Katie Strang of ESPN.com has been going through each NHL team and listing its most important player. She recently has done the Flyers and listed our captain Claude Giroux, saying this about why he is the Flyers’ best:
"“The 27-year-old is one of the most dynamic players in the league and is just one season removed from an impressive 2013-14 campaign (28 goals, 86 points) that resulted in a Hart Trophy nomination for the Hearst, Ontario, native. And this past season wasn’t so bad, either. Giroux finished with 25 goals and 73 points, second to Voracek.”"
She also mentioned stats like being the Flyers’ best center at faceoffs and tying Wayne Simmonds last season with 14 powerplay goals. Even though the Waynetrain was derailed with 8 games left in the season.
So do I agree with her on Giroux being the Flyers’ best player, and most important piece to the Flyers puzzle? Yes. His skill, leadership, and overall swag is something that cannot be matched by anyone else on the NHL roster. Giroux is not entirely a player that when he steps onto the ice you feel his presence, but he absolutely someone who steps on the ice to make a difference every shift.
“The 27-year-old is one of the most dynamic players in the league”
Giroux isn’t getting any younger, so he and Jake Voracek need to get more consistent to start really piling up the poitns and staying in contention for a scoring title. New Head Coach Dave Hakstol will look to work on that, and if there’s anyone that can do it it is probably Hakstol.
Not to go unmentioned, Steve Mason is another player that could arguably be the Flyers’ most important player. He has made some of the best saves I’ve ever seen to keep the Flyguys in some games, and has earned the name Stone Cold for a reason. Yet, Mason is not the captain and doesn’t have to answer for the team as the captain every night.
Feb 17, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux (28) skates against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Wells Fargo Center. The Blue Jackets defeated the Flyers, 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
It will be very difficult for Giroux to become the best player ever to be drafted at #22 overall, as Hall of Famer and 6-time Stanley Cup Champion Bryan Trottier currently sits in that spot. Simone Gagne is the next best player the Flyers have selected at #22, but definitely not the star that Giroux is now.
All-in-all, us Flyers fans should really be proud to have a captain like Giroux. As I told someone else the other day who asked the abomination of a question, “Would you rather have Sidney Crosby or Claude Giroux as your captain?” Hm, though Crosby is – and this hurts a lot to say – more skilled than Giroux, he would never, ever be my captain. A captain should never whine, cry, and dive as much as “The Kid” and definitely not have a “Hate The Face” look about him.
Therefore, if you were to ask, “Would you like to have a captain that is a hard working, tough, and offensively gifted player that has a bit of swag to himself?” I would have to answer yes, a million times yes. Because that is Claude Giroux, the captain of our Philadelphia Flyers.
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