Giroux: "I Feel Great Right Now"

Flyers captain Claude Giroux had a video conference with reporters at noontime on Wednesday. He discussed his offseason, the upcoming campaign and the overall continuity on the team being a potential advantage heading into a shortened season with an abbreviated training camp and no exhibition games. For the most part, it was a standard pre-camp interview.

Briefly, however, things got a little bit testy. Giroux brushed off an opening question from the Philadephia Inquirer's Sam Carchidi related to his training differently at age and then bristled when the same reporter later asked a second age-related question about how many more years he wants to play and how many productive seasons he feels are left in the tank. Giroux stated firmly that he considers his age a non-issue.

At least in the recent past, Giroux has often make self-deprecating age jokes when asked about upcoming career milestones. I am not sure how much of Giroux's heightened sensitivity to being asked about turning 33 on Jan. 12 has to do with head coach Alain Vigneault saying publicly after the playoffs that he felt players in their 30s such as Giroux, Jakub Voracek and James van Riemsdyk needed to consider altering their offseason training routine.

"There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind about his (Giroux’s) will to be successful, and his will to help his teammates.’’ Vigneault said of Giroux on Sept. 14. “He's getting older. As you get older, the muscles don’t react as quick. But you can work on that. He’s going to have to put in a lot of time and effort.’’

It's easy to forget now that Giroux was playing his best hockey of the 2019-20 season at the time the COVID-19 pandemic caused the suspension and eventual cancelation of the remainder of the regular season before the NHL reconvened for the "Bubble" playoffs in Toronto and Edmonton. Over the Flyers' final 15 games before the pause, the team captain racked up 18 points (8g, 10a).

Unfortunately, he wasn't able during the postseason to pick up where he left off. In and of itself, that's a dip over a small sample size, albeit happening at a bad time. The concern that's been raised is that after being a dominant playoff performer from 2010 to 2014, Giroux's last three playoff runs -- 2016 (when he was playing through core muscle issues that needed offseason surgeries), 2018 (right after his MVP-worthy regular season) and 2020 -- were less than he wanted or the team needed. The notion that Giroux doesn't or isn't capable of stepping up in the playoffs is pure recency bias. But since it's happened three straight postseason appearances, it's become a topic that Giroux's critics harp upon.

During the Islanders' series, Giroux's offensive play was below where it needed to be for Philadelphia to win the series. But there were two games in the seven-game series where Giroux was a positive difference-maker at critical times.

In Game 2, with the Flyers trailing 1-0 in the series, Giroux had a hand in two Philadelphia goals and then won an overtime faceoff that started the eventual game-winning goal sequence. In Game 5, trailing 3 games to 1 and challenged by Vigneault to step up, Giroux had one of his best all-around games of the playoffs including his lone goal of the postseason.

While I would be surprised if Giroux produces the pro-rated equivalent of his 2017-18 career year offensively, I also don't think he's done as an impact player for the team. It will be up to him to prove critics wrong, however, in the same fashion that he did when he was moved from center to left wing in 2017-18 after an undeniable down season overall in 2016-17.

I remember when goalie Rob Zepp said, "Thirty-three is the new 83," in joking reference to being a curiosity piece for making his NHL debut and becoming the oldest goalie in the modern NHL era to win his first start. Unlike Zepp, Giroux has been in the NHL a long time, but the same principle applies: There are plenty of hockey players who can still be productive at age 33. Bobby Clarke's final season in which he averaged north of a point-per-game came at age 33 and he also won the Selke Trophy that year. Mark Recchi won his third and final Bobby Clarke Trophy and produced a 75-point season (in a very low-scoring season leaguewide and within the confines of Ken Hitchcock's very defensive-oriented system) at age 34.

In short, all the talk about Giroux being "done" as a bonafide upper lineup player is way premature. Does he need more production around him? Yes, but any winning team needs depth to carry over a successful season to the next year.

I actually like the Flyers' forward depth overall and will like it even more if Nolan Patrick is healthy and Oskar Lindblom gets back quickly to where he was pre-Ewing Sarcoma diagnosis. I like the goaltending. It's the blueline mix that has me a little concerned about whether the team can replicate and improve upon last year. There also needs to be a clear-cut plan to avoid what happened with the power play in the playoffs happening again at crunch time this season.

The transcript of Giroux's interview follows below, courtesy of the Flyers' Brian Smith.

You are almost 33. Do you have to train differently at this age compared to how you trained at 23? Do you have to train harder than you did in your earlier years?

I don’t think because of the age. I think as you get older, you learn what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. You try to adjust and put yourself in a position to succeed. With that, you can modify your workouts through the summer.

What did you learn from the shortened training camp in July that can help you as you look at the start of the season here with another shortened training camp?

I think we learned a little bit. With no preseason games, you have to make sure you are ready to go. With game shape, the only way to do that is to play games. We’ve been scrimmaging every day here. Practice as long as we can and get our legs going. Right now, it’s going pretty well, but we’ve got to keep the pace going.

What’s it going to be like with less travel and seeing opponents eight times?

When you play those teams more often and with back-to- backs against the same team, it’s going to be a good rivalry. It’s going to be a good game. To be honest, it’ll be the first time for everybody to do this. I’m not too sure what to expect. I’m sure it will be intense hockey. Teams are going to be fighting for playoff spots. You won’t have games against other divisions or other conferences. Every game is going to be huge.

You are one of the few guys on the roster that has been through a condensed season before [in 2012-13]. What are the challenges that some of these younger guys will have to go through facing a shortened season?

Like I said, every game is going to be huge because you’re only playing teams in your own division. When you get to play back to backs and you get to play the same team eight times, you need to make sure you do your homework well and make sure you’re well prepared before games. That’s why we got coaches. We’ll just have to communicate together.

A lot of players now are playing a lot longer than they did 10 or 15 years ago. Have you set a goal on when you want to play to? How many real good years do you think you have left

Sam, I don’t know about your idea with all these questions about my age. I’m not worried about my age right now. You can keep asking me those questions. I feel great right now and I’m excited for the season.

Compared to some other teams, the Flyers have not had a lot of changeover in terms of players and coaching staff. Do you think that could be an advantage that there is some continuity from the previous year?

Yeah, I think that’s going to be an advantage to us. Having the same coaching staff, having the same players. We added a few guys, but to know that we have a base already. Everybody knows what kind of game we’re trying to play. Being able to jump into the season and being able to play with the guys you have played with before, there won’t be a lot of players that you haven’t played with before and you have to get the chemistry going. Whoever we’re playing on the line with, you know a little bit about the guy and you’re able to adjust to who you are playing with. Hopefully it’s an advantage to us.

With the adjustments due to the pandemic, what went into your offseason training? How were you able to work out with restrictions?

It was pretty good in Ottawa where I was. The whole time I was able to skate. I had a skill coach there and trainer. We were able to do it in groups. Compared to other guys, I was pretty lucky to get some good workouts and some good skates.
i
Do you think Phil Myers could slide into the spot and be able to play with Ivan Provorov after Matt Niskanen retiring?

Yeah. Obviously Phil is one of the candidates. He played well for us last year. He played well in the playoffs. He’s growing as a player. Offensively and defensively, he’s reliable. Nisky meant a lot to this team, killing penalties, power play, playing against the best lines. I think it’s a great opportunity for the young players that we have on our team to be able to get more ice time and then get that opportunity.

Do you come into this season with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder with the way that the season ended last year?

I think the way the season ended left a bad taste in my mouth. A lot of players on the team feel like we could have went a little further last year. It’s a learning experience for us, what we did in the playoffs. Knowing what we did that worked and what we did that didn’t work. I think it’s important that we talk about those things as a team and just learn from it.

How did you see Phil Myers grow last season? Where have you seen the biggest steps in his game?

With Phil, off the ice and on the ice, he’s a hard working guy. He wants to learn and because of that, he is where he is right now. Sometimes for players, the best thing for them is to go back down in the American League, play a lot of minutes and learn about pro hockey. For him, you can just see the steps he took from two years ago to last year. We expect him to keep growing. He’s a fun teammate. When you have a teammate that wants to learn, he’s always fun to be around.

Carter Hart seems like an innocent kind that doesn’t get too high or too low. Does that make him a good fit to play in a city like this that obviously brings a lot of pressure?

Yeah, goaltenders in Philly I think there’s a lot of pressure. His emotions are pretty always neutral. Anytime you have somebody, a goalie or just a player, who can stay neutral at all times. I think that’s a huge advantage.

Last year, you relied on the scoring of Travis Konecny in the regular season and then he struggle during the postseason. Is there anything that you said to him in the aftermath of the postseason to shake it off and focus on the upcoming season?

I’m not worried about TK. I don’t think anybody is. The playoff experience that we had including myself and TK, pretty much all the players, were able to learn from that. Any time we played as a team, maybe the points were there as they were during the season, but we’re trying to play as a team. To win you need to play as a team. TK is going to have a good year. He’s a great player. He’s become one of our leaders. We’re not worried about him.

WJC Update: Medal Round Seedings Up for Grabs Today

New Year's Eve Day marks the final day of preliminary round competition at the 2020-21 World Junior Championships in Edmonton. The top seeds in Group A and Group B will be up for grabs.

In Group A, the winner of the Canada vs. Finland game will remain unbeaten and go into the single-elimination medal round as the top seed in their bracket. The Finns kept pace with Canada to run their record to 3-0-0 with a 6-0 shutout win over Slovakia on Tuesday.

The winner of the Canada vs. Finland game will play the Czech Republic (4th place in Group B) in the quarterfinal on Saturday. The loser will get the Group B third-place finisher, which could still be any of Russia, Sweden or Team USA.

In Group B, Russia finished with 8 points. The seedings will come down to what happens when Team Sweden plays Team USA (9:30 p.m. ET). The scenario: a Team USA regulation win would give them nine points and first place. A Team USA win beyond regulation would tie them both with Russia and Sweden at 8 points apiece, and both first place and second place would come down to a goal-differential tiebreaker. A Team Sweden win of any variety will give the Junior Crowns first place in the Group.

Last night, Russia won a seesaw 4-3 overtime decision against the Swedes. The loss ended Sweden's preliminary-round winning streak at 54 games. However, the point gained by the Swedes kept open a clear-cut path to another first-place finish in their preliminary round bracket: beat Team USA and the top seed again goes to the Swedes.

Flyers 2020 second-round pick skated as Sweden's No. 6 defenseman in the game against the Russians. He recorded an assist (his first point in the tourney) and was a traditional plus-two at even strength over his 11:06 of ice time. For a tournament-wide look, game-by-game at how Andrae and fellow Flyers prospects Cam York and Bobby Brink of Team USA have performed, click here.

The Group B winner will play Slovakia in the quarterfinal. The Group B second-place team will oppose Germany. The third-place team will get by far the toughest matchup, playing the loser of the Canada-Finland game.

Good News on Croce

Before moving on to a variety of business and personal endeavors, including a five-year stint as president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, Pat Croce was the Flyers strength training, physical conditioning and injury rehabilitation coach from the 1981-82 to 1993-94 seasons. He was a trailblazer in the field, and widely considered the best in the business at the time. Croce also developed a slew of long-lasting friendships with the Flyers' players whom he cajoled, challenged and pushed to their absolute physical limit.

The pinnacle of the Croce era came during the years when Mike Keenan was the Flyers' coach. Keenan was a stickler for conditioning, along with assistant coaches E.J. McGuire and Ted Sator, and they gave Croce leeway to add elements into his job. The Flyers' training and rehab programs under Croce's direction became the gold standard across the NHL. Early on, Croce basically just taped injured wrists and ankles and ran players through off-ice exercises at training camp. By the mid-1980s, Croce was basically an extension of the Flyers' coaching staff.

Last year, Keenan recounted to Jay Greenberg a funny story about how Croce, McGuire and Keenan himself got players to change their eating habits. It all started with an Italian dinner organized by the late Gene Hart (who was certainly not one who worried much about his diet) during the 1985 Stanley Cup Final. Croce and Keenan were apoplectic when the appetizers came out and all of the selections were high-fat, high-cholesterol offerings.

"What the hell is this, Gene?" Keenan asked.

"It's antipasto, Mike."

"Anti-pasta?! It's nothing but poison! Tell the kitchen, 'we want pasta, not anti-bleeping-pasta! It's not even a salad! It's processed meat and cheese!"

"That's what antipasto is," Hart explained.

Around the same time, Keenan and Croce started making menus of what foods to order for the players: no more donuts or sugary cereals for breakfast time, no more fatty proteins (fish or simply grilled chicken were the preference, because Keenan didn't trust that beef or pork would be lean enough), and no more ice cream.

"But they like ice cream, Mike," team PR rep Joe Kadlec said.

Keenan, naturally, wasn't swayed. But he left it to the gentle-natured McGuire and the persuasive Croce to get buy-in from the players. These were different times in the NHL -- relatively few players cared much at all about nutrition -- but the Flyers players trusted that if Croce told them something would help them if everyone bought in, they were on board.

Those days, of course, were a long time ago. For its time, however, the Flyers' conditioning regimen gave them an edge in that area over most of the NHL. Nowadays, it goes even further into the realm of full-time sports science and a nutritionist on staff.

Likewise, the days when Pat Croce's name was instantly associated with the Flyers in the minds of most fans are long gone. He's more associated with his 76ers years or his non-sports projects than with hockey.

Recently, the 66-year-old Croce has been waging a battle with cancer. On Wednesday, he tweeted out some good news: his radiation treatments are done and he is in remission.

“My treatments done, the course is run & I’m on my way.” Just rang the bell 3x signifying no more radiation for me. Later cancer! Excision. Radiation. Celebration! pic.twitter.com/CtsgjX8iTE

— Pat Croce (@pat_croce) December 30, 2020

Today in Flyers History: 2012 Winter Classic Alumni Game at Citizens Bank Park

A crowd of 45,808 fans packed Citizen's Bank Park on Dec. 31, 2011, to see the Flyers Alumni play the Rangers Alumni. With ex-Flyers coach Mike Keenan (who later coached the Rangers to their only Stanley Cup championship since 1940), the late Pat Quinn coached the Flyers side.

Most of the players of significance in Flyers' franchise history participated in one capacity or another. All received warm ovations as they were introduced. The biggest standing ovations, however, were reserved for Bernie Parent, Bob Clarke (fittingly wearing the captain's C) and, making his first appearance in a Flyers sweater since Game 7 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Final, Eric Lindros.

Parent, wearing his old-school style pads and familiar white mask, was initially resistant to playing in the game because he was afraid of embarrassing himself. He was 66 years and hadn't played in so much as an Alumni game since his career-ending eye injury in 1979.

Facing his fears head on, Parent decided to play. Hearing non-stop chants of "Ber-nie! Ber-nie! Ber-nie!" like it was the mid-1970s all over again, Parent played the first five minutes of the game. He sprawled to make one save. Rangers Alumni forward Ron Duguay then got a breakaway against the Hall of Fame goaltender. Duguay flipped a shot directly into stand-up goalie Parent's pads, bringing about another roar from the crowd.

With original Legion of Doom right winger Mikael Renberg unable to attend due to a broadcasting commitment for Swedish television at the World Junior Championships, Mark Recchi stepped onto a line with Lindros and John LeClair.

During the first period, Recchi fed a puck to Lindros to create a 2-on-1 opportunity in the Rangers zone. Lindros feathered a cross-ice pass to his longtime linemate, who buried a point-blank shot into the back of the net. The duo beamed and embraced as the crowd roared its approval.

The Flyers Alumni went on to win, 3-1. In addition to the LeClair goal, the Philadelphia side got a rebound goal by Shjon Podein in the first period and a third period penalty shot conversion by Mark Howe (who was awaiting news of the impending birth of his first grandchild).

"This was like a big family reunion here," said Flyer Jeremy Roenick. "The Flyers are just a special organization. The fans were just awesome, too. I wouldn't have missed this for the world."



Fallen Flyers video

Throughout the final week of 2020, we have concluded each day's Flyers blog with the most recently updated edition of the "Fallen Flyers" video; an in memoriam tribute to most (but not all) of the members of the Flyers family that have passed away. The video, produced by the Flyers, is always a bit sad to watch but it also brings back a lot of great memories as it honors each person's ties to the organization, one by one.

Sadly, the 2020 edition of the video features several in-memoriam additions: Jack McIlhargey, Dale Hawerchuk and Phyllis Snider Foreman.

Join the Discussion: » 87 Comments » Post New Comment

» Practice Day, Ersson, Jay Greenberg, A Personal Note

» Flyers Gameday: Game 12 vs. BOS

» Wrap: Brink Lifts Flyers over Blues, 2-1

» Game 11 Preview: Flyers vs. STL

» Wrap: Flyers Earn Painstaking 2-0 Win in Boston