It really grinds my gears to give the Penguins credit for anything. I hate it. But...
Marc-Andre Fleury's retirement game and appearance at training camp were one of the best stories of the offseason, and a great way for the team to honor a beloved goalie who helped them through one of their best periods of hockey.
On his 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman surmised that the Flyers might want to honor one of their own legends with this treatment in a few years.
"One of the first guys I thought of was Claude Giroux. Like, you're telling me that whenever Claude Giroux retires, you don't think that the Flyers would say, let's bring him back for a preseason game like that."
Claude Giroux's career is winding down. He's turning 38 this season, and he re-signed with Ottawa on a 1 year deal for $2 million. The Senators didn't find themselves as offensively adept and fell a little short of expectations, but they are a popular breakout team pick for this season. Their goal will be to move beyond the first round of the playoffs and finish better than 4th in the division.
For Giroux, it was a down year, with just 50 points. He's still capable of matching that total and surpassing it, but how much longer does he want to keep this up, especially if he isn't on a Cup-contending team?
That's where the theory comes in. When Giroux is ready to hang it up, Friedman thinks the Flyers will be quick to reach out with a chance to play one last game in a Flyers jersey during the following preseason.
Would That Even Work?
The preseason is always fun, especially because you have fringe players running around trying to do anything they can to make an NHL squad, or to get some good tape before they head back down to the AHL. For Marc-Andre Fleury, one more preseason game was nice and still pretty safe. For Giroux, it might be a bit more dangerous.
What better way to make a splash, get into a fight, and show you're willing to do anything than run the guy playing his retirement game? How could you resist? Other factors and injury risks weigh more heavily on a player than on a goalie.
Why Not Just Sign Him?
Here's the other rub. Giroux's career could probably go as long as he wants it to. He's a uniquely gifted offensive player who has found a way to age his game and can be a helpful addition to any power play in the league. If the Flyers find themselves in need of a veteran mentor and a little offensive pop, why not lure him for one more year?
Giroux working a power-play with Matvei Michkov, and literally any other collection of three players would be effective and worth the price of admission to watch. Setting up Owen Tippet or Tyson Foerster as the trigger man would lead to goals in bunches. Giroux is chasing down some names on the all-time points list and is less than 100 from 1200 career points. There are only two players beyond the mark who are retired and aren't in the Hall of Fame. The rest are still active and are going to be enshrined one day.
Still, anyway it happens, we'd be thankful and lucky to get one more game with Claude Giroux.