Giroux, who played his 15-season NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers prior to being traded to Florida on Sunday, will play with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe on the Panthers' top line.
"Those guys are fast players," Giroux said. "Barkov can do pretty much anything you want a player to do, so I'm going to try to fit in the line, try to bring some playmaking and go to the net and just have fun out there."
Giroux scored 900 points (291 goals, 609 assists) in 1,000 games with Philadelphia.
"It's just something I've never done before, so it's a little nerve-wracking but I'm very excited," Giroux said of playing for another team.
Defensemen Ben Chiarot and Robert Hagg also will each make his Panthers debut against the Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"It was like Christmas morning the other day when we got these guys," Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. "It's going to take probably a little bit of time. My biggest concern is, they're so talented, they're such great players, that they're just going to try to force feed things to each other where I just want them to be themselves, play hockey. Their IQ levels are off the charts. They'll figure it, out but it might take some time and we're very well aware of that. But smart players usually always figure things out."
Chiarot will face his former team a week after he was traded by the Canadiens. He was paired with MacKenzie Weegar for his first Florida practice after remaining in Montreal and skating on his own at the Canadiens practice facility in Brossard, Quebec.
"He seemed really excited, chomping at the bit having to skate here for about a week," Brunette said. "He didn't really say anything, he's just excited to play, but it's never a fun thing, especially the special run they had last year with all those guys (getting to the Stanley Cup Final). It's going to be a little awkward for him, especially being your first game. … Hopefully with our group we can bring him in and just feel part of our group right away."
Hagg was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. He will play with Brandon Montour.
"There's a lot of excitement in the locker room," Giroux said. "Guys are excited to get going and it's definitely going to be a little bit weird early on, but when the game's going I think all that goes behind you."
Photo courtesy of Florida Panthers
