Claude Giroux could have gone somewhere else. He could have tested the market, seen what other teams were willing to offer, maybe taken a swing at a ring with a contender. But instead, on Tuesday, he signed a one-year extension with the Ottawa Senators for a base salary of $2 million that can climb to $5 million with bonuses. And his reasoning was pretty straightforward.
“I chose to come back because I want to be here. I’m excited to be an Ottawa Senator,” Giroux said in the team’s announcement. “Being around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.”
The 38-year-old has been a Senator since signing as a free agent in the summer of 2022, after a midseason trade from the Flyers sent him to the Panthers in March of that year. He’s barely missed a game since. Four seasons, one regular-season absence total. That’s the kind of durability that makes you wonder if he’s secretly part robot.
Last season he put up 50 points in 81 games. The year before that, 49 in a full 82-game slate. So the production is still there, even if the playoff numbers this spring were a goose egg. The Senators got swept by the Hurricanes in Round 1, and Giroux didn’t register a single point. Not ideal. But the front office isn’t sweating it.
“Claude took his time to evaluate his options, and his decision to re-sign with us shows his belief and commitment to our group,” GM Steve Staios said. “He is the consummate professional and brings veteran experience to our core on and off the ice.”
That core is shifting. Brady Tkachuk is out, dealt for William Eklund in a move that reshuffled the top nine. So Giroux’s role might be even more important now, both as a steady hand and maybe as the next guy to wear the ‘C’ in Ottawa. He was the captain in Philly for years. He knows the weight of that letter.
He’s also creeping up on a milestone. Giroux sits 21 goals away from 400 for his career. If he stays healthy in 2026-27 — which would be his 20th NHL season — he’s got a real shot at getting there. The guy was drafted 22nd overall by the Flyers in 2006. That was a lifetime ago in hockey years.
So the Sens get another year of a guy who clearly didn’t want to leave. And Giroux gets to keep playing with a group he genuinely seems to like. Sometimes that’s enough.
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