Philadelphia Flyers Do Right, Re-Sign Claude Giroux for Three Years

While everyone thought general manager Paul Holmgren's top priority was re-signing center Jeff Carter to a long term contract, Homer pulled another trick out of his hat.

On Monday, Holmgren announced that 22-year-old superstar Claude Giroux agreed to a three-year, $11.25 million contract extension. It'll break down to $2.75 million for 2011-12, $3.5 million for 2012-13 and $5 million for 2013-2014.

Giroux will continue to make $765,000 until his entry-level deal runs out at the end of this year. He would have been a restricted free agent had the Flyers not extended him during the season.

Through 15 games, Giroux is the Flyers leading scoring, netting 14 points (seven goals, seven assists). He's first in the NHL in shorthanded goals (three), and tied for first in the league in game-winning goals (three).

His early season success was not the reason why Holmgren decided to re-sign the youngster.

“I’m not sure if we had waited longer if the numbers change,” Holmgren said. “It's something now where Claude can just concentrate on playing, the kind of thing that we don’t need to be concerned about either for a few years.”

The Flyers will now move their focus off the ice towards extending Carter to a very long deal and re-signing Ville Leino, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

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