The 34-year-old forward had 65 points (21 goals, 44 assists) in 75 games for the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers last season, including 23 points (three goals, 20 assists) in 18 games after he was acquired in a trade with the Flyers on March 19. He also had eight points (three goals, five assists) in 10 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
He played his 1,000th NHL game March 17, with the Flyers against the Nashville Predators.
"I started thinking about it, and the more I thought about (this move), it made a lot of sense," Giroux said. "And one thing that I remember from playing against this team last year was you don't like to play against. They're a pain in the in the butt to play against and they have a lot of character. They have the guys that have a lot of skills, obviously a young a young team but it's just something you want to be a part of."
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Giroux was in the final season of an eight-year contract. He was born in Hearst, Ontario, but grew up in Ottawa and played his junior hockey with Gatineau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, which is located just on the other side of the Ottawa River.
Selected by Philadelphia in the first round (No. 22) of the 2006 NHL Draft, Giroux has 923 points (294 goals, 629 assists) in 1,018 regular-season games and 81 points (28 goals, 53 assists) in 95 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Video: The guys on Claude Giroux's three year Senators deal
"When you get a chance to add a player of Claude's caliber, you just look at the package," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "It's the skill. It's the leadership, it's the intangibles, as far as wanting to win, someone that's had long playoff runs who still, as of last year, was almost a point a game. He was on one of the best teams and he was the one player that I think a lot of Cup-contending teams were after.
"So to be able to add a player of this caliber to our lineup that we've already felt that we've already improved, was just something that excites us as an organization."
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The Senators (33-42-7) missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season in 2021-22 but this offseason acquired forward Alex DeBrincat in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 7. They also acquired goalie Cam Talbot in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
"There was a lot of emotions," Giroux said. "I mean, you're nervous, you're excited, and then you're scared and then you start thinking about a little bit too much and the moves that that Pierre was able to do the last the last few weeks, it's obviously helped my choice a lot and I'm very excited."
