Edmonton Oilers look to sign Ottawa Senators star forward. But is he a fit?

This in from Edmonton team insider Bob Stauffer of Oilers Now, his suggestion that the Edmonton Oilers are in the bidding for Ottawa Senators star unrestricted free agent Claude Giroux.

Said Stauffer on Thursday’s show: “I know a lot of people are asking me about Claude Giroux. And I talked about the fact that, you know, in a perfect world, the Oilers would maybe get a guy that could take some draws. There ain’t anybody in the league better than him. He’s 61 – 63 per cent over the last couple of years. I have had some people suggest to me that Philadelphia and Ottawa are definitely in on Giroux. Of course, he’s played in those two cities. It would not surprise me if Edmonton was trying to work its way into the mix as well. And Giroux is another guy, theoretically, that could qualify for a base plus bonus deal, is he not?”

Stauffer’s report follows a July 1 report from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen, who wrote, “Giroux’s Los Angeles-based agent, Pat Brisson, informed the Senators last night that he wants to look around. Those who know Giroux wonder if he might see a better opportunity to win elsewhere. He gave serious thought to retirement before he determined he would play again this year. He stated publicly that he desired to stay with the Senators, but something changed here in the last couple of months. If this really is Giroux’s final season in the league, then maybe he wants to go somewhere where he feels he has a better opportunity to win a Stanley Cup.”

July 1 roster

My take

1. I don’t see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as a top-line winger any more, not with his low rate of even strength scoring. Giroux might well replace him on a top line. Or Giroux might take away a spot from Ike Howard or Matt Savoie in the Top 6.

Giroux would also help on the PK, especially winning the crucial opening face-off, and he might also win a spot on the top power play. He’s not young, but has shown a continued ability to put up points.

2. I’m OK with Howard starting out on a third line and working his way up, just as Savoie did last year. I’m not OK with Howard not getting a chance before the Oil decide to keep, hold or fold on him. I suspect the Oilers would not be happy with that either.

3. It’s critical that the Oilers enter the season under the cap so they can build up cap space at the trade deadline to address their top need. If Giroux is willing to come here, he checks off a lot of boxes, but wouldn’t be so expensive as to drain away all that cap space. He seems like a fit for the Oilers.

Are the Oilers a fit for Giroux? We will soon find out.