You’ve been the captain of this franchise for 10 seasons. You’ve helped provide this team and fanbase with enough memorable moments to last a lifetime. You are the reason so many of us have tuned in to watch our Philadelphia Flyers take the ice. We have grown up with you leading the way for the Flyers.
I don’t know if when Bobby Clarke forgot your name at the 2006 NHL Draft, if that motivated you to not let anyone else forget the name “Claude Giroux”, but certainly nobody in the entire Delaware Valley can forget the lasting impact you’ve made here.
Overtime of Game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final was when you delivered the Flyers their first win in the Final since 1987. Game 6 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Pittsburgh is when you established yourself as the alpha male and decided the Flyers were moving on to the second round.
You racked up a Hart Trophy finalist nomination in 2014 and were frankly snubbed of the award altogether in 2018, and you’ve displayed some of the greatest hockey this city has ever seen played. The 2019 Stadium Series was a reminder from you to the fans, the league, and the Penguins that no one messes with Philly on our turf in one of the biggest events in franchise history, and that we win and run the show on this side of the state.
You have given us so much to be proud of Claude. You’ve devoted your entire life to this city and this franchise. Your blood, sweat, and tears have endeared yourself to this fanbase and this city in a way that no one on the outside will be able to fully understand. You are the Philadelphia Flyers. You’re one of the greatest players in Flyers history and in one of the darkest and most turbulent eras in franchise history, you’ve been the brightest light at the end of the seemingly never-ending tunnel.
I’m so lucky and happy that I’ve been able to see you play in person nine times in my life. I’ve seen you score 5 goals and 4 assists in those contests, including that amazing one-timer bank shot against Vancouver at the season opener this year. It was the coolest goal I’ve ever seen scored in person and it’s one of many memories I’ll never forget from you.
The ceremony, game, and postgame skate on Thursday night were beautiful, and while it certainly felt like it was goodbye, I know that you’ll never really be gone because you’ll always be a Flyer forever in my heart.
There’s not a lot of hockey players, much less athletes in general, who can say that they’ve spent their entire career with one team. While you may not get to say that, 15 seasons is a hell of a run and while we never achieved the ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup, anyone who says that all falls on you doesn’t understand the game and never will, and I hope Florida and its fans will fully appreciate what your bring to the team and hopefully you’ll be hoisting that Cup in June.
1,000 games. 291 goals. 609 assists. 900 points. Forever a legend. I can’t wait when number 28 gets lifted into the rafters someday, so we can embrace you at the Wells Fargo Center one last time.
Thank you for everything, Captain. We love you.
