The Philadelphia Flyers would be no where without their team captain so far this season, making his production one of the best gifts they could’ve asked for.
Coming off a career campaign in which he scored 102 points, nobody expected that Claude Giroux would produce the same in the following season for the Philadelphia Flyers. He was a year older and most players tend to start to decline when they hit the age of 30, but not Giroux. At least, not yet.
The 12 year forward is once again on a tear so far this season. He has 42 points in 35 games, averaging over a point per game for the Flyers and currently on pace for a 97 point year. Giroux also leads the team in High Danger Goals For with 18 and ranks third in Scoring Chances For with 265 at even-strength, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. It’s clear his talent on offense is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, but he’s brought some two-way skill to his game this year as well.
Giroux has been consistently used on the penalty-kill, ranking third among forwards on the team in Shorthanded Time On Ice per game with 1:49. While the unit has struggled with him on it thus far, the Flyers team captain still brings speed and skill that they’ve seemingly lacked for years.
Philadelphia already matched their shorthanded goal total from last season with three in 35 games, and while Giroux isn’t responsible for scoring all of them, his presence alone attracts the attention of the opposition which then can help open things up for others on the ice.
The Flyers would undoubtedly be in a worse spot if Giroux wasn’t on the team, making his performance so far this season the best gift they could’ve received. Sure, solid goaltending and a better special teams are needed too, but there’s nothing harder than finding a legitimate star player in this league like Giroux. He brings so much to the team on and off the ice, and is taken for granted by some in this fanbase. Possibly posting back-to-back 100 point seasons at the age of 30 isn’t easy to do and he deserves some appreciation for even coming close to doing so.
Giroux could easily return to scoring 50-60 points again. The fact that he’s nearly doubling that total while getting older really is amazing to me. He is the best gift this team could’ve asked for because I promise his presence will be missed when he’s eventually gone. This season has been quite the roller coaster so Merry Christmas, Flyers fans, and a happy ‘Roux year.