Philadelphia Flyers: One day we will learn to appreciate Claude Giroux

The much maligned captain of the Philadelphia Flyers deserves more appreciation than he receives.

On June 24th, 2006 the Philadelphia Flyers selected their future captain and franchise player Claude Giroux with the 22nd overall pick in the first round of the NHL Draft. While you always want to hit on your first round pick, to land a player like Captain Claude in the back half of the first round makes this selection even more impressive. Little did the organization or the fan base know the franchise’s history books would never be the same.

To put these words into context, here we are over fourteen years later, and Giroux finds himself near the top of every single offensive category in Philadelphia Flyers history. Don’t believe me? Well buckle up, because I am about to blow your mind.

At the time of writing this, Giroux currently finds himself 3rd in franchise history in games played, 10th in goals, 2nd in assists, 4th in points, 10th in even strength goals, 9th in power play goals, 7th (tied with Tim Kerr) in game-winning goals, 5th in shots on goal, and 6th in assists per game. Keep in mind, much of this damage has been done without a pure goal scorer skating alongside of him. Think about that; we have been blessed with watching one of the greatest players in franchise history.

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This especially hits home for me personally, as I am sure it does for many twenty-something year old fans where Giroux has been a Flyer for what has felt like the entire time of our fandom. To put that into perspective even more, at 25 years old, I really got into hockey at the age of 9 when the Philadelphia Flyers met the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals.

Two years later, Giroux was selected by the Flyers. 2007 he made his debut, and 2008 he was in the NHL for good. In that time, he has dazzled us with his offensive ability, played an integral part to a team that was two wins away from winning the Stanley Cup, and captained us through one of the darkest times in Philadelphia Flyers history.

Oh, did I mention he scored one of the biggest goals in the last 40 years of Flyers’ hockey when he scored in overtime of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Chicago Blackhawks? How about his heated rivalry with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the start of the 2010’s? The shift in Game 6 of the 2012 series with the Pens?

How about the time he skated the puck along the boards, playing keep away for (literally) 30 seconds from what seemed like the entire Boston Bruins roster in Game 7 of the Philadelphia Flyers historic 3-0 series (and 3-0 Game 7) comeback in the 2010 playoffs? His overtime winner against the Penguins in the Stadium Series game just a few seasons ago? The list goes on and on.

Yes, his recent playoff struggles are still fresh in everyone’s mind (mine included) and sadly it seems to have clouded over the greatness we have been able to witness for the past 13 seasons. Yes, I am aware 18 points (4 goals 14 assists) in his last 35 playoff games is nothing to write home about. But try to keep in mind, the bulk of those numbers are from when the Philadelphia Flyers had virtually nobody else who was a threat on their roster which allowed teams to solely focus in on Captain Claude, neutralizing him, basically daring the other forwards to beat them.

It is almost poetic isn’t it? Giroux spent his entire prime skating on a team going no where, and once the organization is finally ready to compete, his prime has essentially passed him by. With that said, he is still a very productive player and important piece to the puzzle for this franchise.

The one thing missing from Claude Giroux’s resume is what all of us fans are starved for, and that is a Stanley Cup. Luckily, it appears the Orange and Black aren’t as far away from this as many fans may have believed; as evidenced by their Game 7 exit in round 2 this past postseason.

As he turns 33 this upcoming season, and has his contract expire at the end of the 2021-2022 season, who knows how much longer we will be able to watch Giroux skate around in an orange Philadelphia Flyers sweater. Even if Giroux never reaches the pinnacle that is winning a Stanley Cup, one day we will appreciate him for what he was, and realize how lucky we were to watch him play here in Philadelphia.