Longtime Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux returned to the Wells Fargo Center for just the second time as an opposing player over the weekend. Giroux picked up three assists in last year’s Senators win in Philadelphia and scored the game-tying goal for Ottawa on Sunday afternoon.
The Flyers’ futility under Chuck Fletcher forced the organization to move on from Giroux at the 2022 trade deadline. After over a decade in Philadelphia, Giroux’s contract was expiring and the Flyers needed to get something for their captain.
In return for the star forward, the Flyers received a first-round pick in 2024, a third-round pick in 2023 (Denver Barkey), and a prospect that didn’t quite pan out in Florida in Owen Tippett. Tippett was drafted with the 10th overall selection in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but could never really find a fit with the Panthers.
At the time, a lot of people were upset with the trade. Trading away a player who was a franchise icon was hard. Only getting back a few picks and a failed prospect (to that point) only added to that despair. However, with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps we owe an apology to Fletcher and the Flyers for the Giroux trade.
Well, probably not — but maybe!
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