NHL Rumors: Claude Giroux Trade from Flyers to Panthers Being Finalized

The Philadelphia Flyers are finalizing a trade that will send veteran forward Claude Giroux to the Florida Panthers, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported Connor Bunnaman will join Giroux in heading south to Florida, while the Flyers will land Owen Tippett. The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor shared the full parameters:

The Flyers are sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 49 points and will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the second straight season. Giroux, meanwhile, is in the final year of his eight-year, $66.2 million contract.

Combine the two factors, and the 34-year-old was an obvious candidate to get moved ahead of the NHL's trade deadline.

Because of his no-movement clause, the ball was largely in Giroux's court. He had spent his entire 15-year career in Philadelphia and didn't sound like he was jumping at the chance to leave at the first opportunity.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to [general manager Chuck Fletcher]," he told reporters on Feb. 17. "We have a lot of things to talk about, what's best for the Flyers organization, what's best for me, and we'll just go from there."

By Thursday, his departure looked inevitable.

The no-movement clause meant Giroux could basically pick his next destination. He had little incentive to sign off on a trade to another franchise languishing near the bottom of the standings.

Despite that and his impending free agency, the Flyers still stood to gain quite a bit from this trade.

Giroux was arguably the best forward on the market. Through 57 games, the seven-time All-Star has 18 goals and 24 assists. He also has a great track record in the playoffs, putting up 73 points (25 goals and 48 assists) in 85 appearances.

Keeping him around with an eye toward having him spend his entire career in Philly would've made sense if that was the plan to which all parties agreed. This trade seems to send the message that the Flyers thought there was a chance he'd sign elsewhere in the offseason.

For Florida, Giroux will make an immediate impact in the forward line.

The Athletic's Charlie O'Connor wrote how the All-Star Game MVP is "not the same dynamic power-play weapon he once was" but pointed to how he has adapted his game to fit his current skill set:

"He's more of a two-way threat, capable of helping his team both create and suppress scoring chances while still producing points at an impressive rate. This season, he ranks 46th out of 421 NHL forwards with at least 200 minutes played in isolated RAPM (Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus) impact on his team's even-strength expected goal differential (89th percentile league-wide), and over the past three seasons, he's in the 94th percentile in that regard, grading out well offensively and defensively. He still takes risks, but he's dialed back his aggressiveness and is probably a more well-rounded player now than he was in his youth."

This is a clear signal of intent for the Panthers. Simply making the playoffs isn't enough. Anything short of a deep run in the postseason will be considered a disappointment.

Adding Giroux will undoubtedly help them in looking to achieve that goal.

He was only ever going to leave Philadelphia for a title contender, and Florida certainly fits that bill this year.

The team has an Eastern Conference-high 90 points, and DraftKings Sportsbook lists Andrew Brunette's squad as the second-betting favorite (+600; bet $100 to win $600) for the Stanley Cup behind the Colorado Avalanche.

The Panthers haven't won a playoff series since 1995-96, when they reached the Stanley Cup Final. General manager Bill Zito knows how important capitalizing on this season might be. Giroux could help put the organization over the top.

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