Giroux named 19th Flyers captain

To the surprise of no one, the Flyers named Claude Giroux the 19th captain in franchise history on Tuesday night.

'G' officially has the 'C.'

Kimmo Timonen will serve as the Flyers' associate captain, with Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell serving as alternates.

"Claude is the undisputed leader of this team," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "He always exhibits a tremendous work ethic in games and practices.  He is a great professional both on and off the ice.  Claude has learned a lot over the past few years playing with Mike Richards, Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger, just to name a few.  Having played with these athletes has been a huge benefit for Claude."

Flyers chairman Ed Snider said the team's veterans, along with management, "realize that this is Claude's time."

Giroux, 25, is entering his fifth season with the Flyers. He led the team with 93 points last season, the most since Eric Lindros' 93 in 1998-99.

"Obviously, this is a huge honor," Giroux said.  "There have been a lot of great captains here in the past.  Along with this comes a lot of responsibility which I am prepared for.  Being named captain is not really going to change the way I play on the ice and act off the ice. But I am very excited about this opportunity."

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers