Philly Sports Jabronis
The National Hockey League announced today that Flyers center Claude Giroux has been named a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, which is given annually to “the player judged most valuable to his team.”
Giroux joins Pittsburgh C Sidney Crosby and Anaheim C Ryan Getzlaf as finalists for the award.
Giroux, 26 (1/12/1988), is in his sixth NHL season, not counting two games he played on an emergency basis in 2007-08. This year he tied a career high with 28 goals and also added 58 assists for 86 points while appearing in all 82 games.
He finished third in the NHL in scoring behind Crosby and Getzlaf. Giroux accounted for 79 of his 86 points and all 28 of his goals in the final 67 games of the season.
Claude Giroux, has been named one of the finalists for the NHL’s MVP award. The winner will be announced in June. Photo credit – bleacherreport.com
A native of Hearst, Ontario, Giroux has recorded 119 goals and 258 assists for 377 points in 415 career regular season games with the Flyers.
He has also contributed 23 goals and 38 assists for 61 points in 57 career playoff games, including two goals and four assists in seven games this year.
The Flyers selected Giroux in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Giroux becomes the fifth Flyer to be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy. Bobby Clarke and Eric Lindros are the only two Flyers ever to win the award, with Clarke receiving it three times (1973, 1975, 1976) and Lindros once (1995), while Clarke finished second in voting in 1977 and Lindros finished second in 1996.
Others were Pelle Lindbergh (3rd, 1985) and Bernie Parent (2nd, 1974). Giroux finshed fourth in Hart Trophy voting in the 2011-12 season, in which he recorded a career-high 93 points (28 G, 65 A).
