Mark Giordano

BIOGRAPHY

Mark Giordano was born October 3, 1983, in Toronto, Ontario. He is a defenseman in the NHL.

The Flames assigned Giordano to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters, for the 2004–05 season where he scored 6 goals and added 10 assists in 66 games. He remained in the AHL for much of the 2005–06 season, transferring to Calgary's new affiliate, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Giordano led the Knights in scoring, recording 16 goals and 58 points in 73 games. Additionally, he was second among defencemen in the AHL in goal scoring and fourth in points. The Flames recalled him to Calgary at mid-season, and he made his NHL debut on January 30, 2006, against the St. Louis Blues. Giordano appeared in seven games with the Flames, and recorded his first NHL point with an assist on April 8, 2006, against the Vancouver Canucks. In the 2006–07 season, Giordano played only five games in Omaha as he spent the majority of the campaign in Calgary. In 48 games with the Flames, he recorded 7 goals and 15 points. Giordano scored his first two NHL goals on October 14, 2006, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Flames prior to the 2007–08 season, Giordano left the NHL to sign with HC Dynamo Moscow of the Russian Super League. According to Playfair, Giordano did not sign in Russia over money. Instead, he left because he felt he had proven what he could do in the AHL and, lacking a guarantee that he would be in the NHL, sought a higher-calibre league in which to play. He scored 4 goals and 13 points in 50 games with Dynamo, and played with the winning Canadian team at the 2007 Spengler Cup. The Canadian national team named him an alternate at the 2008 IIHF World Championship in case of injury to a roster player, however he never appeared in a game. Though he feared his decision to leave for Russia would damage his relationship with the Flames, Giordano and the team came to terms on a three-year contract that brought him back to Calgary for the 2008–09 NHL season.

Giordano appeared in 58 games for the Flames and scored 19 points before a shoulder injury ended his season. He required surgery to repair the damage suffered in a game against the Minnesota Wild. He recovered in time to begin the 2009–10 season, but several new additions to Calgary's defensive corps left him concerned about his position with the team. Instead, he solidified his place on the roster with a career year; Giordano set personal highs in goals (11), points (30) and was +17 for the Flames. The Hockey News named him one of the most underrated players in the league, and he was invited to join Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Championship. Giordano led the team's defencemen with three goals in the tournament and added an assist in seven games.

Despite having the option to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2010–11 season, Giordano opted to remain in Calgary and signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension with the Flames on October 29, 2010. He led the team's defencemen in scoring and set another career high with 43 points in 82 games. Giordano missed several weeks of the 2011–12 season after suffering a torn hamstring. The injury caused Giordano, who was named an alternate captain prior to the season's start, to miss 21 games. He finished with 27 points in 61 games, then scored 15 points in 47 games in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season.

During the 2016–17 season Giordano was placed on the same defensive pairing as Dougie Hamilton, causing greater defensive play in both players. His defensive play helped the Flames make the playoffs for the first time since 2015. He played in four playoff games, garnering one point, before the Flames were defeated by the Anaheim Ducks.

During the 2018–19 season, Giordano became the fifth defencemen in NHL history to record 60 points at the age of 35 or over. His 60th point came in a 2–1 win over the New Jersey Devils on February 27, 2019. Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 regular season, Giordano won the James Norris Memorial Trophy.

On July 21, 2021, Giordano was selected from the Flames by the Seattle Kraken at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Prior to the start of their inaugural season, Giordano was named the first captain in Kraken franchise history alongside alternates Adam Larsson, Yanni Gourde, Jordan Eberle, and Jaden Schwartz.

Giordano began the season playing alongside Jamie Oleksiak as the pair allowed 1.7 expected goals against per 60 minutes of play. By mid November, Giordano had recorded three goals and four assists while continuing to lead Seattle in average ice time. However, after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Giordano spent 10 days isolated in a hotel before returning to the Kraken lineup on December 10. As a result of his overall play, Giordano was named to the 2022 NHL All-Star Game roster as voted by fans.

On March 5, 2022, Giordano played his 1,000th NHL game, on the same day as Toronto Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds’ 1,000th game (they would later be teammates following Giordano's trade). He is the first player in Seattle Kraken franchise history to reach the milestone.

On March 20, 2022, a day before the trade deadline, Giordano was traded by Seattle with Colin Blackwell to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs for a second-round pick in 2022 and 2023, as well as a third-round pick in 2024. Giordano continued his strong play in Toronto as the team qualified for the post-season, although ultimately lost in the first round to the two-time defending cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

On May 22, 2022, Giordano was signed to a two-year, $1.6 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs, worth $800,000 annually. The deal was seen by analysts as a significant hometown discount for the cap-strapped club, several million dollars less than what Giordano would likely fetch in the summer offseason from competing teams. Giordano and the Maple Leafs had originally agreed in principle to a $1 million annual salary, but Giordano approached the club and asked the team to sign him to $800,000 annually (just over the veteran's minimum) to provide the team with more financial flexibility in icing a competitive, salary cap compliant team.