The Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the worst teams in the NHL so far this season after making it to the playoffs last season. Philadelphia is in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 15-22-6 with 36 points. If the season ended right now, they would own the second pick in the NHL Draft.
The NHL Draft Lottery will give them a chance to own the number one pick. C Jack Hughes is going to be the favorite for the number one pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The Flyers are only one point ahead of the Ottawa Senators for the worst record in the NHL. Because of that, it is time for Philadelphia to move in a different direction as a franchise and they need to find a trade partner for Claude Giroux before the trade deadline.
Chuck Fletcher became the general manager when Ron Hextall was fired earlier in the season. Fletcher is probably going to be very busy at the trade deadline this season. Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek might be on the way out as well.
As for Claude Giroux, he is 30 and has been the captain for this team for the past several years. The Flyers are not playing with heart with him as the captain. His team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2012 for a reason.
Claude Giroux is a good talent, but he is not a leader and Giroux is not the answer for this franchise moving forward. Even though he will be going to the All-Star Game this season, a team could use him in a top six role as either a centerman or a winger.
Claude Giroux has played in 43 games so far this season. He has scored 14 goals and recorded 33 assists. His plus/minus rating is even.
There would be a few teams that would be a good fit for him. They are the Carolina Hurricanes, the Buffalo Sabres, the New York Isanders, the New Jersey Devils, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Nashville Predators.
He has three years remaining on his contract. The cap hit will be $8,275,000 each season. It is an expensive contract. This is another reason why the Philadelphia Flyers should move on from him.
Philadelphia is most likely going to have to move on from him in the near future anyways and this is the perfect year for them to do it. This franchise could get a lot in return for him.
This is one of the ways to rebuild this franchise. They don’t have many picks in the 2019 NHL Draft and they need to acquire more. The Flyers do have very good prospects in juniors, but they are not ready to make an impact in the NHL right now.
By the time those prospects are ready, Giroux will probably be in the final year of his contract anyways. He wouldn’t be the right guy to mentor them. Claude Giroux needs to be traded to a team thats need him offensively, but they don’t have to rely on him in a leadership role. It would take some pressure off his game and a new scenery for him wouldn’t be a bad thing at this point in his career.
Giroux has played with the Philadelphia Flyers since the 2007-2008 season and he has had five different head coaches in his tenure there.
– Glenn Kaplan, WTF Sports Intern
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