Count Claude Giroux as one of the names set to be available on the market ahead of Wednesday’s Free Agent Frenzy.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports that the 38-year-old Giroux will hit the open market on July 1 with there being no extension in place to return to the Ottawa Senators.
LeBrun adds that the pending unrestricted free agent forward is “keeping the door open” for a potential reunion with the Senators, but that there are teams that were interested to see if he’d be available at the start of free agency.
Giroux had 14 goals and 49 points in 82 games with Ottawa last season. He did not record a point in four playoff games as the Senators were eliminated in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
He is coming off a one-year, $2 million contract signed with the team in the days leading up to July 1 last summer.
Drafted 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006, Giroux has 379 goals and 1,165 points in 1,345 career games split between the Flyers, Florida Panthers, and Senators.
Giroux’s best season came during 2017-18 where he recorded 34 goals and 102 points in 82 games and was named a second-team All-Star.
The Hearst, Ont., native represented Canada three times at the World Hockey Championship, taking home a gold medal in 2015 and silver medal in 2017. He also represented his country at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, winning gold.
Giroux was ranked at No. 45 on TSN’s list of top free agents ahead of July 1.
