OTTAWA — Claude Giroux will enjoy a homecoming of sorts when the Ottawa Senators host the Boston Bruins at Canadian Tire Center on Tuesday (7 pm ET; TSN5, RDS, NESN, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The 34-year-old native of Hearst, Ontario, signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value) with the Senators on July 13, beginning his 16th NHL season 0-2-0 following losses at the Buffalo Sabers (4-1) and Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2). The Senators are urging fans to arrive early, anticipating the largest crowd since the run to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Some standing-room only tickets were released because of high demand.
“There’s a pressure right now on us that we’re ready to embrace,” Giroux said. “Since the summer started, everyone’s been excited to get this thing going. Going down 0-2, it’s not the start we were looking for, but we like the way we’re playing. We just clean up a few things, and like I said, we’re going to be fine.
“We want to be a team that’s tough to play against at home. That definitely starts tonight.”
Giroux’s family moved to Ottawa in 2002. He played one season of junior A hockey in Cumberland, a township in the greater Ottawa area, from 2004-05, and three seasons across the river for Gatineau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2005- 08.
“It’s going to be great,” he said. “I mean, since I signed here it’s something I’ve been looking forward to. This place is going to be buzzing and the guys are very excited to play in front of the fans.”
Video: OTT@TOR: Giroux ties game with 1st as a Senator
Senators coach DJ Smith said Giroux, a forward with two points (one goal, one assist) in two games, has been a welcome veteran presence in the locker room.
“If you had lost two in the middle of February, what would you be looking to do?” Smith asked rhetorically. “You’d be looking to fix it and just get back in the win column, and that’s just what we’re doing. [Giroux] has just been steady all the way through. He’s not emotional. He came to work in practice, and he just goes about his business. I think that’s what our guys will learn from him. He’s been around a long time. He’s been on winning streaks, losing streaks. And just like that, it can turn. You win a game and you feel like you’re never going to lose, and the same thing, vice-versa, when you lose. So a guy like that, certainly our guys are going to pick up on him.”
The third oldest player on the Senators behind defenseman Nick Holden35, and goalie Cam Talbot35, Giroux has been in a mentorship role since the start of training camp and was asked about being labeled the unofficial father of the team.
“That’s very rude,” Giroux said with a laugh. “I mean, no, it’s definitely a young locker room, but I feel like I’m young at heart. We’re having a lot of fun right now. The team is very tight and that’s what you’re looking for if you want success.”
Giroux was unable to give an estimate of how many friends and family will be in attendance Tuesday. “A good amount,” he said with a grin.
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