Top deadline targets regression scaring off trade partners

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman was called yesterday and asked his thoughts on if Claude Giroux could still play at a high level pace for a multiple round playoff run.

Friedman says someone called him to talk about the Avs/Flames game and they wondered if Claude Giroux could play at that pace for 4 rounds of the playoffs, he wonders if Colorado has any concerns about that.— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) March 8, 2022

Giroux is not a spring chicken anymore, at the age of 34 his point production has steadily declined each year since his 102 point campaign back in the 2017-18 season.

The playoffs are a different monster than the regular season. You only play the top teams, no bottom feeder teams to rack up the points, in a 7 game series, strategies are developed to shut down certain players, so it's a lot harder for a player to produce. In Giroux's first 4 seasons, he played in 50 playoffs games (including a run to the cup finals) which he scored 55 points. Since 2015, Giroux has played in 28 playoff games, where he has only managed 12 points. That's a significant drop-off from his younger days when it comes to producing in the playoffs.

The team that seems to have the most interest in Giroux is the Colorado Avalanche, so the benefit for Giroux here is, in Philadelphia, he has always been ''the guy'' while in Colorado he will be in more of a secondary scoring role, getting the easier match-ups.

Regardless of him being 34, he has scored 40 points in 53 games this season, so he is going to be a positive factor on any team that acquires him for a playoff run.