- Claude Giroux signed a one-year, $2 million contract to return to the Senators for a fifth season in Ottawa
- The deal can climb to $5 million through games-played and playoff bonuses
- Read below for the terms, Giroux’s own words, and where Ottawa sits on the cap
Claude Giroux isn’t going anywhere.
The Senators made it official Tuesday, re-signing the 38-year-old forward to a one-year contract worth $2 million. Ottawa announced the deal after Giroux spent a week on the open market.
The contract can climb to $5 million with bonuses tied to games played and playoff runs. That puts Giroux back in the lineup for a fifth season with his hometown team.
Giroux said the decision was an easy one when he broke down why he stayed.
“I chose to come back because I want to be here. I’m excited to be an Ottawa Senator. Being around those guys for four years, we got really close. This team feels like a family. I just care for those players.”
The Flyers and Maple Leafs both circled once he hit the open market on July 1. Philadelphia drafted him at No. 22 in 2006 and got 15 seasons and a captaincy out of him, so a homecoming made for an easy story. He passed on it.
His return carries extra weight this summer. Ottawa traded captain Brady Tkachuk to Florida, brought in William Eklund from San Jose, and added goalie Samuel Ersson and forward Andre Burakovsky.
Keeping Giroux hands a shifting locker room a veteran the young core already leans on. He put up 14 goals and 49 points in all 82 games last season, though he didn’t register a point across four playoff games.
Ottawa now sits with roughly $4.2 million in projected cap space. For a 38-year-old who once looked like he might finish his career in Philadelphia, another year in the Canadian capital suits him fine.
Take a look at the league welcoming him back:
