Mark Giordano returns to the Leafs defence at a hometown discount, after dropping a few hints

Opinion

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This article was published 21/05/2022 (714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hey there, welcome back Mark Giordano.

It’s been a whole, what, five days since you’ve been gone?

Well, not gone gone. But it certainly had the aura of bye-bye when the Maple Leafs defenceman faced reporters on cleanout day, just this past Tuesday. Contract had run its course for the seasoned blueliner, acquired from the Seattle Kraken on March 20.

But lo and behold, the Leafs announced Sunday that the 38-year-old has been re-upped, inked to a two-year, $1.6-million (U.S.) extension.

Toronto has been casting around for a quality, playoff-hardened rearguard forever, the blue line an issue of widespread dubiousness before, during and after the team’s first-round ouster, circa 2022. Apparently he was already here.

“We are thrilled that Mark has elected to re-sign with the Maple Leafs,” general manager Kyle Dubas said in a yippee statement released by the club. “Mark came in at the deadline and provided a veteran, stabilizing presence to our back end while vastly improving our defensive play. Everything he does is done to help the team win and that includes a tremendous sacrifice in this contract negotiation.”

By which Dubas means a team-friendly hometown discount for the native Torontonian. And cost-effective discounts any which way are to be eagerly pursued by a team with just $11 million in salary-cap space, 13 players in the contract fold and at least another seven to jam in under the budget. The unrestricted free-agent bracket includes Jack Campbell, Ilya Mikheyev and Ilya Lyubushkin.

To hear him tell it, Giordano was over the moon when he landed in Toronto at the trade deadline, along with Colin Blackwell, in exchange for two second-round draft picks and a third, with Seattle retaining $6.75 million on an expiring contract of honking dimensions signed six years ago with the Calgary Flames: $40.5 million.

“It’s pretty special to be able to say that you’re from here and you played for the organization,” Giordano stated upon arrival. “As you get older, with children, it changes a lot in life. You really cherish those moments, especially my kids getting to see their grandparents. It means a lot to the kids and obviously to my parents and to my wife’s parents. So it’s cool.”

He played minor hockey in North York and Richmond Hill. Attended York University.

“I want to take advantage of this. It’s a great opportunity.”

Particularly with the Leafs a good bet — didn’t we all think so? — to go deep into the post-season. The Lightning scotched that dream in seven games.

Especially, further, for a fellow — long-serving captain with the Flames; C-anointed, too, in Seattle’s inaugural season — still seeking a first Stanley Cup after 16 years in the league. The stars seemed to have aligned. Ha.

Insofar as Giordano was able to get an unsubtle plea in edgewise with the club before exiting stage right, he did so in his out-go comments to the media.

“Everyone knows I’m from Toronto. I love it here. I’ve loved my time here. I feel like I can still help the team push the needle forward. I feel pretty good about my game. I can also help young guys along the way.”

That much — a guiding mentor for the likes of Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin — is beyond dispute. Although the Leafs do have defence doyens in Morgan Rielly and Jake Muzzin, the latter increasingly mentioned as trade bait, a move that would shed $5.62 million from the payroll. But do the Leafs really want to part company with a playoff warrior and the most physical from among their blue-line cadre?

The market for unrestricted free agents — if the Leafs are sussing out what’s available — opens July 13.

Giordano might not necessarily be the guy, but he’s now and again Toronto’s guy for the next two years.

An amiable mook and steadying presence, Giordano recorded 12 points in 20 regular-season games with Toronto down the stretch, paired mostly with Justin Holl (for his sins), and pitched in a couple of assists versus Tampa Bay in the playoffs. Weirdly, it was his first Game 7 experience.

“The stakes go higher. Every play, every shift means so much,” he’d observed. “There wasn’t much difference between the two teams the whole series, but especially that Game 7. You saw how tight it is and how hard it is to win in this game. You think about every play. You go back in your mind and think about what you could have done different as a player.”

Across the breadth of his career, Giordano has appeared in three NHL all-star games and was awarded the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman in 2018-19, which wasn’t so long ago. He has registered 544 points (151 goals, 393 assists) through 1,024 regular-season games with three teams, and nine points in 30 playoff games.

That’s a whole lotta hockey. Though Giordano said when last he spoke — couldn’t reach him Sunday — that he didn’t much have the stomach to tune in the remainder of the playoffs.

“Right now, it’s tough to watch hockey at all.”

Probably just got a bit more comfy, from his Toronto La-Z-Boy.

Rosie DiManno is a Toronto-based columnist covering sports and current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @rdimanno