The Maple Leafs are still working the market this offseason, and Claude Giroux has surfaced as one of the names in the mix. John Chayka has already been active in trying to reshape the roster, and the work does not appear to be finished. But if Toronto does land Giroux, it would push the team deeper into a direction it probably wants to avoid.
That concern starts with age. Giroux was once a reliable top-line force for the Flyers and a regular source of 60-plus points, but those days are behind him.
He’ll be 38 when the season begins and turns 39 in January. His production has already slipped, too, with 49 points this past season, his lowest total since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign.
Toronto already skews old. Last season, the Leafs were the third-oldest team in the league with an average age of 30, behind only the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. Adding Giroux would only push that number higher and likely make them the oldest roster in the NHL, a label no team wants - especially one aiming to get back to the playoffs.
The modern game is built on speed, and that’s where the fit gets even trickier. Teams like the Hurricanes and Panthers have thrived by playing fast and creating high-danger chances before defenses can settle in. An older roster has a tougher time matching that pace, and that can show up in the form of fewer bursts, fewer breakaway chances, and an offense that just doesn’t hit with the same force.
There’s also the issue of decline spreading beyond Giroux himself. John Tavares, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Chris Tanev are all 34 or older, and each could be headed for a step back next season.
When a roster has too many players trending that way at once, the margin for error gets thin fast. Production gaps open up, and the team starts chasing answers in too many places.
Giroux is still a big name, and that always makes the rumor mill hum. But he is not the player he used to be, and the source of Toronto’s problems would not be solved by adding another aging forward.
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