One of the biggest complaints about Hollywood today is the total lack of originality. Most movies are a sequel, prequel, or spinoff of earlier intellectual property. Granted, we are part of the problem because we eat that stuff up. Ooooooh....a new Star Wars/Marvel.Hunger Games/Furious/Avatar/DC/etc. movie! Can't wait.
In sports, we can get the same way. We become attached to a player who is on our team. For one reason or another, that player is traded away or leaves in free agency. We see them play for someone else, and it is weird. It is hard to see them in a different uniform, whether or not they are having success.
However, near the end of their career, there is the hope that maybe they will return home for one final go around. This especially happens when the team is starting to un-suck and could be a legitimate contender. Perhaps our favorite star from the past, who failed to lead us to victory before, can return and get us over the hump. It is also why we get the "happy feels" when a player signs a one-day contract to retire as a member of the team that he started on. He came home!
For Flyers fans, there is a huge temptation to lure Claude Giroux back to Philadelphia. He left Philly to find "success" on another team after he didn't want to be part of a rebuild. He got traded to Florida for Owen Tippett and some draft picks. He then left Florida after they got bounced in the playoffs and decided to play for his hometown Ottawa Senators. He had wanted to bring the Sens back to respectability. Ironically, the Sens made it to the playoffs in almost the same time the Flyers did.
Why Philly Should Leave Giroux Behind
Giroux will be 38 when the new hockey season begins. Granted, Giroux isn't your normal 38-year-old. He played in all 82 games this year and scored 14 goals with 35 assists while averaging a career low 16:18 minutes per game. He is no longer a top-line forward but fills in on the other lines as needed, similar to Sean Couturier today.
Even with his reduced role, his 49 points would place him sixth on the Flyers. He also continues to be a dominant factor in the playoff circle. He had a 63.1 percent faceoff win rate, which led the NHL. In the playoffs, he had a 60.7 percent success rate.
So, why should the Flyers avoid him? It's nothing personal. However, he's slowing down now. He's not the same player the team traded away four years ago. His offensive production is dropping steadily. He's slower in moving around the rink. While he brings valuable leadership to the Ottawa Senators, he is not a top-line forward anymore.
Before we can continue, you could make the argument that Ottawa wasn't really good the last few years. While true, he was surrounded by a lot of young talent: Shane Pinto, Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, and Jake Sandeson. The team had goatending issues (much like Philly), but couldn't make the jump.
The real issue with not bringing Giroux in is that he'd be blocking someone who needs time to develop. Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak, and Couturier are the team's only true centers. Trevor Zegras is learning and getting opportunities to try to become the center the team needs. Jett Luchanko and Jack Berglund are two prospects that the Flyers may want to try to develop at the NHL level. While Giroux is great at the faceoff circle, he'd be delaying the youth movement the team has been building on.
The main area the team could use him in is improving their faceoff skills. Doing well in the faceoff circle can lead to better success on the power play or penalty kill. He could teach the younger players the keys he's picked up over the years to become one of the NHL's best. In that area, he'd be valuable.
However, as stated earlier, he is not the same player he was when he departed. He wouldn't be much help. As much as we'd love to see him back in Philly and as much as it is bizarre to see him in an Ottawa jersey, the truth of the matter is that we don't have room for him. It breaks our hearts to say it. We'd love to see him pad his Flyers' stats and build on his legacy. It would be great to see him skate around the arena holding the Stanley Cup aloft.
But if we want to continue to become a better team, we can't take a step back. Signing Giroux, while making us feel good, would not help this iteration of the Flyers out.
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