‘We’re all in’: Panthers’ Giroux trade is a game-changer and they’re not done adding
The Florida Panthers’ trade for Claude Giroux on Saturday, it turns out, was not the end of their wheeling and dealing ahead of the trade deadline.
It was, however, the sort of move the the Panthers have been waiting to be able to make for basically their entire existence. Giroux is an All-Star — a seven-time All-Star, to be exact — and a franchise icon for the Philadelphia Flyers, and he decided he wanted to come to Florida because it’s where, he figured, he has the best chance to finally win an elusive Stanley Cup.
The long-suffering Panthers, who have not won a postseason series since 1996, are an unlikely destination franchise and their players are energized by the biggest in-season move in their history.
“We’ve gotten to this point,” defenseman Radko Gudas said. “Everybody recognizes and everybody knows the way we play, we have a chance now with all the moves, everybody believes and everybody starts recognizing it more. And it’s fun to be part of a group that is getting recognized by the rest.”
The Giroux deal followed a Wednesday trade to acquire defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens and preceded a Sunday trade to bring in Robert Hagg — primarily a third-pairing defenseman, who led the Buffalo Sabres with 97 hits and 91 blocked shots — in exchange for a sixth-round pick.
Florida (42-14-6) doesn’t have to stop there, either — and almost certainly won’t. The Hagg trade was necessitated by the right knee injury Aaron Ekblad sustained Friday in Florida’s 3-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks, but there could be a benefit to the injury: The Panthers can now place the star defenseman on long-term injured reserve to open up nearly $5.5 million in cap space ahead of the deadline. They have until 3 p.m. on Monday to keep upgrading their roster or use the cap room to take on unwanted contracts and recoup some of the draft picks they’ve given up in the last year to load up their roster.
Those moves, after all, did come at a high price. Florida gave up its first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft to bring in Chiarot, who might not be anything more than third-pairing defenseman, and gave up its first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft — with a top-10 protection — to land Giroux. After they traded their first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft to land forward Sam Reinhart last year, the Panthers likely won’t have a first-round pick until the 2025 Draft and they can’t trade their 2025 first-round pick because it’s tied up in the 2024 protection.
In the last week, Florida has also traded away wingers Frank Vatrano and Owen Tippett, prospect Ty Smilanic, a 2022 fourth-round pick, a 2022 sixth-round pick and a 2023 third-round pick.
It’s a lot to give up, but the Panthers know they might be the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference and reach the Stanley Cup Finals for only the second time in franchise history, and these moves — particularly the Giroux addition — might even make them the championship favorite.
“It is an amazing feeling to come to the rink and knowing that you’re on a team that is rolling, wants to roll, wants to get better, wants to do the little things right and wants to roll over teams,” Gudas said, “and wants to get ready for the real thing.”
Added winger Anthony Duclair: “It sends a clear message that we’re all in.”
No matter what else happens before the deadline, Giroux will be the prize for Florida. The 34-year-old Canadian was the Most Valuable Player of the 2022 NHL All-Star Game last month, and had 18 goals and 24 assists for perhaps the worst team in the league.
Giroux spent most of his career at center, but was primarily a left wing this season. He’ll probably start on the wing once he gets to South Florida, interim coach Andrew Brunette said, and will likely start out on one of the Panthers’ top two lines.
A wing spot on the top line is an obvious spot to try out Giroux. Forwards Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov have locked down two of the spots, yet Florida has not been able to find them a right wing to consistently play alongside.
The Panthers expect Giroux to practice for the first time with his new team Tuesday. Brunette said it will be “trial and error” to figure out where he fits best.
“We have so many good forwards and so many good forward lines. I think he fits anywhere,” the coach said. “He really wants to be here. He’s willing to make anything work. I got off the phone with him and he’s, Wherever you need to play me, I need to earn it, I want to earn it, so we’ll figure it out. It always takes a little bit or maybe it’ll be seamless. We don’t know, so we’re just ready to adapt.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2022 at 1:31 PM.
