the dust settles.
Florida of course already acquired Ben Chiarot, moved out Frank Vatrano, and have held Owen Tippett out of the AHL lineup in advance of the deadline as they attempt to go all-in this season. The Panthers are among the league’s best teams, even if they did get beaten by the struggling Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night. Overall, Florida has a 41-14-6 record and is still in first place in the Atlantic Division.
If it is the end of Giroux’s time in Philadelphia — Friedman tweets that the captain will be held out of the lineup through the weekend even if a trade isn’t completed Friday — he finishes with exactly 1,000 games and 900 points with the franchise. This season has been another strong one with 18 goals and 42 points in 57 games, even if the overall results for the Flyers haven’t been what was expected. The 34-year-old is an unrestricted free agent in the summer and has yet to raise the Stanley Cup.
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