Claude Giroux was traded to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Giroux had been a member of the Philadelphia Flyers since 2006. Philadelphia selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft. Giroux made his debut with the team in 2008. Giroux had a chance to play with Flyer legends such as Jaromír Jágr, Simon Gagné, Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, Jeff Carter, Kimmo Timonen and Danny Brière in his tenure with the team. Giroux became the captain of the Flyers in 2013 and is considered by many to be one of the greatest hockey players to ever play for the team once known as the broad street bullies. Giroux is now the longest tenured captain in the Philadelphia Flyers franchise. On Thursday not only did Giroux play his 1,000th NHL game, he played his final game as a Philadelphia Flyer. 

When fans think of the Flyers they think of Claude Giroux. Giroux was the face of the franchise since he was elected captain in 2013. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t see as much success as the other Flyer captains that went before him. The Flyers have struggled since the loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Giroux was one of the key members of that team. Giroux scored the game-winning goal in game three and led the Flyers to a 4-3 win to keep his team in the series. Unfortunately, Giroux’s heroics weren’t enough to hold off Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks. Chicago defeated Philadelphia in six games. Philadelphia hasn’t gotten past the conference semi-finals since 2010. The Flyers haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1975, and Giroux’s focus now leads him elsewhere.

Giroux is now part of a Florida Panthers team that carries the talents of Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad and Sergei Bobrovsky. Florida was considered a contender before the Giroux trade. Florida is now one of the favorites to win the cup with Giroux on its side. Giroux has yet to win the cup in his career and if he achieves his goal, his path to the NHL Hall of Fame will be much more clear.

Giroux was the longest-tenured athlete in Philadelphia sports before he was traded. (Philadelphia Eagles Defensive End Brandon Graham now holds that title.) 

Whether it’s the hit on Sidney Crosby in the opening seconds of a playoff game to the game-winning goal against the Penguins in the Stadium Series, Claude Giroux will always be a Philadelphia Flyer.