OTTAWA — Claude Giroux emerges from a hallway in the basement of Canadian Tire Centre. After a midday off-ice workout, he can’t help but look at his newborn son Charlie through his cell phone. Before he breaks away to speak to the media, he says goodbye to his month-old son — the third of three children with wife Ryanne.
At 36, Giroux continues to add to his family while still chasing the elusive Stanley Cup. Through 12 games with the Ottawa Senators this season, in a contract year, he’s contributed to his team’s success with five goals and 11 points. And he isn’t planning on slowing down just yet.
During a recent one-on-one with The Athletic, Giroux discussed his future, life under new head coach Travis Green, the time he arm-wrestled a few members of the Philadelphia Eagles and whether or not he agrees with his teammates that his former mascot, Gritty, is the league’s most annoying team representative.
Note: This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Whenever we ask about you, you like to put it onto the team. But how do you feel your season has gone so far?
Ah, not bad. You just try to find ways to win games and help the team win. I think some games we’re trending in the right direction and (in other games) maybe we take a step back. Obviously losing (Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres) hurts us a little bit. But it’s about the next game and the guys are pretty dialled in right now.
How did you go about your offseason training in terms of getting prepared for the year? Anything different from what you normally do? What goes into a Claude Giroux offseason?
No, I’ve been pretty consistent in how I do things in the summer, you know, I’ve been doing it for 18 years. So, just going to the gym, being able to get on the ice during the summer, too, play some golf and enjoying life a little bit.
I’ve been with Tony Greco for 20 years now. Being able to have him in my corner and (have) him pushing me, it’s been great.
How does being a dad and expecting a new baby on the way, obviously with Charlie coming in, affect your offseason preparation?
It wasn’t a lot of change. Obviously, there’s a lot more at home than before. But it’s great. It’s great to have them around. And sometimes going for a run and (having my eldest son) Gavin watching me and go for a lap with me. So, that kind of stuff just makes it more fun.
We’ve been waiting for you Charlie Giroux🤗🥰🥹🩵!! pic.twitter.com/XnJ9TFj0n8
— Ryanne Giroux (@ryannegiroux) October 6, 2024
Something came up a couple of weeks ago on the “New Heights” podcast with the Kelce brothers. I don’t know if you saw it, but they mentioned you and the fact that you would go into the Philadelphia Eagles locker room and arm-wrestle guys. Is that true?
It wasn’t in the locker room, but yeah, we did hang out with them for a little bit. There were some chirps here and there, and we ended up arm-wrestling a few guys. It was all fun and games. It was pretty cool.
Claude Giroux used to go into the Eagles locker room and “ask to arm wrestle anybody” 🤣💪
(via @newheightshow, h/t @LalimesMartian) pic.twitter.com/TIFUlzJ6JN
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 22, 2024
Who did you arm-wrestle?
I can’t remember the name. But I know I beat somebody. And I tried (Jason) Kelce and he went pretty easy on me.
So Jason Kelce was for sure in that group? Was it (all) linemen?
Yeah. I think Connor Barwin was the guy I arm-wrestled. There were a few challenges and it was a lot of fun.
What was your record in that? How many wins? How many losses?
Oh, I’m not sure.
Another weird thing I noticed a couple of weeks ago. TSN was doing all these different interviews with certain players, I think for BarDown. One of the questions that came up was: Who’s the most annoying mascot in the league? A lot of your teammates said Gritty, obviously from the Philadelphia Flyers. Do you agree with that assessment? And do you have a pick for that answer?
I don’t know. I don’t know if a mascot can be annoying. I think they try to get the crowds involved and make the kids have a good time. And Gritty is pretty good at that. (There’s) a lot of good mascots. Gritty is a good one. Spartacat’s a good one, too.
So you’re not going to say that Gritty’s the most annoying one?
It’s hard to say that a mascot is annoying. It’s mostly for the kids. My kids know all the mascots on every team, so it’s pretty good for them.
You’re around a lot of young players on this team. What are your impressions of this young core?
They’re getting older and they’re getting games under their belt. You can just see how they’re growing as players and as humans. It’s fun to be a part of. We have a tight group in here, so it makes it a lot of fun to play with them.
You’ve been a captain before. How do you go about imparting your wisdom and leadership on a team where you don’t have the “C,” but you’re clearly still part of the leadership core?
The “C” or an “A” or nothing, it doesn’t really matter. You just want to be yourself. You want to pass along your experience and scenarios that you’ve been (in) in the past. And so you just go out there and try to help the team win and try to lead by example.
What’s one piece of advice you’ve been able to impart to the squad?
I think (for) any team, it’s important not to get too high or too low. When you do that you just kind of go one game at a time, and you don’t complicate things.
How’s it been playing for Travis Green?
It’s been good. We’re trying to communicate, players and coaches. It’s a pretty new coaching staff also, so we’re just trying to be on the same page. We’re working on our identity and we just got to go one game at a time and that’s what we’re doing right now.
How close do you think this team is to playing to the identity that Travis wants?
Yeah, we’re pretty close. I feel like we’ve shown that we can play our best for a long time. Just got to be more consistent in doing that. And when we’re going to be more consistent, that’s when we’re going to be able to take that next step.
A few guys have mentioned that Travis is very much a detail-oriented coach. Is that an accurate assessment of him? What have been your impressions of how he deals with details?
Yeah, I think it’s important that coaches bring out details and the way we want to play our system and be consistent (in) how we do it. I think that’s going to be really good for us.
At 36, you’re going to be 37 in January, how much thought at this point have you given to what could be next for you after this season?
I want to play hockey. I love coming to the rink and playing every night. So, after I’m done, I haven’t really thought about it. I think it’s something I’ll worry about when I’m older.
Obviously, playing for a Stanley Cup is something everybody wants. But in this particular situation, do you feel you can do that here? How do you feel (about) this group?
Yeah, I mean, that’s why I signed here. I think the core group and the people that are here, it’s encouraging. Obviously, we took a step back last year, but it doesn’t change your plans.
(Top photo: Michael Martin / NHLI via Getty Images)
