It is coming fast and it is coming hot. (Ha! a thats what she said joke. Humor! Words! good start, Johnny.)
March 21st, 2022, 3:00pm. A moment in time that could go down as one of the most emotionally cruel days in Philadelphia Flyers history. Okay fine, it’s not like it is going to be “Michael Raffl traded to the Capitals sad”, but it will still be up there.
Yes, that was sarcasm. I’m back, baby. I’m about to move you to tears faster than a newborn baby chopping onions in a wind tunnel (I don’t recommend this, not an endorsement.)
It’s a day that has the potential to make you reflect back individually on some of the happiest moments over the last 15 years.
The shootout goal versus the Rangers in 2010 to send the Flyers to the playoffs. Maybe the Game 3 Stanley Cup overtime goal versus the Blackhawks. Does a certain shift in 2012 remind you of anything? What about the Stadium Series overtime goal in 2017 vs Pittsburgh? That surely hits you in the feels, right?
How about the countless dazzling, swift, elegant, dipsy-doo dekes, maneuvers, and stick-handles that have left more goalie jocks in the rafters than Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Banners.
Okay, it’s time to stop. Are you crying yet? Because I am. Like a baby, actually. The keyboard is soaked with my tears.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is an article about his holiness, Claude Giroux. The French-Canadian god from Hearst, Ontario, Canada. The Moses of Girouxsalem. The leader of the greater Philadelphia bi-weekly ginger beard support group (Jake Voracek still zooms in from time to time).
What can we say about Claude Giroux except that he has been everything and much more than the Flyers could have asked for when they drafted him 22nd Overall in 2006.
He will go down in the history books for many things but maybe most prominently for being the greatest player to ever wear #56 in franchise history. (Sorry Tyrell Goulbourne, Mike McKenna and Erik Gustafson, it was a close race.)
Anyway, allow me to break down the accolades. As of 3:03pm on Saturday March 12, 2022, Claude Giroux has 899 points in 998 NHL games and has participated in 7 All-Star games.
He has spent the last 10 seasons as the 18th captain in Flyers history and as it stands right now, Giroux is 2nd in team history in games played (998), 8th in goals (290), 2nd in assists (609), and 2nd in points (899).
Expanding the scope to the entire NHL, only 3 players are ahead of Claude Giroux when it comes to points and they are Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, and Alex Ovechkin. All of which are headed to the Hall of Fame.
Having said that, Claude Giroux leads all 3 of them in Powerplay points since he has entered the league. He has finished top 5 in the voting for the Hart Trophy in 3 different seasons in 2012, 2014, 2018 and at one point he called JVR a pigeon.
A masterclass of chirping and a technician with the puck on his stick.
It is kind of unreal to think that a top 3 player in Philadelphia Flyers history could be playing in his final 3 games and in his final 10 days with the team but it is still not too late to appreciate his greatness.
For these final 10 days we will love him like it is our last. We shall basque him in rose petals, throw on some Barry White music and light the candl…ah shoot, sorry that was meant for an article about Margot Robbie. Dammit.
Anyways, for these final 10 days we will still love him like it is our last. We will reflect on all those happy and memorable times he brought us.
In a dark era of Flyers history Claude Giroux will always be that small flickering light that kept the cave from going completely dark. That one brick in the foundation that kept the house from falling. He is the last member of the 2000-2010 era Flyers that always played hockey the right way. Every night. Every shift. He brought it.
Goodbyes suck. They’re hard and no one likes them. Let this be a celebration. Whatever happens, we will wish Claude, Ryanne, Gavin, and Palmer the best. Every time they return to Philly they will be embraced.
Thank you, Claude.
With all this being said, he really might not even get traded anyways so I just put you in an emotional rollercoaster for nothing.
You’re welcome.
Johnny M is a writing contributor at HW Hockey and cohost of the Tie My Skates Podcast
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