Claude Giroux

Claude "Dari" Giroux (born January 12, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Center and captain of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Personal Life
Giroux was born on January 12, 1988, in Hearst, Ontario to Raymond and Nicole Giroux.[20] He has one sister, Isabelle.[20] He attended Béatrice-Desloges High School in Orléans, Ontario.[21] His nickname is G.

During the 2010–2011 season, Giroux lived with teammate Danny Brière and Brière's three sons in their Haddonfield, New Jersey home.[22] In 2011, Giroux moved out and into an apartment with teammate Brayden Schenn.[23]

Giroux has appeared in a video supporting You Can Play, a campaign dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports.[24]

Minor hockey
Giroux grew up playing hockey in his hometown of Hearst, Ontario and played Bantam A for the Hearst Lumber Kings (NOHA) in the 2001-02 season. He moved to the Ottawa-area in the summer of 2002 and played Major Bantam and Minor Midget AA for the Cumberland Barons, in 2002-03 and 2003-04, while attending French Catholic High School Béatrice-Desloges in Orléans. However, he was undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League.

The following season, Giroux played for the Cumberland Grads Jr. A. team of the Central Jr. A League in 2004-05 before signing as a free agent with the QMJHL Gatineau (Hull) Olympiques for the 2005-06 season.

Junior career
Giroux started his career by signing with the Gatineau Olympiques as a free agent after playing in the Central Jr. A League. During his rookie season, he scored 39 goals for a total of 103 points in only 69 games. He then entered the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, where the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 22nd overall. They signed him to an entry level contract on July 23, 2007.

Giroux made his NHL debut when the Flyers visited the Ottawa Senators on February 19, 2008, when he was called-up for a total of two games for the injury ridden Flyers.

Finishing his tenure in Gatineau, he helped the club win the QMJHL Playoffs and earned himself the Guy Lafleur Trophy as MVP in the QMJHL Playoffs by scoring 17 goals and 34 assists in 19 playoff games, also setting a franchise record.

Professional career
After a disappointing training camp for the Flyers at the beginning of the 2008-09 season, he was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. However, after getting used to professional hockey, things turned around quickly. He was named Rookie of the Month for December for his eight goals and six assists in eight games. He was called up to the Flyers after the Christmas break and remained there throughout the rest of the season. On December 31, he recorded his first NHL point by assisting on a goal by Jeff Carter in a win over the Vancouver Canucks. He suffered a mild concussion during the next game when Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks elbowed him in the head. Giroux finished the game but missed the next five; Perry was suspended for four games. On January 27, 2009, Giroux scored his first NHL goal against goaltender Tomáš Vokoun and the Florida Panthers in a 3-2 loss. His first playoff goal came in a 6-3 win in game three of the 2009 Eastern Conference quarter-finals against Marc-André Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The same game also saw him setting up a short-handed goal when he stole the puck in the corner of the Penguins zone and outworked their backcheck, skating past the back of their net twice protecting the puck while looking for incoming support in the form of Simon Gagné.

The Flyers were an inconsistent team for the bulk of the 2009-10 season, which affected all of their players. Giroux spent a large amount of time centering James van Riemsdyk, the highly touted rookie winger that the Flyers had drafted no. 2 overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. However, the Flyers' fortunes turned dramatically after they entered the playoffs, on Giroux's game-winner in the shootout, going five-hole on Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. Giroux was a major point producer in a first round of the playoffs, dismantling of the second seeded New Jersey Devils. The Flyers made an historic comeback from 3 games to 0 down against the Boston Bruins to win the next four and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they dominated the Montreal Canadiens. Giroux scored the winning goal in overtime vs. the Chicago Blackhawks in game 3 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, but despite his continued production, the Flyers eventually lost in overtime in Game 6 of the finals. Giroux ended up with 21 points, cementing his reputation as an outstanding young talent.

A month into the season, the Flyers signed Giroux to a 3-year, $11.25 million contract extension. The contract, which was signed on November 8, 2010, will account for a $3.75 million cap hit annually

On January 11, 2011, Giroux was named to the 2011 NHL All-Star Game roster. The game, was held in Raleigh, North Carolina at the RBC Center on January 30, it was the first utilizing the NHL's new format under which two captains are named and each select their teams in school yard fashion. Giroux was selected to Team Staal and had a goal and an assist, but it was not enough and Team Lidstrom defeated Team Staal 11–10. Giroux played his 200th career game on Saturday March 26th, 2011 against the New York Islanders. 2010-2011 turned out to be the break out season for Giroux, who finished the season with 25 goals and 51 assists in 82 games, while he scored a goal and 11 assists in 11 games in playoff when he saw his team get swept by Boston. Giroux played his 200th career game on March 26, 2011, against the New York Islanders.

After the Flyers traded away Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the 2011 off-season, Giroux took over the role as first line centre for the club. The trading of Richards and Carter also made him the second longest tenured member of the Flyers. Giroux formed a new top line with Scott Hartnell and free agent acquisition Jaromir Jagr. Giroux dominated the league in point-scoring for much of the season, and was handled as a favorite for the Hart Trophy for league MVP early at the season's All-Star break.[10] On April 13, 2012, Giroux recorded his first career Hat Trick during game two of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[11] He recorded six points during that same game, earning a Flyers record for most points during a single Stanley Cup Playoffs game.[11] On May 7, 2012, Giroux received a one game suspension for a hit to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Dainius Zubrus during game four of a second round playoff series.[12] After the Flyers were eliminated by the Devils, Giroux ended the season as both the Flyers' top regular season point-scorer (93 points) and top playoff point scorer (17 points).[2] After the Flyers' elimination, Giroux had surgery on both of his wrists.[13] He later claimed that Sidney Crosby had repeatedly slashed his wrists during face-offs in the first round series against Pittsburgh.[citation needed] At the time news of the surgery was revealed, Giroux was still the playoffs' leading point scorer, even though his team had been eliminated two weeks earlier. On June 20, 2012, Giroux was named the cover athlete for NHL 13 at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas; he became the first Philadelphia Flyer on an EA Sports NHL video game cover since Eric Lindros on NHL 99.[14] [15]

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Giroux and former Flyers teammate Danny Briere played for Eisbären Berlin of the German Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16">[16] In his ninth game in Germany he suffered a neck and shoulder injury that was initially feared to be a concussion. He returned to North America and remained inactive through the remainder of the lockout. After the lockout ended, Giroux was named the 19th team captain in Flyers history on January 15, 2013, taking over for the injured Chris Pronger.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17">[17]

Giroux got off to a slow start once the shortened 2012–13 season began. Without last year's linemates Jagr, who signed with the Dallas Stars during free agency, and Hartnell, who suffered a broken foot during the third game of the season, Giroux registered only seven points through the team's first 13 games.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Giroux1213_18-0">[18] His season turned around once right winger Jakub Voracek, who was also struggling, was placed on his line.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Giroux1213_18-1">[18] From February 12 through the end of the regular season, Giroux was the fourth most productive player in the league, scoring 10 goals and 30 assists for a total of 40 points during that span.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Giroux1213_18-2">[18] He finished with 48 points in 48 games and new linemate Voracek finished with a career high 22 goals. The team as a whole struggled, however, and the Flyers missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2006–07 season.

On July 5, 2013, Giroux signed an eight-year, $66.2 million contract extension to stay in Philly.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19">[19]

International play
Giroux competed with Team Canada in the IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in 2008. He scored two goals and had four assists in seven games to help Canada win its fourth consecutive WJC. He competed with Team Canada in the IIHF World Championship in April 2013. He scored three goals and five assists in eight games.

QMJHL

 * Played in the 2005–06 CHL Top Prospects Game
 * QMJHL Rookie of the Month December 2005 and March 2006
 * 2005–06 QMJHL All-Rookie Team
 * QMJHL Offensive Player of the Month September 2006
 * 2008 President's Cup (QMJHL Playoff Champion) with Gatineau Olympiques
 * 2008 Guy Lafleur Trophy (QMJHL Playoff MVP)
 * 2007–08 QMJHL First All-Star Team
 * 2007–08 Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team

AHL

 * AHL Rookie of the Month December 2008

NHL

 * 2010 Prince of Wales Trophy with the Philadelphia Flyers
 * Played in the All-Star Game in 2011 and 2012.