Veteran Centre Linked to Maple Leafs After Being Eliminated By Them in Round 1

Veteran Centre Linked to Maple Leafs After Being Eliminated By Them in Round 1

Photo credit: Dan Hamilton – Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been linked to veteran centre and former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Girioux just over a week after eliminating him in Round 1.

The Maple Leafs are going to have a lot on their plate once the season comes to a close with players like Matthew Knies, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares all needing new contracts – and with the latter two being unrestricted free agents.

While the goal would be to bring back all three players, it might be a hard task to accomplish even with $26.86 million in projected cap space to work with. It’s anyone’s guess as to how much each player will command and subsequently sign for, but there’s a really good chance it could be out of their price-point.

Marner and Knies will be the priorities, considering what they bring to the table, what they’ve produced in recent years, and their age, compared to Tavares, who will be entering his age-35 season. If that is what ends up happening, there’s another veteran centre that the Leafs could target that would be able to take over without a hitch.A former Philadelphia Flyers captain and current pending UFA for the Ottawa Senators, Claude Giroux, would be the perfect Plan B if the Leafs are looking to fill a top-6 spot, primarily down the middle.

Since joining the Senators on a 3-year deal during the summer of 2022, Giroux has put up 71 goals and 193 points over 245 games. However, there is certainly some risk involved as well, considering he just recently turned 37 years old and has gone down from 79 points to 64 points to 54 points over in the last 3 consecutive seasons during his Senators tenure.

Nevertheless, he’s a veteran of 1,263 regular season games with 1,116 points across 18 seasons to go along with 19:29 ATOI and a scintillating 56.4% success rate in the face-off circle. His offensive numbers have taken a hit over the years but he’s only a couple years removed from a 79-point campaign.

Giroux has expressed his desire to remain with the Senators, but with only a few good years remaining and a Stanley Cup ring missing, there’s a good chance he tests the market and looks for greener pastures, which could be in Toronto.

Previously on MapleLeafsDaily

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