Will unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux end up with the Edmonton Oilers or not?
It doesn’t sound like the Oilers are Giroux’s first choice, but it’s still possible. You see, the Philadelphia Flyers have in an $18 million per year offer sheet for Anaheim forward Leo Carlsson, and both Philadelphia and Giroux’s decision on Giroux’s future reportedly hinges on whether or not the Flyers get Carlsson.
Giroux is a former Flyer and he’s reportedly interested in signing there, or possibly in Ottawa, his current team.
As Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported on Saturday: “The Flyers have to wait to see if the Ducks match before determining where Giroux fits in all of this. Anaheim has seven days to decide. The Flyers have $30 million in cap space, but have to sign forward Trevor Zegras and defenceman Jamie Drysdale, who are both RFA’s, and they’ve opened themselves up to retribution in the market.”
Giroux
Garrioch also noted that Sportsnet’s Mark Spector had said on Friday that the Oilers are not in the mix for Giroux, but the situation is murky with Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now saying on Friday that Giroux had yet to make up his mind on any team.
Said Stauffer: “We need to address, first of all, there are rumors out there pertaining to Claude Giroux. And I don’t have any information at this time. I know that there’s been some reports saying that Giroux is slated to return to Philadelphia. He’s played his entire career in the Eastern Conference. I’m not saying that the rumours are incorrect. I’m just saying that one of the sources that I spoke to suggested that the things are at this time still undecided as to where Giroux may play next season.”
My take
1. It sounds like Edmonton signing Giroux is a long shot, unless Giroux puts winning a Stanley Cup at the top of his to-do list. Edmonton has a much greater chance of winning the Cup next year than do Ottawa or Philadelphia, even if the Flyers were to sign Carlsson.
2. With two signings this weekend of depth d-men Spencer Stastney and Shakir Mukhamadullin, it looks like Stan Bowman’s major moves could be coming to an end for the summer. That said, there are reports from insiders of some interest from the Oilers for wingers such as Wild free agent Vladimir Tarasenko and Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell.
Edmonton’s only restricted free agent left to sign is Colton Dach.
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