Revisiting the Claude Giroux Trade

The Colorado Avalanche have just won the Stanley Cup finals for their third time in history and their first in 20 years. A team that was the absolute worst in the league a few years ago (2016-17) is sitting on top of the hockey world today. Just a sidenote, in that year’s draft, the Avalanche finished fourth in the draft lottery and would select Cale Makar, this year’s winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy. The Flyers picked Nolan Patrick.

But if we go back a few months ago, the Colorado Avalanche were pressing hard to get some power forwards to finish out the year strong. They added Artturi Lehkonen from Montreal and Andrew Cogliano from San Jose. To bolster the blue line, they traded for Josh Manson from Anaheim. Cogliano had just one assist during the regular season, but had three goals and three assists during the playoff run.

Lehkonen added six goals and nine points to close the season out, but closed the playoffs with eight goals and four assists. Manson added seven points at the end of the season and eight points, including three goals in the playoffs. Clearly, the Avs moves paid off. However…

There was one move that ALMOST happened that really affects the Flyers. Colorado was really, really pushing to get Claude Giroux before the Florida Panthers landed him. Let’s see what happened and imagined what could have been. Hop into the DeLorean and let’s go back to March.

So, the Flyers, as we know, were shopping team captain Claude Giroux. In order to be fair to him, the team allowed him to have a say in where he wanted to go. He ended up going to Florida with a fifth round draft pick in 2024, Connor Bunnaman, a defensive forward who has played with mixed results, and the rights to German Rubtsov, a Russian forward and first rounder in 2016 who has been playing in the KHL since the pandemic started. He has played in only four games.

In return, the Flyers received a third round pick in this year’s draft, the Panthers’ 2024 first round pick, and Owen Tippett. Tippett was the 10th overall pick in 2017 (there’s that draft again!) and was a highly touted prospect. So far, he has shown glimmers of that promise, but has yet to put it all together. He scored four goals for the Flyers in 21 games. In comparison, he scored six goals this year in 42 games for Florida.

Now, it is way too early to see what this trade will bring us. Tippett is still 22 years old and could turn it around. Remember Patrick Sharp took a while to mature into an all-star. We don’t know what that first rounder next year could bring us.

All of this brings us back to Colorado. We know that the Avalanche offered a deal to the Flyers. We know the Flyers liked the deal. We know that Giroux turned down the deal to play for Florida, which at the time was leading the league in points. As it turned out, the Avalanche would win the President’s Trophy, Carolina would take the top seed in the east, and Florida would be swept in the second round of the playoffs by Stanley Cup runner up Tampa Bay.

Now, lots of “insiders” have speculated on what was offered to Philly. Everything I’ve turned up has said that the deal started with Colorado’s 2023 first round pick. Among the players rumored to have been traded would have been young defender Justin Barron. Barron, a first rounder in 2020, has had his way blocked in Colorado and was flipped for Lehkonen when the Giroux deal failed to materialize.  Barron’s stats show a strong, young, speedy defender who has a scoring touch. He could have flourished here in Philly.

Another possible name is Alex Newhook. Newhook was Colorado’s 2019 first round pick. Playing in his first full season this year, he scored 13 goals and 20 assists. Throw in pieces could’ve included Martin Kaut, a forward who has scored two goals in 20 games spread over parts of three seasons. There was also Dylan Sikura, a 27 year old depth piece forward, 2021 first round pick Oskar Olausson, a 19 year old playing in the Swedish leagues, J.T. Compher, a six year vet who scored 18 goals this season, and Tyson Jost, a former 10th overall pick who was traded for Nico Sturm after Giroux went to Florida. Nicolas Aube-Kubel may also have been a piece included. And if he had, he wouldn’t have dropped and dented the cup!

So, the Flyers could have had either a rising young defender or winger, a first round pick, and/or maybe some depth pieces. Instead, they have a first rounder who has yet to shown his full potential, a first round pick two years from now, and a third round pick next year. Why did the Colorado deal fall through?

There are two theories. One is that Giroux wanted to stay on the East Coast since he and his family live here, he’s always played here, and it is easier for him. The Flyers wanted to accommodate him and that’s what happened. That’s plausible and perhaps it’s what happened or perhaps it’s what we publicly wanted to say happened.

The other theory is that Giroux saw the Colorado Avalanche and saw that top line of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog that was powering the Avs forward. The Avalanche would never have broken up that line; especially for a newcomer, even if he is a vaunted vet like Giroux. Giroux wanted to be on the top line and would not have wanted to have been relegated to the second line with Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin .

If the second theory is true, that means Giroux denied the Flyers a better return so that he could be the star. If that is true, that sucks. It could also be true that Chuck Fletcher was using the Avalanche to drive up the return from Florida; but it appears that may have backfired.

We’ll probably never know the truth. Hockey teams can be quite tight lipped about rumors. However, if it is true that Colorado offered Giroux a chance to be on their team, how is he feeling about that this morning? Everyone remembers when Ray Borque finally won the Stanley Cup wearing the Burgundy and Blue of Colorado. Everyone cheered him on as one of the best defenders finally got his name engraved on the most beloved trophy in sports. It could’ve happened for Giroux. But alas, the cup still eludes him.

At the same time, the cup still eludes the Flyers as well. Let’s hope the pieces we got for Giroux get us closer to winning that title.