Oh Captain, My Captain: Flyers, Giroux agree on 8-year extension

The Flyers had tackled several areas of interest in the offseason already.

They traded for Mark Streit, upgrading at defense. They used amnesty clauses on two veteran players – a forward and a goalie – to free up cap space. They used some of that cap space on Vincent Lecavailer, a veteran forward also bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Now, they have locked up their premier player. 

The Flyers and captain Claude Giroux agreed to an 8-year, $66.2 million extension on Thursday and made the deal official on Friday.

Giroux, 25, was the Flyers' first-round pick in 2006. He debuted with the Flyers a season later in 2007-08 for two games. He broke to the NHL level in 2008-09, scoring nine goals and tallying 27 points in his rookie season.

In his first full season, in 2009-10, Giroux scored 16 goals and added 31 assists for 47 points.

Giroux had a breakout season in 2011-12. He played in 77 games, scoring 28 goals and adding 65 assists for a total of 93 points. In the shortened season of 2013, Giroux scored 13 goals and added 35 assists, averaging a point per game.

Giroux was also named the 19th captain in Flyers' history prior to the 2013 season.

He is also known for strong playoff performances. In 2010, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 3 in the Stanley Cup Final against Chicago.

In 2012, the Flyers played only 11 playoff games. Giroux was suspended for the elimination against the Devils in the Conference Semi-final, but scored eight goals and recorded 17 points in the 10 games he played. That included a hat trick in Game 2 of the first round against Pittsburgh and an unforgettable opening shift in Game 6. 

Giroux will make an average annual salary of $8.3 million. The extension doesn't kick in until the 2014-15 season and will make Giroux a Flyer through the 2021-22 season. 

Kevin Durso is a contributor for Flyerdelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.