The Senators extended Linus Ullmark on October 9th. Is Claude Giroux's turn coming?
It feels like Claude Giroux just got here.
However, his three-year contract to come home and play for the Ottawa Senators will end after this season. Unless the Senators sign him to an extension or trade him, Giroux will become a UFA next summer.
So it's fair to ask, "What's Ottawa's plan for Giroux next season?"
Giroux will be 37 in January, and Father Time comes for every player in every sport without exception. But Giroux is playing like he missed that memo. What he hasn't missed is a single game as a Senator and has nine points in the club's first eight games. And as we watched him on Sunday night trying to will the Senators back into their game in Colorado with two late goals, the guy is as competitive as ever.
On that note, how about that shift in Vegas on Friday where he casually caught a bad pass on the inside edge of his back skate? He then dished off, cruised around like a shark and dove past a defender to whack a puck past Adin Hill. Do you mean to tell me that guy is really 37 in January?
The Sens took care of business with goalie Linus Ullmark, their other big 2025 UFA, giving him an extension on October 9th. It's a different situation, but can Giroux expect one soon?
Contracts are always two-way streets. Maybe Giroux's age is scaring off the Senators. Or perhaps the Senators' won-loss record is scaring off Giroux.
Coming home has been great for him and his family, but he also arrived here thinking the Sens were a team on the rise. Because Giroux is as competitive as he is, he'd like to win a Cup before the sun sets. Or at least make the playoffs.
Unfortunately for Giroux's fans, it's easy to imagine a repeat of what happened two years ago in Philadelphia, Giroux's NHL home for 14 years. The Flyers weren't good at all and didn't want to walk Giroux into free agency and lose him for nothing. With his no-move clause, they worked with the veteran to get him to a contender (Florida Panthers) and made a pretty solid trade. They got forward Owen Tippett, a first-round pick, and a third-round pick.
Giroux's NHL earnings fall just shy of $100 million, so money won't be the driving factor in his next deal. This is a wait-and-see situation for both Giroux's camp and Sens' GM Steve Staios and it all hinges on team success.
Between now and January, if this team signals with its standing that it's not going to the playoffs this season and it's not a year or two from contention, it probably makes sense for both sides to part company. In that scenario, Staios may need to do a little more rebuild work and where does a 38 or 39-year-old fit into that?
But if the Sens finally emerge with some consistency and are tracking toward the playoffs, then that will excite both sides of the table. That will be when it's time for Ottawa to show "G" the money, get a two-year extension done, and see how far they can get.