Once the latest CBA gets approved and the Flyers begin to officially gather for training camp, head coach Peter Laviolette will go about the task of naming the 19th captain in Flyers history. And it would be no surprise if it were to be Claude Giroux.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old right wing had 93 points in 77 regular season games last season and led the NHL with eight postseason goals. He also laid out the Penguins' Sidney Crosby on the first shift of Game 6 of their conference quarterfinal — which by itself was immediately etched in stone in Flyers' postseason lore — and then scored a goal a few seconds later.
A couple of Flyers' captains things to note:
♦ Six of the last seven Flyers captains were 29 or older when named.
♦ Bobby Clarke was their captain twice, the 3rd and 6th in their history. In between him were Mel Bridgman and Bill Barber.
♦ If named, Giroux would be the club's fifth-youngest captain. Eric Lindros was the youngest, named at 21 prior to his third season in the NHL.
♦ Darryl Sittler has the dubious distinction of being named captain at a luncheon on Oct. 10, 1984, but being traded to the Red Wings later that evening, on the eve of the season opener. He is not listed here.
♦ More than half of the Flyers' captains have been centers.
♦ The club — under head coach Bill Dineen — went through the 1992-93 season without a captain. That team went 36-37-11.