Flyers’ Experimenting With Claude Giroux on left wing

VOORHEES — For the last couple years, according to the Flyers’ captain and No. 1 center, he’s had some rather unrealistic talks with Sean Couturier about playing together.

Tuesday, on the fourth day of training camp practices, it became reality.

Claude Giroux was a winger for the first time since he broke into the NHL with the Flyers as a full-timer in 2008. He played the left side and his usual partner, Jake Voracek, was on the right wing.

“It was actually a lot of fun,” Giroux said. “It’s not like I’m against it or I’m not happy with it. If it makes the team better, we have a lot of centermen and I’m up for it for sure.”

It could be just a one-day experiment cooked up by Flyers coach Dave Hakstol.

Or it could stick for a while. Giroux said he “would not be surprised” if he was a winger when the Flyers start their season Oct. 4 in San Jose, but a lot would have to happen before then.

Hakstol said it’s not a matter of connecting the dots with Nolan Patrick, the second-overall pick from this year’s draft that would be a center if he made the team (the Flyers don’t want to move him to the wing).