The Ottawa Senators brought in veteran center Claude Giroux three years ago as a free agent to help lead the club to the playoffs for the first time since 2017. 

It took until the final year of his contract for the Senators to snap their long streak of futility, but now that they have, the question is whether the 37-year-old will return. 

“It’s still early. I haven’t given it any thoughts,” Giroux told reporters at the dressing room cleanout on Saturday. “I haven’t really talked to (GM) Steve (Staios) yet. I love the players, the fans, the city – this year is the most fun I’ve had in a few years. Coming to the rink was a lot of fun. Pretty tight locker room. A lot of good things.”

The Hearst, Ont., native played 14 years with the Philadelphia Flyers and made a brief stop in Florida before signing a three-year, $19.5-million deal with the Sens. 

He scored a career-high 35 goals in his first season with Ottawa, but his numbers declined in the past two years from 79 points to 64 and 50.

Giroux did make a good showing in the first-round loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with five points (one goal, four assists) in six games. 

Ottawa should try to re-sign Giroux, but his return may depend on his willingness to take less money or a one-year deal.

The Senators’ performance in the first round was a positive in their progress, as they did not fold after falling behind 3-0 to the Maple Leafs. Young core pieces, such as Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson, rose to the occasion, but in the end, the Leafs were a better, deeper and more experienced club.   

Staios has work to do in the off-season to try to get a deeper roster.

Last summer, he dealt defenseman Jakob Chychrun because they could not get him signed to a contract extension. Even with Sanderson, veterans Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub and youngster Tyler Kleven playing well, Ottawa should consider upgrading the blueline with another two-way, right-handed defenseman so that Nikolas Matinpalo is more of a seventh defenseman. 

The Senators have about $18.4 million in projected cap space this off-season, with just 13 of their active roster under contract. Fabian Zetterlund, Tyler Kleven and Matinpalo are RFAs, while the team has eight pending UFAs. They include Giroux, Nick Cousins, Adam Gaudette and backup goalie Anton Forsberg.

If the Senators want to upgrade on defense, they must ensure they have enough cap space to round out the roster. That means improving their scoring depth up front as well.

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The Senators only had the 19th-most goals-for per game, at 2.95. Giroux was one of five Senators to record at least 50 points and the only forward to do so while averaging at least two minutes per game on the penalty kill.

Not bringing back Giroux would seem counterproductive to taking a step forward at both ends of the ice and finishing in the top three in the Atlantic Division. 

Considering how he felt about this season, his teammates and the city, the Senators shouldn’t let the opportunity slip to keep someone who’s effective and likes to be on the team.

Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reported that a one-year deal in the $3-million range should work for a contract. If so, the Senators need to get that deal done soon. They just need to ensure they use their roughly $18 million in cap space to have a balanced, deeper squad.

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