Why Flyers' Giroux remains among NHL's best players

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Swept up in the euphoria of his team's playoff-clinching win over the hated Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette unknowingly put pressure on his star player that still exists today.

Claude Giroux had set the tone for the victory in the opening 32 seconds, leveling Sidney Crosby with a check, scoring seconds later, and triggering a 5-1 victory.

Afterward, Laviolette matter-of-factly called Giroux the "best player in the world."

That description, most hockey observers would agree, now belongs to Crosby. Hands down.

But after Crosby, Giroux is "in the conversation" when discussing the league's best centers, according to Craig Button, the former Calgary general manager who is a respected analyst/writer for TSN in Canada.

"He's a clear-cut No. 1 center," Button said in a phone conversation this week. "I think he's an elite player, an elite competitor. He makes everyone around him better. I don't think it's any accident that the players playing alongside Claude Giroux end up having career years."

That has happened with Scott Hartnell, Brayden Schenn, Jake Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and Michael Raffl, to name a handful.

"Maybe," kidded Button, "he should get a percentage of their paychecks as well."

One of the league's premier playmakers and faceoff men, Giroux leads all NHL players with a combined 443 points over the last six seasons. During that span, Crosby averages more points per game (1.29) than the shifty Giroux (0.99), whose durability is one of the reasons he has accumulated so many points.

Giroux played through pain during the second half of last season. He managed 67 points - his lowest total in a full season since 2009-10 - and was ineffective in the six-game playoff loss to Washington (no goals, one assist). After the season, he underwent hip and abdominal surgeries, and he begins 2016-17 showing no ill effects.

"Who knows?" Giroux said when asked how much his injuries hindered his play last season. "It's in the past. I wasn't happy with the way I was playing, either. Personally, I have motivation to have a good season this year. It's disappointing when you don't play the way you want to and how you see yourself as a player. Like I said, it's a motivation, and I'm looking forward to this year."

Giroux, known for his relentless style, downplays the fact he was a healthy scratch in five of the six World Cup games for Team Canada. The Flyers captain says he is not using that as motivation to show he deserved more playing time.

The motivation stems from the fact he wants to show he's still among the NHL's top players, that last year - a good season for most players - was an anomaly.

"I see real calm, focused fire in him," second-year coach Dave Hakstol said. "That's a good thing. What the motivation is, I won't speculate on that. But what I see in him is a real calm, fiery, motivated player right now."

Giroux is appreciative of the comments Laviolette made about him four years ago, but he doesn't dwell on them.

"To be honest, I don't really think about it," he said. "I think it's more that the media jumped on that pretty hard and the fans kind of talk about it. Personally, I didn't really look at it that way. Obviously, there's a lot of good players out there - really good players - so it's not something I really [consider] myself to be."

Giroux shrugs off the fact he leads the NHL in points over the last six seasons.

"A lot of it is about being healthy," he said. "I've been lucky enough, knock on wood, to be healthy and play a lot of games."

As the season begins, Giroux said, the Flyers have a different mind-set from last year.

"We don't want to be seen as a team that's only happy to make the playoffs," he said. "We just want more. We want to go as far as we can. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup. We know it's a process; we know it's not going to happen overnight. But we're putting in the work, and I think the last three years we've learned a lot. We have a lot of guys that have been here the last three years and every year we keep learning."

They also have a pair of gifted 19-year-old rookies, Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, who have infused the team with energy.

"They bring a lot of skill and talent, but also a lot of hard work," Giroux said. "They're two really mature kids."

Giroux believes the second-half surge the Flyers used to get into the playoffs will have a carryover effect.

"We battled back and showed our character by making the playoffs," he said.

This year, Giroux added, the Flyers won't be satisfied just to earn a playoff spot.

The mission begins Friday in Los Angeles.

"Can't wait," said the player who is totally content with the label "one of the best players in the world."

scarchidi@phillynews.com

@BroadStBull www.philly.com/flyersblog