The Captain is Back

Giroux signs 6 year extension to return to Philly

Unlike their incompetent NHL counterparts, the DCHL Flyers have brought their Captain back to likely finish his career in Philadelphia after signing a 6-year contract coming in just under $8M a season, taking him into his late 30s. There were already 6 DCHL seasons before Claude Giroux first got to lace up his skates in the orange and black. In the summer of 2020 after watching Patrice Bergeron get a max contract megadeal in Boston, the Flyers front office put all of their attention on Giroux. The contract demand was too inflated to be long-term though, cashing in at over $14M AAV over the 20-21 and 21-22 seasons. In that time period Giroux immediately donned the Captain’s C and went on to put up 53 goals and 149 points over 164 regular season games.

In Giroux’s first season the team finished 3^rd in the league with 109 points and then surpassed that the following year finishing 2^nd with 116 points. The disappointing part was the team’s back-to-back first round losses to inferior opponents, first leading to the dismissal of Joel Quenneville and more recently Alain Vigneault after a single season behind the pine. The team brought in Andrew Brunette hoping a younger voice can be a better long-term fit behind the bench. As the only team in DCHL history to make the playoffs in all 8 seasons it is about time they get some playoff hardware to show for it. Giroux knows what needs to happen now and he’ll continue to lead the way as the team extends its championship window.