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Following another early playoff exit for the Ottawa Senators, Claude Giroux was still contemplating his future in the NHL. The 38-year-old winger proved he could still be an effective source of secondary offence, scoring 14 goals and 35 assists in 82 games in the 2025-26 season.

According to TSN’s Pierre Lebrun, Giroux wants another shot at a Cup, and will look to play a 20th NHL season – I don’t think Ottawa is a 100% guarantee, but you have to think his preferred destination would be the nation’s capital.

Among the 477 forwards who played 200 minutes or greater at 5-on-5, Giroux’s production ranked in the 67th percentile – a second-liner on an average team. Looking closer at his results by teammate, however, we see that the success he had was largely determined not by teammate quality, but by deployment and competition.

His most common linemates were Shane Pinto and Michael Amadio – the three played 284 minutes together, posted a 59.8% expected goals share, and outscored opponents 15-8 according to MoneyPuck. Out of 77 forward lines in the league that played at least 200 minutes, this trio ranked 17th in Goals For%, with all of the combinations ahead of them being first and second lines. Giroux was one of three wingers that played a consistent shift with Pinto and Amadio, and while Nick Cousins and Ridly Greig also did well from a possession standpoint, both only broke even in terms of actual goals. Giroux didn’t just have the capability to play at a high level on that third line, but he had the playmaking ability to help that line finish on chances.

Giroux’s other main line was in the top-six with Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson for 262 minutes, and as we discussed in this piece about how another top-six winger is an important need, it wasn’t successful. They did post a 59.2% expected goals share, but considering all six of Ottawa’s most common forward lines (some of which featured bottom-six players such as Cousins, Fabian Zetterlund, and David Perron) matched or surpassed that mark, this was largely a byproduct of coaching, as well as playing in front of the second-best defense corps in the league.

In terms of actual goals, Giroux – Stützle – Batherson were on the ice for 10 for, and 10 against. Luck and goaltending certainly played a role, but it was also clear that Giroux has lost a step or two compared to the player who first signed with Ottawa in 2022. Asking him to contribute in a top-line role is too tall of an order at this point in his career.

When it comes to special teams, Giroux was the fifth-most used forward on the Senators’ power-play. Out of 140 players that played at least 150 minutes of 5-on-4, Giroux ranked 90th in points per 60, while Batherson, Dylan Cozens, Stützle and Brady Tkachuk ranked 8th, 19th, 21st and 31st respectively.

On the penalty kill, he was the fourth most-used forward, and ranked 22nd league-wide in expected goals against per 60, but was safely in the bottom half in terms of actual goals against, and interestingly enough, was not used in the rotation of assistant coach Mike Yeo’s more aggressive PK, when he took over in late January.

These results aren’t nearly enough to definitively paint Giroux as a liability on special teams, but he’s definitely best suited to play as many of his minutes at 5-on-5 as possible, while filling in on both special teams as needed, albeit not as a key player. Steve Staios and Travis Green will need to ensure both units have the personnel to succeed – Warren Foegele and Stephen Halliday will likely get longer looks on the PK and PP, respectively.

If he’s back in Ottawa for a 5th season, restricting his deployment to a third-line role with Pinto and Amadio should work wonders for Giroux. He is, of course, a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason, and while the club has enough cap space to bring him back, he may be looking for more guaranteed money this time around. His last deal consisted of a $2M base salary, with $2.75M in available performance bonuses, of which he achieved $1M for a total salary of $3M, a bargain for an above-average third-liner.

Hopefully, the two sides can agree on another one-year deal, a precursor to Giroux ending a 20-year career with a Stanley Cup ring with the Senators.