NHL Rumors: Claude Giroux Trade from Flyers to Panthers Being Finalized

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Philadelphia Flyers are close to completing a trade that will send Claude Giroux to the Florida panthers.

The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor shared the full parameters:

Charlie O'Connor @charlieo_conn

Can confirm the final deal is:Claude Giroux, a 2024 5th, Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov for

2024 1st, 2023 3rd, and Owen Tippett.

The team is seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 49 points and will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the second year in a row. Giroux is in the last year of his eight-year contract.

He was an obvious candidate to be moved ahead of the NHL's trade deadline because of the two factors.

Giroux had a no-movement clause, so the ball was in his court. He had spent his entire career in Philadelphia and didn't sound like he was jumping at the chance to leave.

John Clark @JClarkNBCS

“Right now I am committed to this team”-Captain Claude Giroux about possibly agreeing to be traded before the deadline next month

Flyers have lost 16 of 18 games. Chuck Fletcher said it will be Claude’s decision pic.twitter.com/GSLcsNk9w4

He told reporters that he hadn't had a chance to talk to the general manager.

By Thursday, it looked like he was going to leave.

John Clark @JClarkNBCS

Sources confirm @AntSanPhilly report that Flyers captain Claude Giroux will not be on team flight tonight and is staying in Philly after he played 1,000th game with Flyers

Trade possibly coming pic.twitter.com/w7OaTxpl9Z

Giroux could pick his next destination with the no-movement clause. He didn't have much incentive to sign off on a trade to a team near the bottom of the table.

Despite that and his impending free agency, theFlyers still stood to gain quite a bit from this trade.

Giroux was the best forward on the market. Through 57 games, the seven-time All-Star has 18 goals and 24 assists.

If that was the plan to which all parties agreed, keeping him around would have made sense. The trade seems to send a message to the team that there was a chance he would sign elsewhere.

Giroux will make a big impact in the forward line.

The All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player is not the same dynamic power-play weapon he once was, but he has adapted his game to fit his current skill set, according to The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor.

"He's more of a two-way threat, capable of helping his team both create and suppress scoring chances while still producing points at an impressive rate. This season, he ranks 46th out of 421 NHL forwards with at least 200 minutes played in isolated RAPM (Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus) impact on his team's even-strength expected goal differential (89th percentile league-wide), and over the past three seasons, he's in the 94th percentile in that regard, grading out well offensively and defensively. He still takes risks, but he's dialed back his aggressiveness and is probably a more well-rounded player now than he was in his youth."

The signal of intent is clear. Simply making the playoffs is not enough. A deep run in the playoffs will be considered a disappointment.

Adding Giroux will help them achieve that goal.

He was going to leave Philadelphia for a title contender, and Florida fits that bill this year.

The team has an Eastern Conference-high 90 points and is listed as the second-betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup by DraftKings Sportsbook.

Since 1995-96, when the team reached the Stanley Cup Final, the team hasn't won a playoff series. The organization could be put over the top by Giroux.

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