O Captain, My Captain!
On February 8th, while all eyes were on Alex Ovechkin during the Philadelphia Flyers game vs the Washington Capitals, it was the Flyers star captain who stole the show. Captain Claude Giroux recorded a goal and 2 assists during the game.
That represented the 250th goal and 800th point of his career.
It got me thinking: Why isn’t there more love around the league for one of its truly great superstars?
Over the last decade, Giroux has accumulated 727 total points. That ranks 4th amongst all NHL players, trailing only Patrick Kane (775) Sidney Crosby (740) and Alex Ovechkin (739). Quick math tells us that’s a mere 48 points away from the top spot. That’s better than Stamkos, Tavares, Malkin, Thornton, Bergeron and the rest of them.
Unlike 2 of those 3 guys ahead of him, Giroux played almost the entire decade as a center. This means more defensive responsibilities and more often than not, he was responsible to shut down the opposition’s best offensive threats.
What Giroux also does that most of those other players don’t do, is he kills penalties, and he kills them well.
Giroux boasts 7 shorthanded goals over the last decade. The 3 players ahead of his pointwise had combined for 1 shorthanded goal during the decade. They barely kill penalties at all because, well… they’re just not as good defensively as Giroux. Still, there is no love for my Captain.
During the last decade, Giroux has been one of the strongest faceoff men in the league, and this year is no exception. He’s currently 3rd in the category at 59.1% faceoffs won, trailing only teammate Sean Couturier (59.3%) and Vancouver Canuck J.T. Miller (60.0%). Career-wise, he has an incredible 55.2% faceoff win percentage. And would anyone really doubt Giroux’s heart and leadership? SERIOUSLY? He always leaves it all on the ice.
Who can forget his famous line: “I don’t know who you’re planning on starting tonight, but I want that first shift coach” that Giroux said to head coach Peter Laviolette during the 2012 playoffs, and then proceeded to absolutely destroy Crosby with a BIG hit, steal the puck off him and put it in the back of the net during the decisive game six, which sent the hated Penguins packing?
After the game, Laviolette called Giroux “The Best Player in the world”. That’s one heck of a statement from a very respected hockey man. But still, there was no love.
In 2014, Team Canada somehow disrespected Giroux, and left him off their Olympic roster, in favor of Chris Kunitz (my eyes still hurt from rolling them so hard on that one), Rick Nash and Jeff Carter. All fine players in their own right but give me a break. None of them will ever be in the same category as Claude Giroux.
Giroux currently sits 4th in team history with 803 career points behind only Brian Propp (849) and Hall of Famers Bill Barber (883) and Bobby Clarke (1210) while still being only 32 years old. Fair to say, he’ll finish second all-time once it’s all said and done. He leads by example and has never been a problem on or off the ice. Yet he gets no love and respect, even from some Flyers fans (insert eye roll here).
It’s definitely long overdue, but it’s time to give credit where credit is due: Claude Giroux is a true NHL superstar, and its far time the hockey world starts treating him as such. In the famous words of Terrel Owens: That’s my Captain!
Featured Image: NHL.com
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Categorized:Flyers