Selected 22nd overall in the first round of the 2006 NHL Draft by the Flyers, Giroux spent parts of 15 seasons in Philadelphia, serving ten of those seasons as the team's captain.
Traded by the Flyers to the Florida Panthers ahead of last year's trade deadline, Giroux signed with the Senators during the offseason, inking a three-year, $19.5M deal.
Before Saturday's game, Giroux told reporters that facing off against the Flyers was "definitely a little weird," adding that the emotion would hit him "harder" once he hit the ice.
"I never thought I'd play for another team, to be honest, until my last year with Philly when everything kind of happened," Giroux said. "Everything kind of happened fast, too."
The 34-year-old is second all-time in Flyers' franchise history in games played (1000), assists (609), and points (900), sitting behind only Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke in each category.
After a major offseason overhaul rivaled only by the Ottawa Senators, expectations have been big for the Detroit Red Wings this season, however the team has gotten itself off to an up-and-down start. Sitting at 5-3-2 coming into Saturday, the team would be faced with one of its tougher tasks of the young season on Saturday afternoon: a showdown with the New York Islanders, who were on a five-game winning streak. Detroit answered the call, shutting out the Islanders 3-0. That win appears to have come at a price, however. Forward Filip Zadina went down late in the third period after appearing to block a Ryan Pulock shot.
After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, provided an update to the media, including Michigan Live’s Ansar Kahn. According to Lalonde, Zadina’s injury “doesn’t look good” and Detroit may not see the winger for a while, adding that the team would know more tomorrow. Soon to be 23-years-old, Zadina has yet to become the player Detroit hoped he would be when he was drafted sixth overall in 2018, and has zero points through his first nine games this year, including Saturday. But, with Detroit missing more than its fair share of forwards, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Robby Fabbri, losing Zadina for any period of time will surely be felt.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!