Ottawa Senators winger Claude Giroux sat down with the media on Wednesday for the first time since re-signing with the club on Sunday. After almost two months of speculation on his future, Giroux agreed to a sizeable hometown discount, signing a one-year contract worth $2 million in base salary and as much as $2.75 million more in performance bonuses.
Giroux admitted it would have been hard to walk away at this stage.
"A lot of work was put in the last three years," Giroux said. "It wasn't always fun, but they were steps that needed to be made. And the relationships I have with the guys on the team, it's very important to me, and something I want to see through."
Giroux says he and his family kicked the tires on all the options, but every time they talked about it, it came back to one main sentiment: They like it here.
"We like the fans, I love my teammates," Giroux said. "We just like everything about (Ottawa). So the more we talked about it, you know, it's something we wanted.
Giroux says negotiations are never fun, but both sides were happy to get it done. Giroux says this negotiation was never really about the money.
"It's what we've built the last few years. And I mean, it's not going to be easy next year. Teams are going to be waiting for us. We still have a lot of work to do. But it's the work that I want to do with my teammates and I'm excited about.
"So we can't look at the team right now and be like, 'Oh, we're sure going to make the playoffs,' or 'We're for sure going to go to the second round.' It just doesn't work like that. Teams are going to be waiting for us now. But it's a challenge that (we're all) looking forward to."
Giroux may be Old Man River in Ottawa's dressing room, but the team's young core is something he enjoys, and he believes they can take the next step.
"Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't sign here if I didn't think (they could), Giroux said. "I trust and believe in my teammates a lot. It's guys that I want to go to battle with, guys that you want to be around every day with. And they chirp me every day. But just coming to the rink is a lot of fun. And for me, that was a big decision because you come to the rink every day and you're not enjoying yourself. It's not fun. Since I signed here, it didn't feel like a job once. And I don't think it (ever) will."
One of the questions that fuelled the summer speculation about Giroux is, 'Where in the lineup will he fit if he does return?' Giroux echoed what coaches and management have been saying all offseason.
"Yeah, I mean, you get the ice time you deserve. If you put in the work and you play the right way and you play hard, you're going to play. It's just as simple as that. And I have a lot of confidence in myself that I know what I have to do to earn that ice time to be able to help the team. So whatever role I have, it's going to come down to how I play."
At 37 years of age, Giroux says he'd like to be able to tell people how much longer he'd like to play, but he really has no idea at the moment. Part of that is his good health (knock on wood) that's allowed him to play all but one game in in the past three years.
"Physically and mentally, I feel great," Giroux said. "My kids are getting a little older and they're starting to realize the game a little bit, and coming to the game, and they enjoy it. My wife enjoys it. So it makes me want to play a little bit longer. But you know what, anything can change. But as long as I'm having fun and I'm able to go out there and compete, I'm probably going to play."
Giroux's age and his two-year decline in point production from 78 points down to 64, and then down to 50 this past season, concerned some fans. But that was when they thought he might get north of $5 million. The deal he signed is well below market value, even if he tops out at 50 points again. But Giroux believes he can still take his numbers back the other way.
"Yeah, I strongly do," Giroux said. "I know what I have to do. I know how I want to play. But at the end of the day, it's not about racking up the points. I feel like my role was a lot of penalty kill last year, and kind of helped the team that way, which is fine. But you play with guys like Brady and Timmy and Drake and Dylan Cozens, they're good players and they're going to get you the puck and they're going to score goals. And yeah, (I’d like to) definitely bring a little bit more offense, but that's not my main focus."
On Tuesday, in his media availability, GM Steve Staios spoke glowingly of the player and the faith that Giroux has in the group.
"He shows the true character of what Claude Giroux is all about," Staios said. "There was an opportunity for him to become an unrestricted free agent, and he's earned that right. But he believes in what we're doing here in Ottawa as a group, believes in his teammates, and believes in himself.
"And we're grateful to have a player like that."
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News/Ottawa
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