The Avalanche auction Claude Giroux’s official uniforms

Sixteen years after drafting Claude Giroux, the Philadelphia Flyers traded their mainstay to the Florida Panthers in 2022, giving him the chance to play in the playoffs with the best club in the East.

The rest is history. The Panthers lost in the first round to the Lightning, who in turn lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final.

Florida gave Owen Tippett, a third-round pick and a conditional first-round pick to the Flyers in exchange for his services.

But it’s interesting to consider how the series might have changed if Giroux had gone to the Avs.

And it looks like it came very close, or at least Joe Sakic really believed it would.

As part of an auction for a Denver-area foundation, the Avalanche posted two official Claude Giroux game uniforms sporting the number 28.

At the time, Giroux was still in top form. In 18 regular-season games, the forward scored 23 points, before adding 8 in 10 playoff games. The Panthers, however, were very strong offensively, but not stable enough to counter the powerhouse that is the Tampa Bay Lightning.

For their part, the Avalanche acquired Artturi Lehkonen and Andrew Cogliano (among others) at the deadline.

Justin Barron probably wouldn’t have been traded to Montreal, had the situation been different, and Artturi Lehkonen would have left for other climes. The butterfly effect is quite interesting.

En Rafale

– Back with a vengeance?

– Back to work.

– A select club.