Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Mark Giordano
See More
Set to turn 40 prior to Opening Night, the days of Giordano posting 70-plus points in a season and winning the Norris Trophy have come and gone. He's still a perfectly suitable bottom-pair regular (four goals, 24 points in 78 games a season ago) for the Maple Leafs at the bargain basement rate of $800,000. There's no longer much in terms of fantasy implications here. However, health permitting, Giordano figures to be in the Toronto lineup every single night once again in 2023-24.
Giordano was the most notable name selected by Seattle in the expansion draft, but he never seemed like a great bet to finish the year with the Kraken due to his pending unrestricted free agency. Seattle management worked with Giordano to find a suitable trade destination, ultimately dealing him to his hometown Maple Leafs in March. Giordano ended up re-signing with Toronto, inking a two-year deal worth $800,000 a season. It's a remarkably good deal for the team considering Giordano posted 35 points in 75 games last season and clearly has plenty of gas left in the tank, but he won't be anything more than a late-round dart throw from a fantasy perspective in 2022-23.
After 15 years with the Flames, Giordano was left unprotected and was ultimately selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft. The veteran defenseman has failed to reach 40 points in four of the last five seasons -- a career-best 74-point effort in his Norris-winning 2018-19 campaign being the big outlier in that span. He'll be 38 years old for the entire 2021-22 season, and it's safe to question how much Giordano has left in the tank. While he's not likely to be a huge scoring threat, the Ontario native should still be able to break the 30-point mark if he remains healthy. He's also expected to log power-play time while blocking a ton of shots in an all-situations, top-four role. He'll have appeal in deeper fantasy formats, but don't reach for him on name recognition alone.
Giordano regressed particularly hard in 2019-20, following up his Norris Trophy campaign with just five goals and 31 points in 60 appearances. It's safe to say his 74-point output in 2018-19 was an outlier, as the 37-year-old Giordano has not topped 40 points in three of the last four seasons. The Flames also have a number of young defensive prospects, which may result in Giordano having a reduced role during the upcoming season. Nonetheless, he'll likely end up between 30 and 35 points, 170 shots and 140 blocked shots even if he sees a drop from his average of 23:53 per game. Giordano will also almost certainly continue to see usage in all situations.
Giordano defied Father Time with a career year of 74 points in 78 games in 2018-19, which was 18 points better than his previous best. The defenseman also had a plus-39 rating and contributed 27 of his points on special teams -- 21 on the power play and six more shorthanded. The 35-year-old vet shot at 7.7 percent last season, which is just marginally higher than his 7.5 percent career rate. That performance earned him a Norris Trophy at 35 years old, but a repeat effort is unlikely. That said, Giordano will remain a high-end fantasy option in 2019-20, and should have no trouble notching 45-to-55 points while posting double-digit goals for a seventh straight campaign.
While he's still a productive and highly serviceable two-way defenseman, Giordano, 34, is getting a little long in the tooth. The Flames captain missed the 40-point mark for the second straight year after posting three consecutive seasons of at least 47 points. However, he set a career high with 214 shots on goal in 2017-18 while logging just under 25 minutes of ice time per contest. Giordano looks to be pretty secure in his top-pairing role for 2018-19. Look for him to once again flirt with the 40-point mark and continue to log heavy minutes in all scenarios.
Giordano endured a significant offensive decline in 2016-17, netting only 39 points -- easily a four-year low -- but he still proved to be a defensive stalwart and a credible fantasy asset. The veteran blueliner's plus-22 rating was a new career high, and he also averaged an astounding 3:14 on the penalty kill while seeing his power-play time tumble a bit last season thanks to playing for a Calgary team that led the NHL in penalty minutes. With the Flames' captain still anchoring the blue-line corps and the team expected to be more of an offensive threat this season, Giordano is a bounce-back candidate. At 33 years old, he's showing no signs of looking washed up, so look for a rebound to 40-plus points alongside his usual ancillary contributions (like last year's 184 blocked shots).
After two straight campaigns of only 60-some games due to injuries, Giordano signed a six-year, $40.5 million extension with Calgary in August of 2015. He rewarded the only franchise he’s ever known with his first 82-game season in five years in 2015-16, and the result was a career year at age 31. The undrafted blueliner set career highs in goals (21) and points (56) while driving Calgary’s power play, as he has for years. No, he’s probably not going to hit 20 goals again this season – and maybe not ever again – but he’s arguably the most important member of the Flames’ blue line, and that’s certainly saying something. His injuries haven’t been of the chronic variety, so there’s a good chance Giordano can stay healthy, making him a relatively safe bet to hit 50 points again.
Giordano was on his way to a Norris Trophy nomination -- and a serious shot at the hardware -- when he tore his biceps in late February and required surgery. Not only did the captain have 48 points in 61 games, but he was also a beast in his own zone, as he faced the opposition’s best and was first over the boards for defensive zone starts. Giordano's possession numbers are through the roof, and he makes everyone on the ice better, including his defense partner. He should be healthy for the coming season, and his 2014-15 breakout will continue this year. Even if he suits up for all 82 games, Giordano might not hit 60 points, but we also wouldn’t be surprised if he got there. That elusive Norris nom could finally be his this time, and the hardware could very well come with it.
After a disappointing couple of seasons, Giordano bounced back in a major way in 2013-14. The blueliner tallied 14 goals, 33 assists and a plus-12 rating in just 64 games, and was one of the premier defenders in the game. He found great chemistry with up-and-comer T.J. Brodie, who will likely be his partner on defense again this season. Giordano should repeat as one of the top fantasy defensemen in the NHL.
The Flames thought they had a star in the making when Giordano scored 43 points in the 2010-11 season -- a bruising defenseman that could put up big numbers as well. Yet much like Dion Phaneuf before him, Giordano couldn't live up to those lofty expectations and combined for only 42 points over the last two campaigns. He is still a good all-round defenseman, but isn't likely to put up another 40-point season again unless he and Dennis Wideman somehow catch lightning in a bottle. Expect around 25 to 30 points and 75 to 80 PIMs from him in 2013-14.
A series of injuries and inconsistent play made Giordano a big fantasy disappointment in 2011-12, as he missed 21 games with injury and his production dropped from 43 points to 27. He did seem to put it together in the final two months, however, with 12 points in his final 19 games. Hopefully for future fantasy owners, that’s what Giordano will draw off of for 2012-13. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential to be a top-tier fantasy defenseman, but it remains to be seen whether he can get to that point.
Other than captain Jarome Iginla, Giordano may be the most complete player on the Flames. The 6-foot defender netted a career-high 43 points last season, 25 of which were scored on the power play. Look for Giordano to improve on his breakout season with an All-Star caliber campaign in 2011-12.
Giordano was a pleasant surprise for a Flames team full of disappointments, potting 11 goals and tallying 19 assists, including 5-and-10 on the power play respectively. Unfortunately, he was like a number of his teammates in that he faltered down the stretch, going without a goal in his final 17 games of the season, and failing to score with the man advantage in his final 23 games. Jay Bouwmeester will be the Flames' primary blueliner on the power play, but look for Giordano to get significant ice time in that capacity as well, perhaps third in line behind Ian White.
Giordano returned to Calgary last season after spending a year with Moskow Dynamo. He looked like he was finally putting everything together before a shoulder injury suddenly ended his season in February. He recorded 19 points (2 G, 17 A) in 58 games. Expect Giordano to challenge the 30-point plateau if he can stay healthy all year. If he ends up skating with either Dion Phaneuf or Jay Bouwmeester his value would receive a boost.
Giordano returns to Calgary after spending a year in the Russian Super League. He showed some potential as a rookie with the Flames in 2006-07, scoring seven goals and eight assists in 48 games and showing some flash in the playoffs as well. Giordano will likely make the team and take a spot on the third defenseman line. Keep an eye on him.
Giordano did a decent job filling in on the Calgary blue line when the injury bug hit in 2005-06, but he's going to find trouble making the team in 2006-07 with Brad Ference and Richie Regehr already competing for the seventh defenseman spot. Even if he makes the team, he will not score enough to warrant a fantasy pick.
