As per a report by Adam Kimelman of NHL.com, the Philadelphia Flyers and forward Claude Giroux have put their talks about a contract extension on hold until the end of the season. Noting that both sides have had good discussions, both sides are also comfortable waiting until the end of the season to re-engage in talks.
This could be seen as a bit of a risk by the Flyers as Giroux is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year and not signing him means the team could potentially lose him for nothing. Still, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher said that contract extension talks will wait until after the season and the 33-year old and the team will see what happens at that time.
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Fletcher commented on the news and noted:
“I’ve had good conversations with Claude and with Pat Brisson, his agent, and at this point our plan is to play the season out and we’ll talk at the end of the season. “We’re both comfortable with that. Claude’s our captain, he’s a great player, and I anticipate that we’ll find a way to continue that relationship going forward.
Fletcher added, “But right now I think what we’ll do is we’ll just get through the season and we’ll look at the situation and see where he’s at, see where we’re at and we’ll do what’s best for everybody.”
Part of the reason Fletcher is comfortable with this, at least according to Bill Meltzer (the official site contributor http://Flyers.NHL.com) is because he believes, “The player likely indicated a desire to stay put. They’ll figure out term/cap hit within a range based on how it goes this season.” In other words, if Giroux has said he has no desire to leave and the Flyers believe him, there’s really no rush to sign a new deal now.
Meltzer added that Giroux might not be an in a rush to commit to anything, especially testing free agency. He writes, “Also keep in mind that there’s more than money that goes into these decisions. Giroux also has a family now, with two young children, and has spent his whole career in one city and will be 34 in January.”
Flyers to Run With Short Roster
Giroux will have his work cut out for him this season. Outside of the news he’ll wait to sign, Flyers scribe Sam Carchidi also reports that Fletcher has said the team won’t be in a position to carry 23 roster players next season because of their salary cap situation. The organization will run with a short roster, alternating anywhere between 22 and 20 players.
One or two injuries for this Flyers team could be a real problem.
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