Claude Giroux was linked to the Flyers as free agency opened Wednesday, and the team’s general manager said the sides had talked about a reunion. Danny Brière did not dress it up. “We’ve had some discussions,” he said.
The timing matters because Giroux was one of the more recognizable names available when the market opened, and Philadelphia was expected to be among the teams making an offer. Brière added that the club was “looking at everything,” but also made clear that “there’s nothing imminent,” which left the possibility alive without making it real yet.
Giroux turned 38 and is going on 39, but last season in Ottawa he still played all 82 games and produced 49 points, with 14 goals and 35 assists. He ranked sixth on the Senators in scoring, finished with a plus-20 rating and averaged 16:18 a night, while winning 63.1 percent of his faceoffs. Since signing with Ottawa in the summer of 2023, he has carried a 59.0 win percentage on his draws, a number that helps explain why a short reunion keeps coming up.
That appeal is easy to see in Philadelphia, where Giroux spent 15 years and became the kind of veteran who could still help without needing the puck on his stick every shift. At this stage, he is more of a two-way, checking-minded forward, but he still has the skating, vision and playmaking touch to move the puck around. The Flyers also have several left-handed centers in Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak, Noah Cates, Trevor Zegras and Denver Barkey, while Noel Acciari gives them a right-shot option who can play center and wing.
The sticking point is the part Brière would not answer: whether the Flyers will actually put a contract on the table. A reunion, if it happens, looks like the kind of 1-2 year deal that fits both sides better than a long commitment, but for now the club has only acknowledged the conversation. On Day 1 of free agency, that is enough to keep Giroux at the center of the board without putting him back in Philadelphia yet.
