Veteran forward Claude Giroux is looking to come back for a 20th NHL season this fall, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports.
Giroux is a pending unrestricted free agent after spending the past four years with the Ottawa Senators. He said after Ottawa’s first-round playoff exit last month he would need time to weigh his future, but it appears he’s not ready to hang up his skates just yet.
“I was told Monday that the 38-year-old forward, an unrestricted free agent on July 1, has decided he wants to come back and play another season,” LeBrun wrote Tuesday in The Athletic.
The 38-year-old centre had 14 goals and 49 points in 82 games with the Senators last season. He did not record a point in four playoff games as the Senators were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.
The 5-foot-11 centre is coming off a one-year, $2 million contract after first joining Ottawa on a three-year, $19.5 million deal as a free agent in 2022. He had 35 goals and 79 points in his first season with the team, but his production has slowly declined since.
“G’s a special player and a special person,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said of Giroux in his season-ending availability. “Talk about experience and going through some hard lessons and having success as a player. He brings that to our group. He brings that leadership. I think he played even better this year than he did last year, so it shows his commitment to his craft, as well.”
Giroux is one of three veteran forwards slated for unrestricted free agency in Ottawa, along with Lars Eller and Nick Cousins. Defencemen Nick Jensen, Dennis Gilbert and Lassi Thompson, as well as goaltender James Reimer are also scheduled to become UFAs.
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.
