Flyers Trade Captain Claude Giroux To Florida Panthers

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) -- Claude Giroux will try to win his first Stanley Cup in Florida The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Giroux after he played his 1,000th career game with the franchise to the Florida Panthers, the team announced on Saturday.

The Flyers acquired forward Owen Tippett, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick in the NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Giroux, forwards Connor Bunnaman, German Rubtsov, and a fifth-round pick in 2024 in the deal.

The move strengthens Florida's status as a Stanley Cup contender, giving Aleksander Barkov an elite linemate and one of the best faceoff aces in the NHL. The Panthers earlier in the week traded a first-round pick and more for Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot.

Giroux was traded after he played his 1,000th game with the Flyers and was feted Thursday with a game in his honor. Drafted in the first round in 2006, Giroux made his Philadelphia debut on Feb. 19, 2008, and has played his entire career with the Flyers. He has 900 career points and is eighth on the Flyers' career list with 291 goals. He helped the Flyers reach the 2010 Stanley Cup finals and was awarded the All-Star MVP this season.

Giroux had to waive his no-movement clause that was part of his $66.2 million, eight-year contract.

Giroux also has played in 85 career playoff games for Philadelphia. But the Flyers are last in the East's Metro Division this year. This has been the worst season for the Flyers in Giroux's tenure.

"To be honest, I've seen a lot of players that I've played with that I've liked, and I know it's tough when you leave a team," Giroux said, "but I actually didn't realize how tough it is and I wish I knew back then."

Giroux finally gets to chase the championship that has eluded him. The Flyers are years away from contention and Giroux doesn't have the time left in his career to stick around for a rebuild.

He has grown into a family man in his tenure, with a wife and two young sons.

Some of Giroux's best moments came off the ice, like the time former coach Craig Berube challenged Giroux to an arm-wrestling contest at a bar in Nashville. Let former Flyer Scott Hartnell explain:

"I was the referee with hands on them ready to arm wrestle," Hartnell said. "G kinda let Chief have the first win. Then just like the movie 'Over the Top' with Sylvester Stallone, just went (made a whipping noise) and hammered him down and got in his face all over him. We were just going bananas. I think we made Chief leave the bar because he was embarrassed he lost."

Some of Giroux's other finest moments include:

•  Best in the World. Giroux flattened Sidney Crosby only five seconds into the game, buried his sixth goal of the series past Marc-Andre Fleury 27 seconds later and led the Flyers to a clinching Game 6 playoff victory over Pittsburgh in 2012. He gestured toward the crowd and slammed the glass in celebration after his goal, firing up 20,000 fans and delivering on the hype of former coach Peter Laviolette's claim that Giroux was the "best player in the world."
• Game 3. With the Flyers down 0-2 to Chicago in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, Giroux delivered in the clutch in a must-win game. He scored 5:59 into overtime to give the Flyers a 4-3 victory. "He was smiling all day, came to the arena and had a great game. Talented kid," Laviolette said.
• Hat Trick. Giroux's first career hat trick in the regular season helped the Flyers clinch a playoff berth on the last day of the 2012 season. He finished with 34 goals and 102 points, the only time he topped 100 points in his career.
• Cold Outside. The Flyers packed nearly 70,000 fans inside the NFL stadium across the street for a 2019 outdoor game against the Penguins. Down two goals in the third period, the Flyers scored twice in the waning minutes and Giroux had the winner 1:59 into overtime, sending what was left of the sellout crowd into a frenzy.

"I think maybe it took me a little while to understand what it is to play in Philly," Giroux said. "I got to figure it out and understand how they are. They're absolutely nuts. Their passion, how they want to win. You have to respect the way they think, the way they act."

(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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