Claude Giroux

Like Domonic Brown, Claude Giroux will benefit from being on a team with a lot of established players who know the ropes. The Flyers have a 25-year-old captain in Mike Richards who will be expected to shoulder the heavy lifting. Giroux has been a big-time point generator at every level. During his rookie season with the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he had 39 goals and 103 points in just 69 games. The Flyers drafted him 22nd overall in 2006, and he proceeded to post two more hundred-point seasons in juniors, including 112 points in 63 games in his second season for Gatineau.

Claude Giroux was snubbed. Again. With hockey in a deep freeze, thanks to the NHL's second labor stoppage in 8 years, the Flyers' star - whom many consider to be Philadelphia's most electrifying athlete - dropped to fifth place in the Daily News' annual Sportsperson of the Year balloting. In other words, Giroux finished further back in his own city among sports writers than he did (fourth) in Hart Trophy voting last season for hockey's Most Valuable Player award. Full disclosure: This Flyers beat writer voted for Giroux as No. 1 on his ballot, ahead of Mike Trout, Doug Collins, Carlos Ruiz and Bill O'Brien.

Position: Right wing Height, weight: 5-11, 180 Age: 22 Birthdate: Jan. 12, 1988 Hometown: Born and raised in Hearst, Ontario Years pro: 2 How acquired: Selected by Flyers in the first round (No. 22 overall) of the 2006 draft This year: Giroux didn't have the breakout sophomore regular-season campaign many hoped he would, notching 16 goals and 31 assists; he had a minus-9 rating in 82 games. But like many of his teammates, the playmaking puck wizard has far exceeded expectations in the playoffs, collecting nine goals and 11 assists in 20 games.

AFTER SUSTAINING a neck injury while playing in Germany on Nov. 17, Flyers star Claude Giroux was back on the ice in Ottawa on Wednesday. Giroux, 24, participated in a 90-minute skate at the Carleton Ice House in Ottawa, where he makes his summer home. "I skated for the first time today," Giroux said in a message to the Daily News. "It was a slow skate. Just trying to get the legs going again. " Giroux is not fully recovered and said he had "no idea" when he would be back at 100 percent.

The concussion changes the perception, just a little. Even if his recovery is complete, it is hard to forget a period of December days when just a slow turn on the ice left him feeling sick. That was Claude Giroux's existence as the year neared its end. That the feeling passed is to be celebrated. He can only hope that that the healing is complete, and that 2011 will be remembered for what it was. That is, the year he became a star. That is the word: star. As he sat down with his concussion, Giroux led the National Hockey League in points.

The player known to his teammates as "G" will wear the "C. " Star center Claude Giroux was named the 19th captain in Flyers history, the club announced Tuesday night. Giroux, 25, replaces the injured Chris Pronger, whose career is likely over because of post-concussion syndrome. All week, players, coaches, and management types took turns praising Giroux's leadership and saying he was ready to assume the captain's role, so it became a foregone conclusion before the team made the announcement.

IT BEGAN with a prank, as his Flyers teammates sent newly named captain Claude Giroux onto the ice alone during an open-to-the-public practice at Wells Fargo Center to thank fans for waiting through the lockout. It ended with him answering awkward questions in front of a locker room filled with equipment bags packed far earlier than anyone expected. But if coach Peter Laviolette and general manager Paul Holmgren are grading the first season of his captaincy, Giroux passed with flying colors.

Claude Giroux's first year as the Flyers' captain will not be remembered fondly. It's not that the slick-passing, 25-year-old center played poorly - it's that his team, for a variety of reasons, never clicked until they were eliminated from the playoffs and the pressure had been removed. Eight Eastern Conference teams are competing in the theatrical Stanley Cup playoffs, arguably the toughest two-month stretch in any sport. The Flyers are not one of them. "We can't blame anybody but ourselves," Giroux said.

Claude Giroux's first year as the Flyers' captain will not be remembered fondly. It's not that the slick-passing, 25-year-old center played poorly - it's that his team, for a variety of reasons, never clicked until they were eliminated from the playoffs and the pressure had been removed. Eight Eastern Conference teams are competing in the theatrical Stanley Cup playoffs, arguably the toughest two-month stretch in any sport. The Flyers are not one of them. "We can't blame anybody but ourselves," Giroux said.

IT WAS A SEASON to forget, one of just nine in 45 seasons in which the Flyers have not qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Rather than look back on the season, here's an inventory of what the Flyers have moving forward. (Players are listed alphabetically by position. Contracts are what's remaining.)   FORWARDS DANNY BRIERE Stats: 34 GP, 6 G, 10 A. Grade: C- Age: 35 Contract: 2 years, $13 million Outlook: Steep production drop, accounting for his worst career season.

IT BEGAN with a prank, as his Flyers teammates sent newly named captain Claude Giroux onto the ice alone during an open-to-the-public practice at Wells Fargo Center to thank fans for waiting through the lockout. It ended with him answering awkward questions in front of a locker room filled with equipment bags packed far earlier than anyone expected. But if coach Peter Laviolette and general manager Paul Holmgren are grading the first season of his captaincy, Giroux passed with flying colors.

OTTAWA - The Flyers, with winger Jason Akeson scoring an early goal in his NHL debut and goalie Steve Mason giving another outstanding performance, ended their disappointing 23-22-3 season with a 2-1 win in Ottawa on Saturday night. The question is, was it also the end of the Peter Laviolette era? Probably not. General manager Paul Holmgren would not say definitively, but he again hinted strongly that the coach will return. Holmgren apparently wants to wait until after having season-ending interviews with his players in the next few days before making a decision on Laviolette, who has two years left on his contract.

OTTAWA - Given the way it started in October, even Jason Akeson probably couldn't have predicted tonight's finish to the season. Imagine leading the Phantoms in scoring last season and training relentlessly during the summer, only to find out that you were demoted to the neglected depths of the ECHL. The Flyers simply said Akeson - who netted 55 points in 76 games in his first profesional season - was a victim of numbers, since the likes of Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and Zac Rinaldo were filling up top six forward positions.

FOR THE FIRST time in three seasons, a new name was engraved on the Bobby Clarke Trophy last night. Leading scorer Jake Voracek beat out captain Claude Giroux, a two-time defending winner, for the team's Most Valuable Player award - as voted on by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Giroux said he was happy to see his linemate win the award. "It's good to see him doing good," Giroux said. "It's great. He came out strong this year. He's definitely playing a step above last year.

JAROMIR JAGR is a scholar. At Tuesday's morning skate, Jagr twirled around the Wells Fargo Center ice for the first time since leaving Philadelphia last summer and took up his familiar post at the Bruins' white board. There, he diagrammed plays for linemates Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg, something that was a welcomed staple during his 1-year stint with the Flyers. "Everything in his life revolves around hockey," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. Jaromir Jagr is also an economist.

If Danny Briere is emotional about possibly playing his last home game in a Flyers uniform, he isn't showing it. Because of his high cap hit - $6.5 million per year - the Flyers' 35-year-old forward is expected to be bought out or traded after the season. If that happens, that would make Thursday's game against the New York Islanders his finale at the Wells Fargo Center as a member of the Flyers. "I'm not thinking about that. . . . Things change fast in the hockey world," the always-classy Briere said after Wednesday's practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees.

With just three games to go for the Flyers, Tuesday's matchup at the Wells Fargo Center with the Boston Bruins will provide emotional moments on several fronts. The Flyers plan several ways to honor those affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. From a hockey standpoint, it will be the first time Jaromir Jagr will be facing the Flyers since he left the team in July to sign with Dallas as a free agent. The Flyers will wear "Boston Strong" patches on their uniforms and stickers on their helmets.

MIKE KNUBLE spent parts of five seasons with the Bruins. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette grew up in Massachusetts and his sister was a spectator at the Boston Marathon last Monday. The horrifying events of last week hit home with every member of the Flyers - be they Canadian, Czech or Swede. "I've been up and down [Boylston] street a hundred times," said Knuble, the Flyers' lone American Olympian. "You see the fronts of the restaurants - I know exactly where that's at. I've been to the race before.