Alexandre Giroux

Playing career

Alexandre Giroux got his start in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, playing for a minor team out of Quebec City. He entered the QMJHL with the Hull Olympiques in 1998–99, spending parts of three seasons there before moving to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies halfway through the 2000–01 campaign. Across his junior career, he put up 226 points, split between 111 goals and 115 assists, and turned pro in 2001–02 with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. The Ottawa Senators had drafted him in 1999, but he never made their NHL roster, instead spending parts of three seasons in their system. A trade at the 2004 deadline sent him and Karel Rachunek to the New York Rangers for Greg de Vries; Giroux appeared in just one game for the Rangers, spending most of his time with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. In the summer of 2006, he signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals, where he mostly played for their AHL team, the Hershey Bears, with a handful of games in Washington. The next summer, he inked a free-agent deal with the Atlanta Thrashers and was assigned to the Chicago Wolves, tallying 19 goals and 41 points in 44 games before being traded back to the Capitals organization. On August 5, 2009, he signed a one-year, two-way contract to stay with the Hershey Bears. The 2008–09 AHL season was a standout: on January 18, 2009, he broke Brett Hull’s league record for consecutive games with a goal, scoring in 15 straight contests. On April 10, 2009, he capped it off by winning the Les Cunningham Award as AHL MVP. On July 3, 2010, he signed a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, who assigned him to the Oklahoma City Barons. After Taylor Hall suffered a season-ending injury, Giroux was recalled on March 5, 2011, making his Oilers debut that night and scoring a goal in a 5–1 win over the Colorado Avalanche. On July 3, 2011, he signed a two-way contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. During the 2011–12 season, he played nine games for Columbus but spent most of his time with the Springfield Falcons in the AHL.