Claude Giroux’s name is bound to pop up a lot between now and March 21. He’s a player that could be moved out of Philadelphia as the team rebuilds its roster and moves the pending UFA in an effort to recoup picks and prospects and move forward, taking the franchise in a different direction. It feels like that date isn’t far off, but if you listen to Giroux, he’s got some time to make up his mind about where he’ll go.
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Giroux has a full no-move clause as part of his contract. As such, he controls his own destiny. When asked about how he feels about this upcoming deadline, Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Giroux’s only answer was, “A lot of time left. That’s all I have for you.”
The assumption here is that he’s not made up his mind. Whether that means he’s waiting for more teams to show interest, narrowing down his options to give to his current GM or simply deciding about whether or not he’s even willing to accept a trade, Giroux knows he doesn’t have to make up his mind right now. He certainly doesn’t have to share what he’s thinking with reporters.
This likely isn’t an easy decision for Giroux to make. He’s only ever been a member of the Flyers since joining the NHL and he’s said in the past he’d like to retire in the same jersey he started wearing when he came into the league in 2007. He’ll be playing in his 7th All-Star game on Saturday and he’s clearly one of the best players to play in the game over the past decade, certainly among the top targets potentially available at this year’s deadline.
For now, he’s doing his best to brush off rumors that he’s going anywhere. That could change and as Giroux said, there’s time for all of this to play itself out.
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