from Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer,

Giroux's agent, Pat Brisson, did not respond to phone calls, but he must have smiled when Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin signed an eight-year deal Thursday for $76 million. The deal starts in 2014-15 and carries an average cap hit of $9.5 million.

Giroux doesn't yet have Malkin's pedigree - the Penguins' star has an MVP award and has won two scoring titles - but he is considered one of the NHL's premier players.

If a new deal is consummated, it will undoubtedly make Giroux the Flyers' highest-paid player. Based on the market, he probably will average between $7 million and $8 million per season in a long-term deal.

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