The trade deadline is nearly two weeks away and arguably the biggest name out there is Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux. Giroux has a no-movement clause, and he's set to meet with Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher to discuss the trade deadline within the next week or so.

There is a sense that any trade involving Claude Giroux won't occur until after March 17th. That's because on the 17th, Giroux will skate in his 1,000th game, all with the Flyers.

During the 32 Thoughts segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Jeff Marek mentioned that the Flyers' management group was in Charlotte watching the American Hockey League affiliate of the Florida Panthers, a team that's interested in Giroux. Marek said that they had their eye on former tenth overall pick Owen Tippett.

"And interesting, Yesterday, Chuck Fletcher, general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, alongside Daniel Briere, Dean Lombardi, Bill Barber, all taking in the Lehigh Valley/Charlotte game. Why is that interesting? Because Charlotte is the AHL affiliate for the Florida Panthers. We've talked before about how Claude Giroux may end up, at the end of this, as a Florida Panther," Marek said.

"Who are they there to see? We believe it is Owen Tippett and we've talked before about how Owen Tippett's name is very much out there and how the Florida Panthers have let it be known that he could be available," he added.

Tippett, 23, is currently playing in the AHL, as mentioned, with the Charlotte Checkers. But for the majority of the 2021-22 season, he's been in the NHL with the Panthers. In 42 games with the Panthers, he's tallied fourteen points (six goals, eight assists), while in eight AHL games, Tippett has put up ten points (two goals, eight assists).

The Peterborough (Ontario) native is currently in the final year of his entry-level contract and will be a restricted free agent at season's end.

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