We are days, if not hours, away from a Giroux resolution.
- And then there were four? Rumblings suggest the bidding war for Claude Giroux has a pair of frontrunners and a pair of second tier contenders.
- Worth repeating once more the list of teams that have been linked to Giroux: the Avalanche, Blues, Wild, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Flames, Rangers, Bruins, Panthers and Capitals.
- But it sounds as if the two teams at the front of the line are the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers. Who or what the Flyers are after is another question. From Florida, Owen Tippett's name keeps coming up. As does Anton Lundell, but the Panthers don't sound too eager to go there.
- From Colorado, the push seems to be for Alex Newhook or a package of picks and prospects. I doubt Colorado wants to go there, but a prospect like Shane Bowers could be of interest.
- Two teams that are considered behind the frontrunners but keeping close tabs: the Hurricanes and Blues. The Blues are believed to be high on Giroux's list of preferred destinations, though maybe not to the same level as a team like the Panthers.
- GM Chuck Fletcher has the difficult balancing act of trying to send Giroux exactly where he wants to go without revealing that to teams in the bidding war, and getting the best deal for the Flyers. But at the end of the day, the most lucrative offer may not come from that team.
- The dance is expected to continue into Friday, if not right up to the hours before the 3pm Eastern NHL trade deadline on Monday.
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