We learned in mid-February from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Capitals are looking for help in their forward ranks via trade. Friedman would even go on to name Seattle’s Calle Jarnkrok by name as a potential fit.
Well, now we have another potential name and it’s a big one. Brandon Sommermann of The Brotherly Bullies reports the Caps have “quietly kept an eye on the Claude Giroux situation.”
Hearing #ALLCAPS have quietly kept an eye on Claude Giroux situation. There is history there with Giroux & HC Peter Laviolette. WSH, who need goalie help & defense depth, have been scouting PHI alot over past two weeks. PHI have defense & a goalie on trade block. #BringItToBroad
— Brandon J. Sommermann (@B_Sommermann) March 6, 2022
As Sommermann notes, Giroux spent parts of five seasons under Peter Laviolette when the Caps current bench boss was with the Flyers from 2009 to 2013. They went to the Cup Final together in Lavi’s first season in charge. The talented and versatile forward has 40 points in 52 games this season.
Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic also brought up Giroux’s name in his latest piece titled “What I’m hearing about the Capitals leading up to the trade deadline”.
But I’ve also heard MacLellan hasn’t ruled out getting “aggressive” and trying to reel in a bigger fish like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux ($8.275 million) or the San Jose Sharks’ Tomas Hertl ($5.625 million).
Capitals assistant general manager Ross Mahoney was recently in attendance for a Flyers game against the Minnesota Wild last week.
Giroux notably has a no-movement clause and a ton of respect in Philly so he will need to approve of any team acquiring him. The price to acquire him in the first place, however, may be too rich for a team like the Caps.
Friedman has reported in the past that the Flyers “are interested in “a prospect that’s closer to playing” as opposed to one that might not be NHL-ready for a few years.” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan has gone on the record recently about his hesitation towards that type of deal.
“I’d be less inclined to trade prospects because they are going to be playing here sooner than later,” MacLellan said hinting a youth movement is on the horizon for the Caps. “I don’t know if we’re going to be as aggressive as we’ve been in the past. Just to add depth pieces we might overpay a little bit because we have a good team and we thought we’d go a long way and need players. I don’t know if we’re in that mode, but we’d still like to try and improve the team.”
The team has two weeks to prove to their general manager that they are in that “mode” again.
Screenshot via @NHLFlyers/Twitter
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