Senators’ Claude Giroux updates retirement plans after season-ending loss originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Claude Giroux isn’t done thinking about things.
But he does have at least some thoughts about his possible retirement following the Ottawa Senators‘ season-ending loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoffs.
Giroux spoke with reporters Monday as part of Ottawa’s exit interviews, and he had a couple feelings to share.
He was first asked simply if he wants to play next season.
“I think everybody does, right?” Giroux responded.
And then later in his answer, he added, “It’s too early to even answer that question for me.”
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Further along in his interview, Giroux then affirmed that if he plays in the 2026-27 season, he’d want it to be for Ottawa, not another team.
That’s some positive insight from Giroux, and he’ll likely take the days and potentially weeks ahead to assess how his body feels, what he still wants to offer on the ice and whether the whole scope of his life has room for another season in the NHL.
Now 38 years old, Giroux has already accomplished so much in his hockey career.
He has played 19 NHL seasons between the Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers and now the Senators.
That includes 1,345 games, 379 goals, 786 assists and 1,165 points.
Giroux played exactly 1,000 games in Philly with exactly 900 points.
He has played 327 games and counting for the Senators with 242 points. That included all 82 regular season games this year with 14 goals and 35 assists (49 points).
If Giroux plays another season, he would turn 39 next January.
Ottawa would likely welcome him back if he wants to keep playing, so it’s up to Giroux at this point to finish making up his mind.