James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux took a lot of criticism last season after not producing quite as many goals as he did in the previous season. A lot of the blame for this fell on the lockout-shortened NHL season, but the other scapegoat was the ‘C’ that the team had recently stitched onto his uniform.
I wrote before questioning if the ‘C’ on his chest stood for ‘cursed’, but I also do believe that Giroux will be one of the players that will step up next season for the Flyers.
Here’s the thing with Giroux: fans were expecting him to come out on top again and show us another 30-goal season, but that’s a little irrational.
Do they really expect Giroux to have another huge season after a rushed training camp and having the season cut in half to 48 games? This is not to say that the Flyers had a difficult season overall, but I think Giroux tried as hard as he could to be a good captain, but the team was just unsuccessful.
Giroux was thrown into the captaincy, and it didn’t seem like a role he was comfortable with at first. He slowly grew into it, but fans cannot expect him to be a superstar captain so early on.
However, he was still a valuable asset alongside linemate Jakub Voracek. While Voracek was busy scoring 22 goals this season, Giroux was right next to him setting him up. Giroux may not have had a star-like season, but he still led the team with 48 points, notching 35 assists and 13 goals.
The question remains: will Giroux avoid the continued ‘curse of the C’ and bounce back next season?
Absolutely. With veteran Vincent Lecavalier rumored to be on Giroux’s line, the captain will learn a lot from Lecavlier, similarly to when Jaromir Jagr skated on his line. Giroux will also have a full season to really get back to where he was during the 2011-2012 season. The Flyers gave the ‘C’ to Giroux for a reason, and he’ll prove it to fans next season.
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers writer for www.rantsports.com, you can follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
