Homer acts swiftly, signs Giroux; Phantoms' coach canned
Give Paul Holmgren credit. The Flyers' GM moved swiftly and signed superstar-in-the-making Claude Giroux to a lucrative contract _ but one that won't break the bank.
Homer acts swiftly, signs Giroux; Phantoms' coach canned
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Give Paul Holmgren credit. The Flyers' GM moved swiftly and signed superstar-in-the-making Claude Giroux to a lucrative contract _ but one that won't break the bank.
Giroux, a 22-year-old center who leads the Flyers with seven goals and 14 points, signed a three-year deal Monday for $11.25 million. That's an average cap hit of $3.75 million per season.
That seems like a good deal all around for both sides. Giroux will have an even bigger pay day down the road, but for now, he is more than comfortable _ and the Flyers have a rising star who figures to be the face of the franchise for many years.
As reported in The Inquirer earlier in the week, the Flyers opened talks with Giroux's agent, Larry Kelly, and did not want to wait until he became a restricted free agent on July 1.
Giroux is having a breakout year and he probably would have commanded more money if he had waited.
The Flyers also have had talks with the agents for Jeff Carter and Ville Leino. Carter can become a RFA after the season, while Leino can become an untrestricted free agent.
Giroux was drafted in the first round of the 2006 draft. He was selected No. 22 overall _ when he chose him, then-GM Bob Clarke temporarily forgot his name.
The Ontario native has developed quicker than many of the players selected ahead of him that season.
That was a deep draft for centers, including Jordan Staal (No. 2 overall), Jonathan Toews (No. 3 overall), Nicklas Backstom (No. 4 overall), Phil Kessel (No. 5 overall), Derick Brassard (No. 6 overall) and Peter Mueller (No. 8 overall).
Here is how Giroux's deal compares to those players' latest contracts:
Giroux (22 years old): three years for $11.25 million; cap hit: $3.75 million per year.
Staal (22 years old): four years for $16 million; cap hit: $4 million per year.
Toews (22 years old): five years for $31.5 million; cap hit: $6.3 million per year.
Backstrom (22 years old): 10 years for $67 million; cap hit: $6.7 million per year.
Kessel (23 years old): five years for $27 million; cap hit: $5.4 million per year.
Brassard (23 years old): four years for $12.8 million; cap hit: $3.2 million per year.
Mueller (22 years old): two years for $4 million; cap hit: $2 million per year.
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Adirondack Phantoms coach Greg Gilbert was fired and replaced by John Paddock on an interim basis. The Phantoms are the Flyers' AHL affiliate. Adirondack (2-10-1) has the worst record in the 30-team AHL, and it is 0-8-1 in its last nine games.
GM Paul Holmgren said the recent dismissal of Phantoms forward Pat Maroon and Gilbert's firing were unrelated.
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Speedy winger Eric Wellwood, 20, was returned to the Phantoms. Based on his strong performances with the Flyers, he will be back. Wellwood had an assist and was plus-1 in three games with the Flyers.
first! excellent move by homer to lock up giroux, now they should move carter for a winger.— oyoyer- Great move, kid is a franchise player and hes still very young.— xMikelaw19
- Great move. If he keeps developing at the same rate in the next three years he will get a franchise player type contract. He is fun to watch in a Flyers sweater.— Apache9
- good move! 5 years at that price would have been better, although no way to know if he'd stay healthy or not. good move homer!— Stanley Cup
- Smart deal Homer!— Fabulous
- awesome news..i think they should dump carter for a winger and get leino signed for a few more years..— flyerfan18
- This is perfect. We get to see if Carter can play wing for an entire year. If he can't, ship him out for a young star who can (I'm wishing on Bobby Ryan)— SPro
- Should have signed him for 4 or 5 years. Look at that list. Only 2 guys with less per year.— P Even
- Phantoms record not a good showing of depth in the minors.— P Even
Homer is an intellectual GM, and that is a good thing. I loved Clarkie, but he wouldn't draft or play a Russian. Bob the goalie has the chance to be an elite goalie. Leighton's injury was the team's best fortune. Giroux is a top tier player already, and locking him in now is the best move Homer can make. I agree with P Even that the Phantom's record is slight cause for alarm on the depth chart if there is an injury.- This is a great move and I'm glad they knocked it out of the way early. Carter is pretty much a goner with this move, we just have way to many Center's. Unfortunately to sign Leino, we're not going to be able to get a Bobby Ryan like player in return. Ryan already makes more than Carter and would put us over the cap with Giroux and Leino's new contracts (assuming we lock up Leino too). Are best bet is to trade Carter for a pick and maybe a decent and more importantly cheap prospect. But either way, before next July Carter or Briere will have to go and judging by the Briere's Playoff numbers and his play so far this season, it will likely be Party Carter that is moved.— punkrockdiva81
- Glad they signed Giroux before Carter! Worth more to the team for sure. Best forward on the team, all-around.— GA_Expat
- Giroux has done quite well for a kid that Clarkie couldn't even remember his name on draft day. Classic moment when Clarke turned and said "what's his name"?— 67Flyer
- Whenever people talk of Giroux and have to throw in that Clarke forgot his name at the podium, they never tell the whole story. The Flyers went into that draft very high on Bobby Sanguinetti (a local kid, I think). The Rangers had shown no interest in him, but knew the Flyers were high on him. Clarke was all set to draft Sanguinetti when the Rangers trumped him, so he was dumbfounded more because the guy they focused on all morning was taken one spot ahead of their pick and had NOTHING to do with Giroux.— Per Djoos
- Jeff Carter should be traded. He is pompous. He thinks he is all that and he shows zero toughness. His gloves are cemented on.— Ferrell31
