Not much went according to plan on Tuesday night for the Ottawa Senators, who hosted the reigning Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers at Canadian Tire Centre. However, there was one notable milestone to be celebrated for a key member of the home squad.
Veteran forward and assistant captain Claude Giroux became the 11th active NHL player to reach the 1,200 games played plateau. With five goals and seven assists so far on the season, he’s on pace for 24 goals and 34 assists.
Unfortunately for Giroux and the Senators, the Oilers weren’t in a cooperative mood to help the veteran celebrate the milestone. Goals from star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl powered the Oilers to a 5-2 win, which included a power-play goal from the aforementioned McDavid after Giroux took an ill-timed penalty.
The Senators are off until Thursday when they bring the 2023 Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights to town.
Senators assistant captain Claude Giroux is in the final year of his current deal
With his career beginning to wind down, many are speculating what the future holds for the 36-year-old Giroux, who signed a three-year contract with Ottawa so that he could play near his hometown of Hearst, Ontario.
During the offseason, Giroux indicated that he and Senators management weren’t discussing a potential extension and wanted to avoid any distractions by bringing it up.
“No, we haven’t had a chat,” he explained. “My main focus right now is on having a good year with the Sens and taking that next step. I don’t need those distractions right now. I haven’t really talked to my agent about it or even my wife. It’s not something on my mind right now.”
Selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 22nd overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, he helped lead the Flyers to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final in his second full professional season and was for a time regarded as one of the top players in the League.
In the 1,200 games he’s played in with the Flyers and Senators along with a brief tenure with the Florida Panthers, he’s scored 355 goals with 723 assists for 1,078 points.
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