The Ottawa Senators have re-signed Claude Giroux to a one-year contract, keeping the veteran forward with the club after he weighed his options in free agency.
The agreement carries a base salary of US$2 million and can reach $5 million with bonuses. Giroux, 38, is from Hearst, Ont., and remains one of the Senators’ most experienced forwards.
Giroux played all 82 games last season, finishing with 14 goals and 35 assists. He also led the NHL with a 63.1 faceoff winning percentage, a detail that underlines why Ottawa still values him in defined situations as well as in its forward group.
Senators general manager Steve Staios said Giroux’s choice to return showed “belief and commitment” to Ottawa’s group, while also pointing to his professionalism and veteran presence on and off the ice.
Since joining Ottawa in 2022, Giroux has appeared in 327 of a possible 328 Senators regular-season games. He has also played in all 10 of Ottawa’s playoff games during that span.
Across his NHL career with Philadelphia, Florida and Ottawa, Giroux has recorded 1,165 points, with 379 goals and 786 assists, in 1,345 regular-season games. That total sits among the top active NHL players.
Ottawa is coming off back-to-back playoff appearances, both ending in the first round. The Senators were swept last season by eventual champion Carolina.
Giroux had been linked to a possible return to Philadelphia in free agency before deciding to stay with Ottawa. In the team’s release, he said he came back because he wants to be with the Senators, adding that four years around the group made the team feel like family.