Flyers trade Claude Giroux to Panthers for Owen Tippett, picks

The Flyers captain is in the final season of his eight year contract with an $8.275-million cap hit, and with the Flyers out of the playoff picture, he has decided to move on for a chance at winning a Stanley Cup. He ranked No. 1 on Seravalli’s Trade Target’s list, as the forward’s pedigree comes in high demand.

Giroux has 18 goals and 42 points in 57 games this season with the Flyers. He recently played in his 1,000th game with the team, becoming just the second Flyer to do it all with that team.

Tippett is a 23 year old winger who was drafted in the first round in 2017 by the Panthers. He’s had more consistent time in the NHL these past two seasons, as he’s played 87 games between the two seasons, scoring 13 goals and 32 points over that time. He had recently been a casualty of Florida’s tremendous forward depth, however, demoted to the AHL.

Giroux will be joining a Panthers team that has won seven of its last nine games and currently sits first in the Atlantic division with a 42-14-6 record. The Panthers will be looking to end an NHL-high playoff series win drought, which extends all the way back to 1995-96 when they made the Stanley Cup final in just their third NHL season as a franchise.