Bringing back Claude Giroux was already a win for the Ottawa Senators, and maybe a sigh of relief for the fan base. Over the weekend reports had surfaced that Giroux was possibly going back to the Philadelphia Flyers, or even joining the Sens' divsion rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Neither outcome would have been good, especially considering how quiet the team has been into the first week of free agency.
But that is no longer a concern as the 38-year-old right-winger is rejoining the Senators for what will be his fifth season in the nations capital. He's played in 327 games over that time, scoring 85 goals and 242 points in the process. He also finished with a league-best 63.1 percent faceoff rate.
Those are numbers that he'll look to expand on with his new deal coming in at $2 million with $3 million in potential performance bonuses according to Julian McKenzie of The Athletic. Those bonuses kick in if Giroux plays 10 games this season, which will earn him $1.5 million. He'll get another half-million if he gets to 40 games. There's also a full no-movement clause as part of the deal.
It's a win-win deal for the Senators who are in a real transition phase going into the 2026-27 season. Trading team captain Brady Tkachuk blew the doors wide open on what the team would do this offseason, but so far they have rebounded nicely, if not spectacularly. Bringing back Giroux keeps part of a core group together that has posted 99 points in back-to-back seasons, while also appearing in the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time in over a decade.
But there is still work to be done and that's why Giroux's deal is a favourable one for the Senators as it leaves them with roughly $4.2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia. That's not a lot of money to work with, but it should be enough for the front office to do some manuevering before the season begins.
“I can’t really chirp him about it.” 🤣
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 20, 2026
Claude Giroux sits down with @FriedgeHNIC to discuss his career, dissect film, and more!
Full Feature: https://t.co/M94XtXa4Ra pic.twitter.com/iUQo597u2N
Senators will need to find some bargain deals in free agency
There are more than a handful of players who haven't signed yet who would raise the competitive floor of the current group. At the top of the list is Anthony Mantha, the 31-year-old winger who has been all over the board in terms of goal production during his career. He posted 33 goals last year, a career high while playing for Pittsburgh.
There's 37-year-old right winger Patrick Kane who's lowest points total in a season in his career was 47. But that was three years ago and he responded with a 59 point and 57 point campaign during the last two years.
On the back end there is Logan Stanley, the 28-year-old blue liner who stands six-foot-seven and weighs 231 pounds. His asking price is currently pretty high but if there are no takers, the Sens could get creative and try to reel him in for less than his $7 million asking price.
There are more options out there and the Sens seem to be ok with playing it slow and waiting for the deals to line up perfectly before pulling the trigger.
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