"He is a 40-year-old fourth-liner": NHL fans react as Claude Giroux signs extension with Ottawa Senators

Claude Giroux is not going anywhere. After a lengthy negotiation that featured some bumps along the road, the veteran forward agreed to a contract extension with the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.

The official terms of the deal come in at one year, $2,000,000, with several opportunities to earn bonus money throughout the campaign. Giroux has spent the last three seasons playing for his hometown team after a legendary 14-year career as a Philadelphia Flyer.

NHL fans have started reacting to the news of the contract on X (formerly Twitter).

"He is a 40-year-old fourth-liner nobody cares. ANNOUNCE KYROU TO MONTREAL," one fan wrote.

"All to lose to Toronto," another fan wrote.

"Like Tavares, he's got one spot he wants to be to end his career. Ottawa is lucky," added another fan.

More fan reactions have poured in on X.

"He's old and washed! Good news for the Atlantic division," one fan wrote on X.

"And the crowd goes mild," added one fan.

"He was never not staying in Ottawa," added one last fan.

Despite having a down 2024-25 season, Giroux still managed to produce 50 points (15 goals, 35 assists) in 81 games.

Claude Giroux took a discount to stay home

As we've seen with other veteran players around the league this offseason, Claude Giroux took a discount in order to remain an Ottawa Senator. He certainly could have made more money on the open market come July 1.

Instead, he will make $2 million in average annual salary, with another $2.75 million potentially to be had via bonuses. TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston provided the details of the contract on X.

"Claude Giroux signs a one-year extension with the #sens worth $2M in base salary and $2.75M in potential bonuses. The veteran takes less to stay in his adopted hometown," Johnston wrote.

It's a very similar structured deal to that of Jamie Benn with the Dallas Stars and Jonathan Toews with the Winnipeg Jets. Retaining Giroux at such a low cap hit is a huge win for general manager Steve Staios and the organization.

How the Ottawa Senators continue to improve their roster in the coming days and weeks will be critical to their chances of making a deeper playoff run in 2025-26 and beyond.