Giroux has his sights set on Colorado and Detroit plays middle man to not only retain salary on Giroux, but also adds a retained Nick Leddy to bolster their defense as well as one of their better Defense prospects in Jared McIsaac to replace the departing Byram.

The wings also provide all assets going to Philly by way of solid draft picks and 22 year old Zadina.

Byram is a steep price to pay for Colorado, but to acquire Giroux & Leddy and squeeze them under the salary cap all but cements them as the Stanley Cup favorite. Not to mention with the embarrassment of riches in terms of talent and big contracts, the Avs essentially flip the injured Byram for a Cup, a year or so before having to dish out another fat contract, which they have plenty of already.

No way Philly gives up G and retains half his salary only for Zadina and 2 picks that are not 1st rounders. If Sakic is willing to trade Byrum, Philly will not offer up Giroux so DET can grab him. Given COL's salary cap issues, any Giroux deal means Philly must retain 50% of the salary and COL does not have a 1st rounder this year. Thus the trade must return 2 of Barron, Ranta, Olausson, Kaut or Annunen, plus an NHLer (Jost?) to make it worth the move.

Swap the 2nd and 3rd rounder to a 2023 1st and I think this is at least a conversation. Although I do agree that if Byram is on the table, I don't see PHI including a middle-man.

I have Detroit retaining Giroux’s salary in the trade. Plus, everything that Philly receives in the deal is coming from the Red Wings.

Colorado gets Giroux & Leddy while Detroit pays the tax on both, and Detroit also shells out a “B” defense prospect in McIsaac back to Colorado in the deal which they wouldn’t get from Philly.

I could see Giroux situation play out similar to Taylor Hall’s last year when he was adamant about going to Boston which somewhat handicapped the teams trade options.



The only reason Detroit comes into play is because everything that Philly is getting comes from Detroit.

Detroit is also retaining Giroux’s salary so that Colorado can afford him as well as retaining on Nick Leddy.

I certainly can see a 1st rounder plus a good prospect going to Philly for Giroux, but given Claude’s alleged preference to go to Colorado, this could limit his return.

I do believe a little more needs to go to Philly in the deal though. I just don’t think it’s appropriate for the Red Wings to be giving up a 1st round pick in the deal unless it’s like a 2024 draft pick.

I agree a 3rd team may be needed to swing a deal that has Giroux landing in COL. But for PHI, a deal for G must land more than a mid-level NHLer and 2 picks. Local writers are calling offers that have 4 assets (NHLer, 2 top prospects and a pick) coming back to PHI as 'decent'.

We'll see in the coming weeks...