Claude Giroux’s Hall of Fame Case

A few days ago, the NHL’s X account posed this question: 

1,066 career points and counting! 📈

Is Claude Giroux on his way to the @HockeyHallFame? pic.twitter.com/TTnkYoRU7v

— NHL (@NHL) August 24, 2024

This is typically when you know a player’s career is winding down. It’s also when you know a player’s had an incredible career. Claude Giroux, drafted 22nd overall in 2006, is heading into his 18th season in the NHL. He’ll go down as one of the greatest Philadelphia Flyers of all-time, a franchise that will surely retire his number. What about the Hall of Fame, though? Let’s dive into the numbers and figure out if Claude Giroux will end up in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

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Giroux by the Numbers

Giroux has the following career statline: 1182 games, 350 goals, 716 assists, 1066 points

He ranks 72nd all-time in points. Of the 71 players ahead of him, only 15 are not in the Hall of Fame. Six are still active (Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kane, Stamkos, Kopitar), and three more haven’t been retired long enough to be considered for induction (Jagr, Thornton, and the recently retired Joe Pavelski). That leaves six players ahead of Giroux in points who have been passed over in Hall of Fame voting: Bernie Nicholls, Vincent Damphousse, Rod Brind’Amour, Theo Fleury, Dave Taylor, and Patrick Marleau. In Marleau’s case, last year was his first time being eligible. Of the players mentioned above, it’s safe to say the six active players, as well as Jagr and Thornton are destined for the Hall of Fame. That leaves just seven players ahead of Giroux in scoring who are not guaranteed to be inducted. 

Giroux’s Path to 1200 Points

Giroux should be able to jump further up the all-time scoring leaders. Here’s how many points he needs to pass the seven non-Hall of Famers (yet) mentioned above:

• Joe Pavelski: three points
• Dave Taylor: four points
• Theo Fleury: 23 points
• Rod Brind’Amour: 119 points
• Patrick Marleau: 132 points
• Vincent Damphousse: 140 points
• Bernie Nicholls: 144 points

He’s a lock to pass the first three players. If he can play three more seasons, at a 50 point pace, he’ll end up ahead of all these players. Keep in mind that he’s averaged just under 70 points over the last three seasons.

134 more points seems achievable, and important. That would bring Giroux to 1200 points. Of the 52 1200 point players, 50 of them are in the Hall of Fame. Nicholls and Damphouse are the only two that are left out. So far, Giroux’s case to be a Hall of Famer is looking good. But, let’s play the role of contrarian for a paragraph or two.

The Case Against Claude Giroux

There are three negatives to Giroux’s case: 

1. Lack of Playoff Success
2. Lack of International Success
3. Lack of Individual Trophies

From a playoff standpoint, he doesn’t have a Stanley Cup. Internationally, he was left off the Canadian Olympic Gold Medal team in 2014. He has three relevant Gold Medals: 2008 at the World Junior Championships, 2015 at the World Championships, and 2016 at the World Cup. The World Cup gold doesn’t help his resume much, though, as he was a healthy scratch for all but one game. The other two golds aren’t exactly a huge aid to his case, as a ton of players have golds at those two events. As for the individual trophies, the closest he came was in 2017-18. He finished second in scoring, missing out on the Art Ross to Connor McDavid by six points. He has three high finishes in Hart voting, finishing fourth twice (2011-12, 2017-18) and third once (2013-14).

These are the types of arguments against Giroux that might delay his entry into the Hall of Fame for a few years. Senators fans remember Daniel Alfredsson having to wait a few years, with naysayers citing his lack of a Stanley Cup, and no major trophies (Hart, Ted Lindsay, Art Ross, Rocket Richard) as reasons to keep him out. Alfredsson was eventually inducted. It should end the same way for Claude Giroux. Let’s get back to the positives.

The Case For Claude Giroux

During Claude Giroux’s prime, he was as good a point getter as just about anyone in the NHL. Here’s a look at where he finished in points during his prime:

• 2010-11: T-11th
• 2011-12: 3rd
• 2012-13: T-13th
• 2013-14: 3rd
• 2014-15: 12th
• 2015-16: 19th
• 2016-17: T-46th
• 2017-18: 2nd
• 2018-19: 19th

In a nine year span, he was a top 20 scorer eight times. Three times he finished in the top three. He was also the leading scorer in the entire NHL from 2010-11 through 2015-16 (443 points in 448 games). Only Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Steve Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin and Anze Kopitar have outscored him since he became a full-time player in 2008-09. 

Additional Information

Looking closely at 2017-18, there’s a legitimate case that Giroux should have won the Hart Trophy. Several players had a case to win it that year, and the voters leaned toward Taylor Hall. Giroux outscored Hall by nine points and the Flyers finished one point ahead of the Devils in the standings. Also, Giroux had a higher involvement on his team’s goals than Hall (40.6% to 37.5%). I’m not here to retroactively take Hall’s Hart Trophy away. I’m just pointing out how great Giroux was that year, and had he won the Hart, more people would be giving a definitive yes to him as a future Hall of Famer. 

What about the playoffs? The closest he came to a Stanley Cup was in 2010, when the Flyer lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Finals. He has registered 81 playoff points in 95 games. What’s interesting is how closely those numbers compare to Anze Kopitar’s (80 points in 97 games). Kopitar, of course, has two Stanley Cups. It takes great teams to win it all. Giroux’s lack of playoff success has more to do with his lesser teams than his own lesser play.

It will be interesting to see what the next few years look like for Giroux. He’s at the end of a three year contract with the Senators. He may want to chase a Cup with a superior team. He shouldn’t need a Stanley Cup, though, to end up in the Hall of Fame. The precedent has been set. The likes of Daniel Alfredsson, Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Jeremy Roenick, Bernie Federko, and Michel Goulet never won a Stanley Cup. They all put up similar numbers career wise to Claude Giroux. 

Bottom Line

For anyone that has watched Giroux closely over the last couple of seasons, it is clear that he is still a quality scorer. If he were to abruptly retire today, his Hall of Fame case would take a hit. It seems like he has a few good years left in him, though. Joining the 1200 point club would make him a lock to join the Hall of Fame. He was one of the best players during his prime years, and he’s closing in on a 20 year career. The combination of his great prime plus his longevity make him a future Hall of Fame player.