Claude Giroux plays in 1,000th NHL game

It was a night many hockey fans weren’t sure they’d see, but Claude Giroux celebrated his 1,000th NHL game with the Philadelphia Flyers Thursday night.

“It was a fun night, but not really,” the Flyers captain said.

It seemed highly likely that the Flyers were waiting until his 1,000th game with the team before pulling the trigger on any potential trade with the forward. Giroux currently sits No. 1 on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets list and has been rumored to have gotten interest from the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and most recently, the Florida Panthers.

“I don’t get very comfortable with attention like that,” Giroux told reporters after the game. But it was awesome. The fans and the organization and my teammates have been so good to me for so many years. I was pretty emotional after the game.”

The 34-year-old has spent all 15 seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers, with more than 700 of his games coming as the captain of the team. He’s the longest-tenured captain in team history and just the second Flyer to reach 1,000 games after Bobby Clarke. Giroux has garnered 291 goals and 900 points over the course of these 1,000 games, including a career-high 34 goals, 68 assists, and 102 points in the 2017-18 season.

Despite not registering a point in Thursday’s 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators, Giroux got the first star of the game. “I wish I would have played a little bit better, but the way the organization treated me, and the fans, I couldn’t have asked for more,” he said.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the next couple days. But this was special… I feel like I have a great relationship with the fans and the city. I get them, they get me. The fans, I love them. One of the reasons why tonight was so tough.”