“Want to take as many last cracks” – Mark Giordano sees Toronto Maple Leafs as perfect fit professionally, personally
Follow Us
Mark Giordano
Canadian ice hockey player Mark Giordano, who will turn 39 on October 3, signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract last week with the Toronto Maple Leafs. It comes out to have an average annual value of $800,000, starting from the next National Hockey League (NHL) season.
The defenseman, who could have been an unrestricted free agent on July 13, had 12 points (two goals, ten assists) in 20 games with the Maple Leafs after being acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken. He also recorded a couple of assists in Toronto’s seven-game 3-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round.
“It came down to, I’m at the stage in my career where I want to take as many last cracks at having an opportunity to win,” Giordano said on Monday, as quoted by NHL.com. “So we thought about that first and foremost as a family. But my kids not having to move schools and change addresses at this point go a long way, so it was a perfect fit.”
“Was a tough way to go out”
The Toronto native Giordano had two assists in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when his side was eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the Eastern Conference First Round. The veteran has a whopping 544 points (151 goals, 393 assists) in 1,024 regular-season games over 16 NHL seasons against his name.
“Playing here and going through playoffs with the guys, from my perspective and being a player on this team, it’s not hard to see that we are a team that is not far away from being a true contender in the League,” he added. “We pushed Tampa Bay to seven games, and they’ve had the success they’ve had over the last few years for a reason. It was a tough way to go out, but we all think and all still believe that we have a team that is pretty close.”
Also Read | “Important piece of our team” – Bryan Rust signs a 6-year deal with the Pittsburg Penguins
Stay Updated!
Sachin Arora
(2527 Articles Published)