The negotiations were reportedly a "grind," but the Ottawa Senators announced on Sunday afternoon that they re-signed the popular Claude Giroux to a one-year contract.
It took longer and drew closer to the opening of the unrestricted free agent market on July 1 than many fans were comfortable with, but the Senators got a deal done.
The hang-up in negotiations involved a contentious back-and-forth on the nature of the bonus structure, so what are the details of Giroux's deal?
Giroux will earn a base salary of $2 million, which will count against the Senators' 2025-26 cap. Thanks to the NHL's CBA, players who are 35 or older at the start of a league year (July 1) and sign a one-year contract are eligible for performance bonuses.
From Puckpedia.com
"While performance bonuses eventually count against the salary cap, they do not use up space during a season unless a team's potential bonuses exceed 7.5% of the salary cap. Once the season is completed, bonuses earned are added to the final team cap hit. If the total exceeds the salary cap, the amount in excess of the cap is an overage cap charge the following season."
Giroux can earn an additional $2.75 million in bonuses if the following conditions are met per Chris Johnston:
- $250,000 for 20 games played
- $250,000 for 30 games played
- $250,000 for 60 games played
- $250,000 for 50 games played, and the Senators reach the postseason
- $500,000 if the Senators advance past the 1st round
- $250,000 if the Senators advance past the 2nd round
- $500,000 if the Senators advance past the 3rd round
- $500,000 if the Senators win the Stanley Cup
Giroux was also afforded a full no-movement clause, meaning that he has complete control over any process in which the Senators fall out of the playoff picture and look to move him.
Considering how seriously Giroux takes his offseason training and his history of staying relatively injury-free throughout his career, the games-played bonuses feel like a sure thing. Whether the Senators reach the postseason and progress over this season's results is another matter.
In such a competitive field in which there are no guarantees, it is possible that Giroux will only earn an additional $750,000 in bonuses, or even less if he sustains an injury. He gets $750k in games played bonuses, $250k for making the playoffs, and another $1.75M in playoff progress round by round bonuses.
It is unmistakably a team-friendly contract and leaves the organization with $8.1 million to add three forwards and a backup goaltender to the roster.
Giroux's deal affords the Senators the flexibility they need to build out the rest of their depth, and he is still an incredibly effective player.
Yes, his goal scoring and point production declined for a second consecutive season, but with 15 goals and 50 points in 81 games, Giroux proved he can still generate offence. It's more than just the offensive numbers, though. The veteran is still an impactful two-way player who can positively contribute in the offensive and defensive zones.
Giroux won 61.5 percent of his faceoffs this season, and his impacts were noticeable.
When he was on the ice, the Senators generated 52.71 percent of the shots (CF%), 50.67 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 48.05 percent of the goals (GF%), and 48.55 percent of the expected goals (xGF%) according to NaturalStatTrick.
Much is said about his age-related decline and having lost a step, but Giroux's skating is not that bad. He is still a faster skater than many of his teammates, but stylistically, he plays slow - especially in terms of his volume of bursts of speed.
While effective, there are some glaring trends. With the exception of his 2016-17 season, Giroux's five-on-five 0.42 goals per 60 and 1.37 points per 60 were the lowest rates of his career. His 5.30 individual shots per 60 minutes rate is by far the lowest of his career.
The Senators struggled to finish chances at five-on-five this season, but with a league-wide trend toward prioritizing shot quality over quantity, I wonder if Giroux's rates suffered because of it. The veteran can still shoot the puck, but it often felt like Giroux deferred too often and passed up quality scoring opportunities to set up his teammates instead.
If Giroux can approach his shot rates from his last three seasons, there is a good chance that he can flirt with the 20-goal threshold again. But, even if he cannot, the Senators value his leadership, faceoff skills, and two-way ability.
Although Giroux has only been an Ottawa Senator for three seasons, he has become an iconic figure, who is highly regarded by his teammates. For that reason alone, it would have been tough to see him leave and possibly land with a division rival.
But the Senators no longer have to worry about that. With a little more than $8 million in cap space, they can now focus on rounding out the roster and improving their quality of depth.
By Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News/Ottawa
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