The Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly among the teams that expressed interest in signing Claude Giroux during Day 1 of free agency, according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.

Garrioch also listed the Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, and Colorado Avalanche as teams that reached out to Giroux on Wednesday, though he noted that it wasn’t a surprise that no deal got done during the first day as he is 38. Of course, his most recent team in the Ottawa Senators, would like to have him back, given that they offered Giroux a contract extension around the trade deadline, but he instead opted to test the market.

Even in the twilight of his career, it’s easy to see why teams around the NHL would want to add Giroux to their forward groups. He has put up consistently strong scoring numbers, has always been proficient at taking faceoffs, and is versatile enough to play both down the middle and on the wings. Giroux is also a right-shot forward, which is always a nice asset to add for any team looking to expand their options.

This past season with the Senators saw him record 49 points (14 goals and 35 assists) in 82 games to finish sixth on the team in scoring, while going scoreless in four playoff games.

Giroux is coming off a one-year deal with a cap hit of $2 million, meaning his next deal likely would fall around that number or slightly below. Though with his former teams in the Flyers and Senators vying to bring him back, there could be a bit of a bidding war for the veteran forward. Although Toronto is not close to his hometown of Hearst, Giroux would still be in the province he grew up in. He would also get the chance to reunite with Sergei Bobrovsky, with whom the two were teammates in Philadelphia for the first two seasons of the netminder’s career, and Zack MacEwen from their time in Ottawa.

While it makes sense why the Leafs were in on him during the start of free agency, they did end up bringing in a lot of forwards who can play down the middle. With Colton Sissons, Teddy Blueger, Nick Paul, and Jack Roslovic added to the mix, Giroux may now be seen as redundant, and they may be better suited to looking at a younger option if they want to add to their forwards.  That isn’t to say Giroux is for sure not going to sign in Toronto, but it is more likely at this stage that he ends up elsewhere for the 2026-27 season.